Today I decided I was going to drive the lower loop around Yellowstone to see the hot springs and geysers.  The plan was to end with seeing Old Faithful and then leave Yellowstone.  The beginning of the plan went pretty well and I was very impressed with the colors of the hot springs as well as the way they constantly bubbled.  They were sulphur springs though so the aroma surrounding them was not that pleasant.  Regardless of the stench though they were impressive.  I also saw the Steamboat Geyser which is the tallest geyser in the world, when it erupts.  It can shoot as high as 120 meters but the major eruptions occur very infrequently ranging anywhere from four days apart to 50 years apart.  Of course I did not get to see a major eruption but there was some smoke coming out as well as little spurts of water so it was cool anyway.  I figured I would be seeing Old Faithful erupt anyway so I wasn’t that upset not seeing Steamboat blast off.  Old Faithful is supposedly the only geyser in the world that erupts at predictable times, usually ranging anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours.  I don’t know how precisely they can predict the eruptions but when I got to the parking lot where Old Faithful resides I could not even find a parking spot.  I circled around a few times and then gave up.  I might be the only person to go to Yellowstone and not see the main attraction but I guess I have a reason to go back one day.  My impression before going to Yellowstone was that its only main attraction would be Old Faithful and everything else would be pretty boring.  I was happily wrong though and enjoyed the whole park (which was loaded with bison by the way) despite missing the main attraction.

    So I finally left Yellowstone via the east gate which is under construction. There was about a 30 minute wait to get out because there is a one lane road that takes a while to pass but eventually I made it out to freedom.  The scenery along the road outside the park is almost as impressive as the scenery inside the park, although it was different terrain. It almost seemed like driving though the Grand Canyon as you drive the highway with plateaus on either side.  There was also a lake and a dam at one point which looked really nice although I didn’t stop to investigate.  I plowed on through Cody, Thermopolis and a few other cities before eventually reaching Casper, Wyoming where I’ve stopped for the night.  I did more driving today then I had intended to and didn’t make it here until around 10:30 pm.  I might stay here another night and take a look around this small city tomorrow.  We shall see though.