Elephant Back Mountain and more geysers!

It didn't take us long to pack up this morning and leave our comfy room at Canyon Lodge; we were moving to our second accommodation in Yellowstone, only 18 miles south at Lake Yellowstone Hotel. We had to move because when I booked this about 11 months ago it was already too late to get seven nights in the same place but I managed to get four plus three. Once we had checked out we drove to the Lake area - the lake is huge! It was nice to see an expanse of water, and in order to appreciate it better we did what the Andersons always do and climbed up something! Elephant Back mountain is only about 800 feet of ascent and I presume that it is so named because the top is wide and flat. The trail was a pleasant series of the switchbacks so beloved by Americans. We were rewarded with fine views of the lake with our hotel nestling on its shore.

When we checked in to the hotel later we were very pleased; it's an old-fashioned wooden hotel painted pale yellow, with porticos and an elegant lounge area on the ground floor. It was designed by the same architect who designed the Old Faithful Inn and is in fact the oldest hotel in Yellowstone, built in about 1880. Our room is in the annex rather than the posher main part, but it's right next door and of a good standard so we were quite happy. 

In the afternoon we visited the West Thumb Geyser basin which was amazing. It's right beside (and partly in!) Lake Yellowstone, so the setting is fantastic. The hot springs, geysers and mud pots were all simmering and steaming away, all unique. A couple of hot springs actually in the Lake were called Fishing Cones, sticking out of the water shaped like tiny volcanoes. In the old days fishermen used to boast that they could catch a fish in the lake, and then, while it was still on the line they could cook it straight away in the fishing cones. Also amazing were the Artists' Paint Pots which were colourfully bubbling away. I could go on and on, they were all stunning, but my favourites tend to be the bright blue ones that look like inviting jacuzzis but in fact would boil you alive!

After a delicious dinner at the Lake Hotel we sat in the lounge and listened to the string quartet play as we sipped our drinks.