An umbrella is a road tripper's best friend

I woke up to...no surprise.  Rain again...and would rain all day long!  Well, I would just have to make the best of it.  Have umbrella, will travel...back to Yellowstone National Park!  But, breakfast first.  I decided to grab a breakfast sandwich from Subway.  No sandwich because they had no eggs!  What the heck!  I reluctantly settled for a McDonald's Egg McMuffin, which I took to go.

It was about an hour's drive to Upper Geyser Basin, where Old Faithful geyser is located.  As I quickly ate my McMuffin in the car, I was wondering if I would miss Old Faithful erupting.  Not that it was THAT important.  I've seen it before, but a visit to Yellowstone just wouldn't seem right if I didn't see Old Faithful do its thing.  I went inside the Visitor Center and found out Old Faithful was due to blow in about 15 minutes.  Perfect timing.  I made my way outside and enjoyed the show.  I took a little video, but no photos so I won't be posting a pic of it.  But, I have many photos of the other wonders that makes Yellowstone so unique.

As I walked along the boardwalks and paths of Upper Geyser Basin, I took things nice and slow, snapping photos but also just admiring the views.  I didn't see any bison during the morning's drive, and the only ones I saw today were from afar.

I was lucky enough to see two other geysers erupting today...the Lion Geyser, and the twin eruptions of Turban and Grand Geyser.  I thought Grand Geyser was more impressive than Old Faithful.  It may not be as big, but the eruption is longer and more often...every 15 to 20 minutes!

While I was walking along, I suddenly heard a chattering sound.  I knew it had to be a squirrel, and sure enough, I spotted a red squirrel sitting on a log nibbling on a pine cone.

A little further along the boardwalk, I came upon one of my favorite geysers...Spasmodic Geyser.  It's always bubbling away and the mineral formations are beautiful!

I spent about four hours enjoying the geothermal attractions of Upper Geyser Basin, but not really keeping track of them all.  And, there was a lot to see.  I'll just let you enjoy some of the many photos that I took.

I had just enough time in the afternoon to see one more geyser group, so I went to a small one with the biggest thermal pools.  At the Midway Geyser Basin, the Excelsior Geyser was almost totally obscured by steam, thanks to the chilly 40 degree air temps.  The same could be said of the Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the world.  But, I still managed to get a cool panoramic shot of the spring.

Tomorrow, the forecast calls for sunny skies!  It's about time!  I'll be spending a little more time at Yellowstone, then head south to Grand Teton National Park.  Isn't road tripping fun?