Hardwired

Wyoming 2019: Yellowstone National Park—Day 4

Dec 19, 2019 | CLON-X, Settings, Travel, Writing, Wyoming

Artists Paintpots Trail

Our last day in Yellowstone was a leisurely one. After breakfast, we camped out a second time on the boardwalk to watch Old Faithful blow. Arriving first, I planted myself at the front of the wooden walkway to wait for the geyser to awaken. Two photographers soon joined me. They also planned to shoot Old Faithful from a low angle and sat cross-legged next to me. Soon after, four videographers approached and asked if they could set up behind us, as they would be recording the eruption. 

More tourists crammed onto the boardwalk. All was going well until the geyser erupted and a group of six tourists, clamoring for a better angle from which to shoot, forced themselves between us three shooting low and the four behind us. Their interruption occurred at the height of the geyser’s eruption, and needless to say, the response from the videographers was not pleasant, and I don’t blame them. Exercise some common courtesy, please. Old Faithful blows every thirty-five to one hundred and twenty minutes. Motto? Arrive early, be prepared to wait, and show some respect for fellow photographers.

Next on our agenda was the Artists Paintpots Trail, a mile-long loop trail of hot springs. The walk up was dry, but as we neared the highest point the route became quite muddy, forcing us to retrace our steps. But the best views, in my opinion, were on the hike up, so nothing was lost by retracing our steps.

Unlike our first stop at the Lower Geyser Basin, when buses occupied the majority of the parking spaces, today we saw few vehicles and no buses as we zipped into a slot and climbed out. My immediate thought as I viewed the bubbling geysers was of a moonscape. 

Since time permitted, on our drive back to the lodge we detoured to Biscuit Basin and Black Sand Basin for a look-see.

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