Geysers and More Geysers

 Had our bags packed and in the lobby before breakfast.  The bus left the parking lot at 7:15 am.  That was early and it was chilly.  We entered the West Gate of Yellowstone and this time we headed south at the junction.  Our first excitement was seeing six elk grazing peacefully in a meadow.  A little further down the road, two large bison bulls were grazing.  (You can always tell when there is wildlife around because all the cars stop—sometimes in the middle of the highway.). Our first stop was at the Paint Pots.  We got out of the bus and walked at a good pace towards the pots.  Pretty soon the effect of the pace and the altitude hit me with shortness of breath.  Wow! Learned my lesson on that - slow down. Back on the bus and headed to Prismatic Springs.  There were lots of board walks (made out of composite ‘wood’ which were in better shape than the wood ones). Most of these geyser pools had that beautiful teal blue color.  By this time, I had over 5,000 steps in.  Back in the bus and we headed to Old Faithful.  When we arrived at OF, the board indicated that the geyser would erupt at 10:38 am. That gave us time to shop a little, bathroom, and stake out seats on the benches.  The funniest sight was all the cell phones pointed to Old Faithful waiting for it to go off —which it finally did.  Looked at some exhibits and headed to lunch.  By this point, Chuck is bored with the fare so we split a salad and Coconut Shrimp Curry.  It was spicy but delicious.  Back in the bus by 12:30 and headed to the South Gate.  After we left Yellowstone, we entered the Grand Teton National Park. We stopped at Jenny Lake (the bus had to make the four mile loop three times: scout it out, drop us off, and pick us up.  Jenny Lake was very picturesque set below the tower Tetons.  Back in the bus. We headed to Jackson Hole and then Alpine Wyoming.  Stopped at the Church of the Transfiguration which was founded by the Episcopalians in 1923.  It was a small rustic chapel beside the road, When we hit a slow spot on the trip, Gene lead a game of TriBond.  I won a $1. Dinner at the hotel was slooooow, but delicious.  Now it is time for bed. Health updates: Chuck is feeling better and the swelling is going down  his hand. N. Is under the weather today.