Grand Prismatic to Helena

Above? The Overlook for Grand Prismatic, the largest hot spring in the States. This was the first upward hike on the trip where I questioned my fitness more than once. But folks were doing it with babies in backpacks so I minimized complaint. Earlier that morning we did the free tour of the Old Faithful Inn and highly recommend it. Takes 45 minutes and sheds light on the architecture and construction of the historic landmark that sits right next to the famous geyser. (I also highly recommend NOT staying there because it’s too expensive and the accommodations are kind of abysmal.) Then we did a healthy walk along the Geyser Hill Loop Trail around Old Faithful — it was littered with geysers and other steaming geologic things with less frequent or reliable timing. The rest of this day was a vague sketch in our itinerary. We decided to skip an evening in West Yellowstone and headed north to Helena, Montana instead. I had a bit of work to do the next morning and wanted a reasonable…