At Lower Geyser Basin we saw the Fountain Paint Pots and Clepsydra Geyser that erupts almost continuously. We then planned to stop at Midway Geyser Basin to see Grand Prismatic spring, but the line to turn into the parking lot was so far backed up that we didn't even know that was what they were turning into. So, we turned into park at Fairy Falls Trailhead and made the walk (~1 mile) to the Grand Prismatic overlook. This gave us a great view and we decided that there was no need to go to Midway Geyser Basin parking since we'd gotten such a good look at Grand Prismatic from the overlook.
We stopped at Biscuit Basin and laid out our blankets for a picnic lunch with a view of the steaming springs and Jewel Geyser erupting every 8 or 9 minutes. After lunch we hiked past the geothermal features at Biscuit Basin and down the path to find Mystic Falls. The boys took some time at the falls for a rock throwing contest (they were always wanting to throw rocks!). We then made a stop at Black Sand Basin to see a few more hot springs and Cliff Geyser that erupts every few minutes.
Our last stop of the day was Old Faithful. We got there about 30 minutes before it erupted. So we waited on the boardwalk for the show. It was estimated to erupt at 3:11 and started at about 3:14. I expected more from Old Faithful, but it was fun to see her. Gavin, Owen and Wyatt were working on their Junior Ranger booklet and needed to get in a Ranger talk, so we joined one about all the baby animals in Yellowstone which was given to us by a ranger who had grown up at Old Faithful. We'd walked enough and seen enough already, that we didn't even walk around to see any of the geysers at the upper geyser basin by Old Faithful. The boys instead played a little football toss game in the parking lot while waiting for our Old Faithful Inn reservations for supper. We actually got in about a half hour early, so that was good and it was fun to see the big old inn. Quite something.
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