The weather forecast claimed cloudy and rainy, so we decided on less interesting sights. Today, we planned to check off the Old Faithful task. Kate needed a cancel stamp for the Old Faithful Visitor Center. Even if it rained, we could also watch the geyser; there is a viewing area inside the visitor center.

We drove the southern route, past West Thumb and over three or four continental divides, to get to Old Faithful. The parking lot was pretty full, but it is also a huge parking lot.

The note says that Biscuit Basin boardwalk is still closed from the hydrothermal explosion in 2024. After Kate got her stamps, we went out to wait for Old Faithful. The estimated eruption time was less than 10 minutes away. The geyser viewing area was utterly packed, so we sat further back. On a positive note, Old Faithful is still pretty reliable.

We debated walking around the geyser basins, but with some of the boardwalks closed, it was a longer hike than we wanted today. We have seen many of the tourist locations on previous visits, so we are more focused on the less known and seen areas. We just took a picture with the sign and headed out.

Eagles had been reported at the Madison Visitor Center, so Kate wanted to stop there. On the way, we passed Firehole Canyon Road, so we checked on the Osprey nest. Someone was home today. We missed out on getting picture of them flying; they landed as we arrived.

You can hear the Osprey call in one of the videos.

Next we went to Madison, John thought he saw something in the water, but it turned out to be Common Merganser Ducks. We talked to the Park Ranger stationed there. He seemed lonely. He told us that he gave out 55 warnings today because a Bison mother and baby walked up to the Fountain Paint Pot boardwalk, and the tourists just stood there taking pictures instead of backing away.

We skipped Artist Paint Pots again and headed home.