Saturday, September 11 - Day 9

We were in bed by 8:45 last night due to darkness and cold.

We are remember 9 years ago today. The sky here is just as blue as it was on that awful day.

Someone said it was 37 degrees last night. It felt like it. Realized that we only spent money for gas yesterday. We had made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from breakfast and dinner was stuff we brought. Nice.

We had oatmeal for breakfast and Dave started the stove inside the tent to heat water for coffee, tea and oatmeal. He was hoping it would heat the tent a little but experiment failed. Down to Mammoth Hot Springs for a $3.50 shower. It was worth it. They charged a dollar extra for a towel and washcloth.

Stopped at Mammoth hot springs and climbed to boardwalk and saw Palette Springs, Mivera Springs and Liberty Cap. Stopped at General Store and bought t-shirts, propane and Yellowstone Whiskey.

On our way to Old Faithful we saw a bison mozying along the driver's side roadside with no cares in the world. We still need to see a bear, elk and a moose.

Got to Old Faithful after we had another PB&J brunch. Elevation is 7,365 feet. No feelings of high altitude sickness yet. A brochure mentioned that some people start to feel the effects of the high altitude at 8,000 feet. We got there about 12:45 so we sat on a bench waiting for it to erupt. 2:01 is predicted time. I videotaped it – quite amazing. Walked along trails to Anemone Springs and that one has eruptions every 7-10 minutes but they aren't as big as OF. Walked over to the Lodge and had BBQ beef sandwich and Dave had bison chili. OF was going to blow again in just few minutes – 3:28 and it was a little before that. They give a time depending on how long to previous one lasted – if it was a long – between 3 ½ to 5 minutes then it would be approximately 90 minutes and if was a short – between 1- 3 ½ minutes – then it would be 60 minutes and then +/- 10 minutes. It has two chambers and it also depends on if it emptied one or both chambers. Pretty neat sight to see.

Went back to campground via alternate route thinking we would see more animals but we turned around and came back the same way we went. Drove along Fire Hole Drive and it had some beautiful rapids and waterfalls. Back to camp and got ready for bed. It is chilly again tonight.

Mass in the morning at 8 am and then more sightseeing.