Happy Fourth of July from Old Faithful
Since the Old Faithful Webcam is temporarily out of service, you can view these old postcards instead. Click on the postcards to view them larger. The above card is an unused Haynes postcard. The back reads:
Old Faithful Geyser, 150 Ft., Yellowstone Park, is not the highest geyser, but it is by far the favorite one. Its eruptions occuring every hour last about four minutes.
This unused “Phostint” card was published by Detroit Publishing Co.
This unused HHT Co. card reads:
In plain sight from Old Faithful Inn, and every 63 minutes without variation, winter and summer, day and night, gives its exhibition. Eruptions by moonlight, sunrise or sunset are most brilliant.
An unused Haynes card of the Old Faithful Inn Office. Here’s an article about the renovation of the Old Faithful Inn
by Ruffin Prevost of the Billings Gazette.
Here’s Ruffin’s blog - Basin Beat Blues
An unused HHT Co Card. The back reads:
BEARS NEAR OLD FAITHFUL
The animals of the Park are objects of peculiar interest. No sounds of growl or bark of dog is ever heard, and the animals, though wild, roam at wil through the Park. Almost any evening or morning one may see from one to twenty bears eating in the vicinity of the hotel.
Here’s an article about those bears and their feeding grounds.
July 4th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Happy Fourth of July!!!!!
Mae
July 4th, 2006 at 10:27 am
Very cool Moos, thanks!
July 4th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Even though I spent the first 22 years of my wasting valuable space on this planet in Montana, I’ve only been to Yellowstone once (and didn’t get to Glacier until after I moved to AZ!!!). But I did see the show at Old Faithful. (Just wondering if there are any pack rats out there who might’ve saved the packaging from Old Faithful bacon, which was made for years by Pierce Packing Co. in Billings. If so, send a picture to Moos.) And, of course, I was suitably impressed by the world’s largest log cabin (a/k/a, the Old Faithful Inn; thank the man upstairs — along with hundreds of brave firefighters — that the Inn wasn’t a victim of the Fire of ‘88.)
The only other times I’ve been in the park have been on the road from West Yellowstone to Bozeman, which dips into the far northwest corner of the park and is the only part of the park you don’t have to pay to get into. (Although I avoid West Yellowstone these days out of principle: they have that dammed sales tax!)
Hopefully, folks don’t stop and feed the bear cubs candy bars anymore. (Although I have a feeling that they still do — at least until Mama shows up.)
Two guys are camping out when they hear a grizzly outside their tent. One of the guys calmly puts on his running shoes.
His partner says, “What are you doing? You can’t possibly outrun that bear!”
The man replied, “I don’t have to outrun the bear. I only have to outrun you.”
Happy Independence Day!!! (And if you must have a fifth on the Fourth, please don’t drink and drive — it gets awful messy when you hit a bump.)
Kirk and the ShebaBear
July 4th, 2006 at 11:23 am
Happy Fourth to you as well!
July 8th, 2006 at 11:07 am
Jeez, Louise, I must either be the only person who either isn’t too busy or doesn’t have much of a life. Nothing seems to have happened here for four days now. (I can understand Moos not making any more entries — she’s a busy lady these days. But nobody else seems to be willing to comment, which is odd for this blog.) And the weird password thing seems to have disappeared as well. Something is rotten in the province of Nova Scotia! (I suddenly realized that there was no buttons to Publish or preview, so I reloaded the page and thing went back to normal — or as normal as things are on this blog. ;=) )
I’d have my dog investigate this, but (as usual) she’s fast asleep.
Kirk
July 9th, 2006 at 9:22 am
Kirk, maybe I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t get the Old Faithful entry to down load.
We have company from Michigan so we left here the 6th and went to Jackson, marveling again at the Tetons which were shrouded in dark clouds on Thursday and white fog on Friday. Saw the Bar J Wranglers at their chuckwagon show. It was great.
Friday we visited Old Faithful in person and went on to other attractions. Saw a few elk and a lot of buffalo and NO moose, deer, and very few birds. Kind of disappointing in the wild life department.
The construction at the east entrance (exit for us) is still a mess so we were glad to get out and get home! bonnie
July 9th, 2006 at 3:40 pm
I belong to the AZ branch of AAA, and as part of my membership package, I get their bi-monthly magazine, Highroads. In the latest issue there was an article entitled “National Parks: The Road Less Traveled,” which suggested places to go to beat the crowds. (I often say that nobody goes to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon anymore because it’s too crowded.
)
The problem is that there’s so much to see in places like Yellowstone, but nobody has the time. Therefore, most folks who go to Yellowstone stay fairly close to the Grand Loop of the highway, instead of hiking into the backcountry of places like the Lamar Valley or climbing Observation Hill and seeing not only Old Faithful but several other geysers or hiking about five miles to Lone Star Geyser (which erupts about once every three hours to a height of 45 feet). Everybody is on a rigid schedule (one fellow once complained to the park rangers that Old Faithful was late, throwing his plans out of whack).
Also, (contrary to what I said above) everybody goes to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon since it’s closer to most of the populated areas (about an hour from Flagstaff), even though you might have to wait over three hours in your car to get in. (The better way to get to the South Rim is to take the Grand Canyon Railroad from Williams, which is a two-hour train ride in the morning, and you might even get to ride behind an old steam locomotive — which is something kids and a lot of adults will never forget.) Getting to the North Rim is more challenging (it’s about a six hour drive from Flagstaff), but I’ve been told the views are better (relatively speaking) than the South Rim, and there are far fewer people and no airplanes or helicopters making noise. (The area around Tusayan can sound like JFK airport with choppers and planes taking off every 30 seconds or so during the busy hours. I’m sure the flights are awe inspiring — everything about the Canyon usually is — but it’s hard to contemplate the wonders of Mother Nature when you can’t hear yourself think.) I’m hoping to go to the North Rim sometime in either August or early September (unlike the South Rim, which is open year round, the North Rim is usually snowed in from September to May).
I haven’t decided wheter I’ll spend the night at the North Rim or motor up to Feedonia or Kanab (it all depends on if I can find accomidations that will accept Sheba — which is not an easy task with a mutt of her size; she is, after all, 100 Pounds of Hot Air). But I won’t be hiking since I’m not in shape for that (and the dog isn’t allowed in the backcountry).
Kirk (who is 200 Pounds of Hot Air)
July 9th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
great old postcards, as usual
July 10th, 2006 at 8:39 am
Kirk, We have some goofy experiences when it comes to seeing the sights and like you say, time is always of the essence! We were standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon in Jan. of 1982 but didn’t see it because of the fog. In 1970, we walked all the way around Devil’s Tower but didn’t see it. Same reason. Oh and that time we took turns packing a 45# two year old! We’ve been back to the Tower but not the Canyon.
We have done some of the off road stuff in Yellowstone, too, but we were much younger and more fit at the time. The next time we go there I hope it will be in September after all the “tourists” go home! bonnie