Lone Star Geyser and Old Faithful Inn

The Old Faithful Inn is named for the geyser which is nearby. The Inn was constructed in 1904 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It exemplifies the use of rustic architecture at a large scale to complement a natural landscape. Rhyolite that formed Yellowstone's caldera during volcanic upheavals provided the stone for the building's foundation, and local lodgepole pine were used for the walls and much of the internal structure. (Taken partially from the Yellowstone Resources Book).


This is a favorite destination during our stay and we take the same pictures each time but it never gets old.

The restaurant is also rustic and serves a great bison burger (so says Bob :) and the food is reasonable which can't be said of every national park eatery.

This is a shot of the upstairs. There are two floors with rooms but the wood carries all the way up to the ceiling.



Here is the check inn counter. Note the lodgepole pine in the roof and back wall.

We were about one hour away from seeing Old Faithful (OF) erupt so we opted instead to drive a mile down the road to the Lonestar Geyser. We did this last year and it actually erupts higher  and longer than OF. And last year we made it just in time to see it start up. Will we be so lucky this year?

 It was in the steam-spitting stage when we finished the 3 mile hike into the geyser. It's called the LoneStar because the nearest geyser is OF. It only spews hot water out every 3 hours so it's hit or miss to get to see it.








While we waited, I decided to try a sketch of it. Bob captured a rainbow over my head from the steam floating my direction. Does this mean I'm blessed? You betcha!

I also got a great facial sitting there from the ensuing mist from the geyser. 

And yes...we got there is time to see it again. The cone itself is 10-11 feet tall so you can see how far up the water is going. 

And this is pretty much the peak. It continued in this manner for the full 15 minutes before going back down to the spitting and then the steam phase which will last for the next 2 hours and 30 minutes. 









Where does all that water go you might ask? This is another creek that starts in the mountains and is fed by numerous water features along the way.








Even without rain for several days, you can see the water is still rolling along at a good clip.


Another beautiful day, another terrific hike.

Total miles hiked: 106