Lone Star Geyser to Old Faithful

 We thought we'd be hiking Tablerock this day, but we had to make some last-minute adjustments to our destination due to Seth needing to stay in town and get blood drawn for an upcoming bone marrow donation (more on that later ... stay tuned!) and Grandma Scott worrying about elevation. So instead of Tablerock, we found a trail that starts at the Old Faithful Inn, goes to Lone Star Geyser and past Kepler Cascades and ends at Old Faithful for a total of 7.5 miles of hiking. 

We left home at 6 a.m. on Monday, August 5, with Ana driving the Stratus (it has better gas mileage than the van) so she could work on getting some hours with her learner's permit. (Confession: She did drive in the state of Montana for a couple of miles. She and I switched seats right before entering Yellowstone.) Grandma and Grandpa Scott came with us. Rebekah had band camp, Winnie had swimming lessons, Miriam had a newly operated-on foot, and Seth had his blood draw. 

The trail was really nice. Honestly, I'd love to go that way to Lone Star Geyser again. We didn't see anyone until we were nearly at the geyser. The mosquitos were pesky, but they eventually went away.

Getting to the geyser.

Eating lunch while waiting for the geyser.

Grandma, Andrea and Ana at Lone Star Geyser during its eruption. Some groups waited around for a little while, then left after a few tiny leading-up-to-the-big-one eruptions. If you're coming that way to see it, why wouldn't you stay until you actually saw it?

After the geyser, we came out the way we've gone in before, then hooked up to another trail to go past Kepler Cascades.

The four of us at Kepler Cascades. I don't think I've actually stopped at this sight before. It was beautiful!

Then we hiked the most boring part of the trail with the least amount of shade during the hottest part of the day. Regardless, I still enjoyed it. Ana had some opinions about the heat, though. Then we walked past the cabins next to Old Faithful and ended up on the boardwalk in time to watch Old Faithful go off.

Waiting for Old Faithful. A lady and her dogs came up beside us to get a picture of the dogs in front of the geyser. They seemed unimpressed. But Ana was impressed with the dogs.

After that, we made a stop for ice cream at the store and came back home.