Day 16 Last night we got a pretty good storm and lots of rain. The camper held up really well but we’d left the kids sneakers out in the rain, oops. So it’s a socks and crocs day.

Tom woke the kids with hot pancakes and we dressed (warmly) and headed out by 8:30am to Old Faithful. We got there shortly after 9 to learn that it’s anticipated next eruption was 10:03am. So we headed out and grabbed a spot to observe this natural phenomenon.

Right on time it erupted at 10:03 and lasted about 2 minutes. It was exciting to watch and the kids loved learning about it in the visitors center. 

Unfortunately, we were not as prepared today for everything. Tom ran back to the car so many times he’s completely exhausted. We will do better tomorrow. Hats, Snacks, Sunblock, and Water. Can’t leave camp until we square that all away.

We ate lunch at Hamilton’s Store right at Old Faithful. Tom and I had our first official bison burgers of the trip and they did not disappoint. We also walked through the Old Faithful Inn. It was stunningly beautiful. Old post and beam – several stories high. Tom and the kids went up two flights but that’s all that was open due to an earthquake in the late fifties dislodging some beams.

When we were through there, we packed up to see some other sights. Guess what? It’s much easier to get to places first thing in the morning. Even on a Tuesday. Everything was packed and traffic was heavy by 1:30 but we did get up to the sapphire pool and walked around there. We tried to see Grand Prismatic but between heavy traffic and two sleeping kids, we opted to drive for a bit and then head back to camp. 

When we pulled in our friend Mr. Elk was walking through our campground so we stopped to snag a pic!

Early showers, early dinner, and a nice relaxing evening was what we all needed.