Yellowstone

We arrived in Yellowstone on Wednesday afternoon. It wasn’t a very long drive from Jackson Lake. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we drove over to Old Faithful for lunch and to see the geyser.

It had just spouted when we arrived, so we walked around the trail until the next eruption. It was pretty cool, but what struck me most was the nature of the crowd. It was not the usual type of people one sees in a national park: hikers, cyclists, and other outdoorsy types. What it felt like to me was Disneyland. There were viewing benches built around Old Faithful, and people were crowded into and around the benches like they were waiting for the Disneyland parade. And there seemed to be as many people, too.

After the eruption, which, as I said was cool, but didn’t quite live up to advance billing, we went for lunch at the lodge cafeteria.

By the time we got back to the Lake Hotel, we were able to get into our room.
The Lake Hotel, by the way, is a charming, rambling old hotel, built in (I think) the 1920s. When I asked if they had Wi-Fi, the receptionist told me almost proudly that there was none in the park, nor was there any cell reception in the area. As you know being without internet access makes us a little twitchy, not to mention the fact that Tod’s father is in hospital and cell phones make it so much easier to keep apprised of his condition. (We eventually found we could get cellular service in the area of Old Faithful.)

Back to the hotel....as I said, it’s a very charming old building, and it has been kept very much in the style of the era in which it was built. The main lobby is a large sitting room/sunroom, where they have live music nightly. The first night it was a pianist, and the next couple of nights it was a string quartet.

The Lake Quartet


There is also a bar, with a server who will bring drinks, so in the evenings the room is filled with people chatting, playing cards or board games, and reading or doing needlework (yes, I was knitting; I saw a lady doing cross-stitch). It felt very civilized to be sitting in the sunroom looking out over the grounds and having wine served to us.