Hikin and Bikin

Our last two days off were filled to the brim. Tuesday we decided that we would like to do a hike before going off to the Old Faithful Inn for dinner. There is a 2 1/2 mile hike to a geyser which is called the Lone Star Geyser. This particular geyser is all by itself with no other geysers nearby. Imagine the plumbing systems for this geyser as Old Faithful and the many other geysers are about 5 miles away. Lone Star erupts about every three hours. Unknown when the next eruption would be, we started our 2-1/2 mile hike into the woods. The trail follows the Fire Hole River which makes for a pretty hike. As we got within 15 minutes of reaching the geyser we met hikers who were heading away from the geyser. Claire asked, "did it just go off?" The answer was, yes and it was awesome. Now we had just walked 2 miles with approx. 1/2 mile to go to reach the geyser that is now quiet. Just our luck to walk all this way for nothing. We decided that we would finish our hike and at least take a look at the geyser. When we got there we were all alone with no one in sight. We decided to sit a spell. Within the hour we concluded that we would stay and lay down on the grass and wait. Staying was the right thing to do as the geyser put on quite a show. It lasted about 20 minutes spouting water and steam 30 to 40 feet into the air. We were pleased that we stayed and happily hiked back 2-1/2 miles to our car. We then left and had dinner at the Inn. Claire had bison prime rib, shrimp, chicken, trout...in other words, she stuffed her self. Not liking seafood I gorged on the bison which was outstanding. That was it for our Tues. day off. Now it is Fri. our other day off. We got on the Harley and drove the upper loop of the park which is about 100 miles. The temp. was in the 60's with blue skies above. What a great ride we had. As we were heading into Gardiner, Montana we came across a herd of elk. That was quite a site. We had lunch in Gardiner, me drinking a "fat tire" and Claire a "blue moon". Of course being on the bike we only had one. The ride back was great, taking photos, etc. It will be hard to say goodbye to Yellowstone as it is heaven on earth. For those who have never been here, you must come and see. I hope my photos have been enjoyed by all and my blog has inspired you all. Don't let age get in the way, don't let work get in the way. Take the time to smell the roses. Life is good. Enjoy.