Meeting Old Faithful for the first time at Yellowstone National Park

Posted by Chloe O'Doherty on 9 September 2014

We’re driving across the USA in a campervan called Dora. In our last photoblog, we went through the Badlands of South Dakota; here’s a closer look into Yellowstone, the oldest national park in the world, and the famous Old Faithful geyser.

I don’t think I’ve experienced so many firsts in one go, ever. First time in actual white fluffy snow, first time seeing a beaver munching grass on a river bank with his powerful tail trailing behind him, first time seeing a huge geothermal spring – a clear blue boiling pool of unfathomable depth with hot steam rupturing upwards from water-filled fissures in the earth’s crust. The water is ambiently heated to boiling point by a large magma chamber deep below, leaving warm mist over your face and sunglasses. Then suddenly it’s clear and cold again as a spring breeze from the snowy caps cools you down and dries you out.

It was my first time seeing geysers spewing steam 30 metres into the sky. First time spying bison, elk and black bear. Pat and I reckon if you’re American and haven’t visited Yellowstone yet, you should have your passport stripped and given to two very nice South Africans.

As Dora (our camper van’s name) neared to top of a pass in Yellowstone we were greeted with the remains of winter snow. Photo by Patrick John O’Doherty.