Here's something a little different. Hiking to a bit of Yellowstone history.

I’m a sucker for anything hidden or difficult to find. Maybe it’s the whole finding a treasure map thing and going on an adventurous quest. Whatever it is, I’m like a moth to a flame, and off I go. I heard about this place a few years ago. It sounded intriguing, and any hike you take in Yellowstone will be beautiful and fun anyway, so why not?

This is the Queen’s Laundry Bath House. It began construction in 1881, and it may be the oldest park visitor structure in a National Park. In 1881 Superintendent Norris proposed the construction of the bathhouse for public use. After the structure was up, Superintendent Patrick H. Conger took over and decided not to complete the bathhouse. He didn’t think it was the proper direction for the park to take. In 1964, the park service wanted to remove the partial structure but left it as the only example of a structure from Yellowstone’s early civilian management period. Okay.

So, the log structure sits on the edge of the Queen’s Laundry thermal feature in the Lower Geyser Basin. The water here was cooler than normal, so early tourists took advantage of it and bathed in the water. Don’t do that now. The water temperatures have changed over the years, and you’ll boil! The bathhouse was to have two rooms and a dirt-covered roof. As it stands now, it is 8.16 feet by 19 feet. The roof is incomplete.