Lots of people are surprised to hear my family likes to vacation away from Mackinac Island. When you live in a vacation destination, that place is just everyday life for you, so of course we want to get away and spend time somewhere else. Part of this summer's Yellowstone and Grand Teton trip involved a stay at the Old Faithful Inn. I hadn't heard of it, but it was close to the the top of my mother-in-law's bucket list.
Much of the 1903 section of the hotel looks like it did when it first opened - including rooms in which guests still have to use lavatories located down the hall. Additions were put on in 1913 and again in 1927 (where we stayed.) A few of us took a tour of the building, which was quite interesting. We learned the architect, Robert Reamer, used local lodgepole pine from the park to build it.
Many of the light fixtures in the hotel are original. The simple fact the building survived the summer of 1988 fires is a miracle.
Unless you're inside the building, it is hard to get a feel for the sheer scale of the building! It's HUGE!
The main lobby is 76 feet tall!
There is even a tree house at the the top of the building's peak. Sadly, the little house had to close after several deadly hotel fires forced the U.S. government to regulate the number of exits in hotels. (Today, two are required for all public areas._ But, on our tour we learned six lucky people get to access that part of the hotel each day. Those six slots literally book up within hours on the first day the hotel begins taking reservations for the next season!
Old Faithful's eruption times were clearly posted all around the hotel. You literally walk out the front door, turn the corner, and the Old Faithful geyser is right there.
Seeing Old Faithful with my own eyes was on my bucket list, and it was incredible. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
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