I’ve been to some National Parks, but I can’t think of one that even comes close to Yellowstone! There are some beauties in this country: Glacier, Acadia, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, the Great Smoky Mountains. Those five are a few of my favorites, and they (along with many others) are gorgeous and amazing in their own rights. But, Yellowstone, to me, is just at the very top of the list. It’s the picture of National Park, family summer vacation, America. I loved it.
We went hardcore at Yellowstone. Bozeman is a good 80 miles from the North entrance to the park, and we weren’t sure if we’d be able to come back for a second day, so we packed it in! We started at the North entrance and made the very large loop to the West entrance, where we exited to West Yellowstone, a cute, if not very touristy, little town.
Ray and I got up early, picked the girls and my parents up at the hotel (the dogs were already at a doggie hotel, because we knew it was going to be the longest of days), and drove to the park. The ride there is very scenic, and once there, we popped into the visitor center to get our maps and plan our day. We spotted a couple of elk just chilling under a tree right across the street from the visitor center. This is something I haven’t seen before. They looked like they knew the park was theirs, and they were protected. People must keep a distance from wildlife. A park ranger said they liked to relax out there daily.
According to the National Park Service, volcanism is at the heart of Yellowstone’s “past, present and future.” Huge volcanic eruptions occurred about 2 million years ago, and then again 1.3 million years ago, and once again 640,000 years ago:
“The magnetic heat powering those eruptions still powers the park’s geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mudpots. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River gives a deeper view of these forces: its waterfalls highlight the boundaries of lava flows and thermal areas…” (NPS, Department of the Interior).
Yellowstone is home to much wildlife, including grizzlies and black bears, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, and bison. We were lucky enough to see elk (one pranced right in front of the truck, giving us a nonchalant glance as it passed), a black bear and her cub, and plenty of bison. Yellowstone is also known for its many geysers, most famously Old Faithful. Nowhere are there as many geysers than in Yellowstone. With parts of it in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, the majority of the park is in the latter. Though we were staying in Montana, this day was spent primarily in Wyoming.
Our first stop of the day was at Mammoth Hot Springs, where we watched the bubbling hot waters flow and walked via boardwalks among the terraces, which were formed from travertine (or calcium carbonate). It’s really important to stay on the boardwalks, as the surfaces are extremely hot and dangerous. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful sight to behold.
Next, heading southeast, we came upon a slew of people parked roadside, all standing and looking out at an open field. Taking this as a sign that something was going down, we pulled over and joined the crowd, and that is when we saw a mama black bear and her cub walking in the meadow. They were a good way off, and my photo does not do justice to what we actually saw. We watched the mother walk, her baby following behind, and listened to the ranger, who told us all that if the bears got closer, we’d have to get in our vehicles. As any mama is, black bears are very protective of their cubs, and we wouldn’t want any misunderstandings about what we were all doing there in range of her baby.
We made a quick stop at the petrified tree, before moving on.
A little further south, we found a picnic spot and had our lunch, before driving on to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We hiked down to the Brink of the Lower Falls, which was magnificent to see. We were close enough to feel the rush of the water spilling over and cascading down into the green river. A beautiful rainbow greeted us when we reached the falls. It was all fun and games until time to hike back up, and that was quite the workout. Totally worth it.
We were also able to get some good views of the Upper Falls and the canyon from a couple of different lookout points. I can definitely see why this is named the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Just breathtaking!
Continuing south, we stopped at Sulphur Caldron (smelly, but amazing to see) and Mud Volcano, where we watched bubbling mud and took in Dragon’s Mouth (which sounds like a roaring dragon and belches out water). The highlight here was a bison that was about as close as I ever hope to get to one. My parents, Jayden, and I got some photos and moved on down the boardwalk. Ray and Raye got close enough to touch the big creature (but did not, of course) and stuck around for a bit longer. We saw lots of bison at Yellowstone, but this one was RIGHT THERE!
We had a scenic drive around Yellowstone Lake, and then stopped at West Thumb Geyser Basin. A park ranger had warned us at the stop before that a storm was rolling in, and we had wondered what the big deal was at the time. We found out when the wind picked up like gangbusters while at West Thumb. It didn’t stop us from checking out the basin. We welcomed the immense steam that warmed us some, as the air had gotten suddenly freezing cold. Man, that air can turn cold fast! This is why it is essential to dress in layers!
As we made a turn west and headed toward Old Faithful, the weather got crazy, and it started pouring. The skies were gray, and we worried that we may not be stopping at Old Faithful this day. But, just like that, we pulled into the lot for the lodge, and the skies cleared. It was suddenly a gorgeous afternoon, and we took the walkway to the best-known attraction at Yellowstone. Lucky us – We arrived as the crowds started filling in, and we learned that the geyser was set to erupt sometime within the next ten minutes! And it did. The steam started getting thicker and rising faster, and then a bubbling of water would shoot up, go down, shoot up, and go back down. After a few of these instances, it shot up high and then higher, and then higher.
Happy we’d seen this highlight of Yellowstone, we went into the lodge and walked around a bit, before heading north to our last stop in the park: Midway Geyser Basin. Here we saw some amazing pools with astounding colors, ranging from deep reds to clear blues. It was also so steamy that we felt like we’d had our skin moisturized in the process. Again, incredibly beautiful place!
We left the park around sunset (which is close to 9 p.m. this time of year). We grabbed a bite, headed back to Bozeman, dropped my parents off at the hotel, and were in our own beds in the camper around midnight. It was a heck of a day, and we were all incredibly exhausted by the end of it, but it was worth the miles and hours. It’s a place everyone should see!
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