After flying down from BWI the previous day, and driving north of Salt Lake City for over 4.5 hours [300 odd miles], Day 1 is the day of Geysers. We will cover the Madison, Old Faithful and West Thumb Area. Yellowstone gives ample opportunity for hiking and wildlife sightings.

Madison Area

- Purple Mountain Hike

Length: 2.6 miles, one way. Elevation change: Trailhead at 6,840 feet (1,590-foot gain). Trailhead: Located at Madison Junction, about 0.3 miles north of the junction on the Madison-Norris Road. The trailhead begins at the barricade on the west side of the road, where there is a small turnout for parking.
- Firehole Canyon Drive

Old Faithful Area

- Lunch at Old Faithful Inn/Snow Lodge/Old Faithful Lodge

- Old Faithful Geyser

- Fairy Falls - Imperial Geyser Trail

Length to Fairy Falls from: Steel Bridge parking area 2.2 miles, one way. Barricade at Goose Lake 2.0 miles, one way. Old Freight Road via Fairy Creek Meadows 2.4 miles, one way. Imperial Geyser (spur trail) 1.0 miles, one way. Elevation change: Trailheads at 7,257 feet (20-foot gain). Trailhead: Two trailheads access Fairy Falls: 1) The southern route starts from the southern entrance of the Fountain Flats Freight Road at the old steel bridge, 4.1 miles north of the Old Faithful overpass or 1.2 miles south of Midway Geyser Basin. This trail follows the old Fountain Flats Freight Road for about 0.7 miles, then junctions with the Fairy Falls Trail. 2) The northern trailhead is reached by driving south on the Fountain Flats Drive to the barricade, just past Goose Lake. This approach again follows the old Fountain Flats Freight Road, but from the north, for about 0.5 miles to the Fairy Falls Trail junction.

- Mystic Falls and Biscuit Bason Overlook

Lengths from Biscuit Basin Parking Area to: Mystic Falls 1.3 miles, one way. Biscuit Basin Overlook 2.6 miles, one way. Elevation change: Trailhead at 7,285 feet (115-foot gain to Mystic Falls and a 315-foot gain to the overlook). Trailhead: The trailhead is located at Biscuit Basin parking area, about two miles north of Old Faithful, on the Old Faithfuil-Madison Road.

West Thumb Area

- Occasional Geyser

Temperature 200-206¡F Interval 20-40 minutes. Duration 4-5 minutes. Height 3-12 feet. This lake shore geyser was named by C.Max Bauer, author of The Story of Yellowstone Geysers, in 1935. It is located a half mile north of the main features of West Thumb. The geyser is situated in pre-glacial geyserite, estimated at nearly 18 feet thick. This indicates it is a very old feature and was more active in the past, probably as a hot spring, than it is today. Occasional erupts from three vents. The main, round vent stands above the others and splashes water 3 to 12 feet high during an eruption, while the other two vents generally are restricted to boiling and churning. The run-off plunges over an overhang, undercut by wave action, into Yellowstone Lake.

- Walk to Grant Village

- Grab Dinner and retire