Editor’s note: In July 2025, Now Habersham weathercaster Tyler Penland headed west to hike and camp in Yellowstone National Park. His latest “Go west, young man” series features the stunning images he captured and the stories he brought back.
One thing you should know about Yellowstone after dark is this: it is quiet. Here in the Southeast, we are used to the cacophony of bugs and other animals making plenty of noise at night, but as we camped at Imperial Meadows, the only sound we heard was some very distant wolves.
Morning came early after our night of viewing the stars, but we had another full day planned in Yellowstone. Our hike out took us down the same path as the night before, but this time, with enough light from dawn, we could actually see our way through without headlamps. We had passed by the very tall Fairy Falls the night before in the dark, but this way out in the morning, we could actually see it, and I snapped a quick photo with my phone. If I ever return, I will get a better photo with the camera, but we were trying to get to the Grand Prismatic Spring basin for sunrise.
The hike out through the forest on this crisp 34º morning was delightful, and as we approached the Grand Prismatic basin, we could begin to see steam rising from the springs. These very hot springs emitted plenty of steam on a cool morning like this, and from our initial viewpoint, it looked like the ground was on fire, puffing gigantic columns of smoke. It is impossible to convey just how beautiful this scene is.
I made a quick detour up the steep hill to get an overlook at the basin, and catching a hint of sun through the steam made for an absolutely incredible view. At this time of day, the deep blues and oranges of the springs themselves are nearly impossible to see, but we did return later in the day to catch those.
The hike back to the truck took us by the Firehole River, and the nearly countless small springs, fumaroles, and geysers were all spouting off plenty of steam, making the landscape appear to be constantly changing. It is a truly breathtaking sight, and one that just a small handful of people around us were up early enough to see.
Our primary goal for this morning was to see the infamous geyser Old Faithful. While we did see numerous geysers erupt during our visit, this one is by far the most consistently impressive.
Old Faithful has been erupting consistently since its official discovery in 1870. Each eruption can reach as high as 185 feet, but most often falls between 120 and 160 feet. Eruptions occur roughly once every hour and a half, just slightly less frequently than the 66-minute average at its discovery. Eruptions have also become somewhat shorter, averaging 15 minutes in the early 1900s to now, with durations ranging from 2 to 5 minutes.
There are numerous shops and hotels around Old Faithful, including the historic Old Faithful Inn, which I strongly suggest at least stopping inside of, but the geyser sits as the star of the show.
We made our way to the east side of the crater so the sun would be at our back. I had hoped to catch a rainbow/steam bow in the spray, and while it was plainly visible to the eye, it wasn’t as bright on camera. Regardless, the eruption was stunning, with water shooting high into the air. The eruption we witnessed lasted for about 2-3 minutes.
After the eruption, we made our way to a nearby picnic area to cook some delicious breakfast. The basin around Old Faithful is extremely active with plenty of hot springs, fumaroles, and other geysers constantly erupting. Our next few hours would be spent enjoying those, but we’ll talk about that next week….
Check out Tyler’s other articles in this series:
- Go West, young man: To where it started
- White Mountain
- Bunsen Peak
- Norris Geyser Basin
- Star light, star bright
