Let’s Start with Kepler Cascades

 Kepler Cascades is a waterfall on the Firehole River in southwestern Yellowstone National Park . The cascades are located approximately 2.5 miles south of Old Faithful. The cascades drop approximately 150 feet over multiple drops. The longest drop is 50 feet. The cascades were named by the park superintendent in 1881 for the 12-year-old son of Wyoming’s territorial governor John Wesley Hoyt. Hoyt and his son, Kepler, were visiting Yellowstone in 1881 when  Superintendent Norris named the cascades after the younger Hoyt.

The Firehole River flows over a series of small ledges before making it’s 50 ft drop. There’s a paved parking area and a well maintained wooden observation platform. Its a great place for viewing the falls and taking pictures. I was there in the off season so there was plenty of room. No telling what it’s like in the summer season.

Upper Geyser Basin

Leaving the Kepler Cascades behind steam starts to become visible in the distance. I’m about 2.5 miles away from the upper geyser basin, home to Old Faithful Geyser. When you reach the Upper Geyser basin there’s a lot more than just Old Faithful.  The Upper Geyser Basin, approximately two square miles in area, contains the largest concentration and nearly one-quarter of all of the geysers in the world! You enter a world of steam and clouds. While I was topping off the gas tank I spotted a lone Bison wandering toward the steaming plateau. Tourists closely followed behind the bison with camera’s clicking.  I was surprised the rangers didn’t round them up and shoo them away from the animal.

I could see Old Faithful in the distance building up a head of steam. If I didn’t make it to the viewing area in the next few minutes I’d have a 90 minute wait for the next eruption.  

Sure enough, in just the few minutes it took me to go up the road to the Old Faithful Parking Lot, the geyser went off!