BIG SKY, Montana — On his swing through the West, President Barack Obama is squeezing in another kind of health benefit: enjoying the great outdoors.
The president, the first lady, Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, spent Friday night at a lodge in the wooded mountains of Montana, then slipped off Saturday morning for a helicopter ride into Yellowstone National Park, where they landed in a clearing not far from the famous geyser Old Faithful.
The White House had billed the trip as a private family visit, but a small pool of reporters and photographers was allowed to accompany the Obama party to watch the geyser erupt.
“That’s pretty cool,” Obama was overheard saying at Old Faithful on Saturday, as the white steam and water shot skyward out before him, almost right on schedule, at 12:16 p.m.
After lunch Saturday, the Obamas and their party made a surprise stop at the Old Faithful General Store, where the president ordered ice cream for his daughters. The Obama family went whitewater rafting Friday and will visit the Grand Canyon today.
The New York Times
