Once again I was in a park completely overrun with summer tourists and I had no reservations for a parking place for the night. Every campground was full and overflowing. Late in the day I followed the road south with the idea of visiting Old Faithful the first thing the next morning. I felt relief when I discovered a geyser field with a small parking area and I pulled in just as the very last cars were leaving. It was almost dark so I quickly fixed dinner and went right to bed.
The above photo was my view as I raised the rear shade on the RV the next morning. No one had disturbed me all night. Just one more successful evening of 'Stealth Parking' and with a great view as well.
In ten minutes I was in the Old Faithful parking lot and
I could see a tiny bit of steam coming up from the geyser when I arrived.
The Rangers had posted a notice--"Next eruption at 8:06 AM." Really? That seemed pretty exact to me.
Benches were available for the spectators that gathered to see the performance. As the last minutes ticked by the crowd began to count down and....
right on time, that geyser rumbled and spit, then....
Roared into action.
The eruptions usually last from 1 1/2 to 5 minutes, (this one lasted about 3 minutes)...
shoot out 3700 to 8400 gallons of boiling water...
and reach a height of 106 to 184 feet.
Its average interval between eruptions is about 93 minutes.
And even though it bears the name and the celebrity, it is not the largest geyser nor the most regular in the park. But the performance was beautiful and worthy of the applause the crowd provided as Old Faithful slowly subsided to rest for another 93 minutes.
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