Old Faithful in Winter

So, this past weekend I went down to Old Faithful (OF). Even though I'm technically not leaving the place I live, it still feels like a vacation. I get to head out from Gardiner which is surprisingly hard to do unless you go north to Bozeman. And let's face it, that's generally for reserved for gathering supplies, not gaining any pleasure.

Anyway, Allie, Heidi and I left on a crisp clear Sunday morning. The trip down was taken on a Prinoth (Pri-no) which was incredibly bumpy and left us all with minor whiplash. However (most importantly), it was free. It's about a 3 1/2 ride down to OF so I slept most of the way down.
We got to the OF Snow Lodge around 2:30 and immediately headed to the bar for a couple of drinks. We then wandered the geyser basin (Upper Geyser Basin for those who care) and waited for geysers to go off. This is surprisingly addictive. I figure it's some sort of psychology that has a person waiting, watching pools of water for around 2 hours and then getting excited because there is an eventual explosion of water. Seriously, does that sound like fun? I mean, people have been manufacturing fountains that do the same thing for years and nobody gets that excited.
While we were waiting for Grand, Heidi and Allie discovered the joy of "Zen Benching".

They also practiced their new-found religion while waiting for Riverside. The benches at Grand are apparently the more comfortable of the two. And even then, there are a particular two benches that you have to be on.
Anyway, we saw Riverside and OF go off and then decided to find our accommodations for the evening. Surprisingly difficult. None of us know that area particularly well so we wandered for quite awhile. On skis (which Allie hadn't been on for years). Carrying our packs. Which had two days of clothes. And sleeping bags. And food. For two days. And books (god help us, we're all bibliophiles). And bathing supplies. Let's just say we were incredibly lucky that we found someone who knew where we were supposed to be going. At least, we were lucky until we got there and found the door locked. Oof. Thank goodness Heidi knew one of the people in the building and he was able to track down a key.
I'll write more about our trip later. For now, I'll leave you with a preview.