There are many wonders in the Wonderland, more commonly called Yellowstone and most visitors are amazed with seeing many of them. For instance, a geyser is one of those wonders and many thousands of people see a geyser every day Yellowstone is open, with some of these ones seeing several geysers each day. There is no doubt why Yellowstone is called wonderland.

However, ask anyone who has seen any geysers at Yellowstone if they have seen the rainbow at a geyser, or otherwise called a geyserbow and/or Geyser Rainbow, and almost all will invariably answer, No. In fact, the geyserbow is the absolute most rarest wonder anywhere.

They are truly the Wonder of All Wonders

Although a geyserbow can appear at any time, any thing less that the above four requirements make it unlikely that there will be a geyserbow.

The Castle Geyser is a very predictable geyser with a recharge time of about thirteen hours between eruptions. This thirteen hour recharge time however makes a rainbow at Castle Geyser very infrequent.

For instance, if Castle geyser goes off at noon, the next geyser eruption will be at one during the next morning, then third eruption will occur thirteen hours after that at two pm the next afternoon, and the next eruption at three in the following morning. Continuing at the rate, it will be several days before the geyser erupts within an hour or two of the suntouch, either morning or evening. This means it could be a week or more of waiting before the first requirement is met.

Therefore, if you have waited for that week to pass, and today is the day that you have waited for, then you will up at Castle geyser about an hour before it is scheduled to erupt and then find a bench to sit upon to get your camera ready. Soon, the crowds begin to show up and take their seats. About thirty minutes before it erupts, a large cloud bank moves toward the sun, getting ever closer to blocking the sun rays, and by the time Castle geyser goes off, the clouds have overshadowed the sun. Then, right on time the geyser erupts; the crowd roars in appreciation to the great spectacle they are able to experience. However, after awaiting for seven days to see the geyserbow, I do not see this wonder because the second requirement, listed above was not met.

Thus, Castle geyser oftentimes proves quite difficult for a photographer seeking a photo of the ever elusive geyserbow.

Old Faithful has long been not only predictable but erupts very frequently. Currently, this geyser erupts once every sixty to ninety minutes. The amount or recharge time depends entirely on how long each eruption lasts. It the eruption lasts longer that three minutes, then the next eruption will not occur for another ninety minutes. Of course, all predictions come with a plus or minus ten minute window.

Conceivably, because of the frequency of eruptions with Old Faithful, there should be at least one within the timetable of the first requirement each and every day. Still, I have been coming to see geyserbows for many of the last ten years and upon my arrival, I usually stay here about seven or more days.

When the math is done, that would be over fifty eruptions of Old Faithful that I have watched with the hope of getting a geyserbow photograph. And yet, I have only, in the many years to be able to photograph three. Today, it began raining in the early evening and continued until late tonight. Sure, there was a geyser eruption just a few minutes ago, and I know this because I could hear the crowd cheering loudly. Still, geyser eruptions are not what I come here for.

Instead, my purpose for visiting Yellowstone is to photograph the Wonder of Wonders, the Geyserbow. Well, that and the live music inside the Old Faithful Inn every evening by Martha. Yes, she is a Wonder all by herself.

The Geyserbow! The Wonder of Wonders.