Yellowstone Part 2

Heading into Yellowstone around the lake I noticed there really isn't that much of a forest. Most of the park is meadows with brush and shrubs. It's like the high desert in California. Each section of the park has its own topography and things that make it unique. The wildlife resided more on the east and north side of the park while the south and west had more geothermal activity. This may have been due to time of year or the amount of tourists. There definitely was more people near the popular sites like Old Faithful and Mammoth Springs. What sets Yellowstone a part from other parks to me is the wildlife and how close you can get to it. 

Bison and elk often come with in feet of your car or where you're standing. It's easy to forget that these are wild animals that can kill you if they wanted to.

The bison dot the distance in Hayden and Lamar Valley. They roam all over the park and the large males walking next to your car will give you butterflies in your stomach. These animals are enormous with heads that seem to cover the expanse of your windshield. Several were ramming each other and fighting for dominance in the heard. It was cool to see but a little unnerving. Antelope seemed to use the bison as protection and would run in the middle of the herds.

Wildflowers were displaying in the mountain passes and all of the vegetation and trees looked very healthy.

Whenever you see people stopped on the side of the road you know it's most likely because some kind of wildlife is there. Usually it's an elk or bison but sometimes you get lucky and see a bear. We saw bear and wolves on this trip but they were so far away they could only be seen with binoculars. The treat for me was seeing some river otters. They were where Otter Creek met the Yellowstone River. I figured that creek was just named that way and didn't expect to actually see an otter. 

I could have spent my whole time in Lamar or Hayden Valley just watching the wildlife.

 To me that is what the main attraction of Yellowstone is. 

I know that's my own opinion and some people love the geysers but what's great about the valleys is they aren't that crowded and you feel like you're more in a wild setting. I think that's what keeps some people away. They think it's too dangerous and prefer the safe feeling and amenities of what the Old Faithful and Mammoth Springs villages provide. 

If you can try to check out Lamar or Hayden Valley at sunset.

More to come in my next post.

Yellowstone Truly is Epic

Few places live up to the hype. Yellowstone National Park is one of those rare locations where the scenery really does look like the postcards or books you've read. The extraordinary times are when you find those beautiful places off the crowded trails and you get a little slice of awesomeness all to yourself. I didn't get to fish much on vacation but I did get to cast my line at big trout and see them chase streamers. It was exhilarating and in the environment of Yellowstone you can't be disappointed even when you're skunked. I can never fully describe how great Yellowstone is all I can say is everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. My pictures are crap to the real wonder and grandeur the park has to offer. The colors, textures and true beauty of the place can't be captured in photos and I think that's by God's plan. You can only really experience Yellowstone by being there in person.

I did weeks of research before we made our trip and I still feel like we missed out on some things. You can easily get overwhelmed with all there is to do and there is only so much time in a day. With kids you can only push so much before everyone including yourself is miserable. The car becomes a torture device and night becomes your enemy. The constant adherence to an agenda can make your trip feel like work instead of something to enjoy. Finding that balance is always a challenge I did my best to make it work. I believe we all had a vacation we'll remember for a lifetime and the sights we did see we may not fully appreciate until we have a fond memory years later.

We stayed in Cody just outside the park and it was a great location. The people were very friendly, deer passed by our place every day, and the smell of sulfur from geysers in Shoshone Canyon hit your nose when there was a breeze. The entrance to YNP was only 40min away.

As you head toward the park you'll hit the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. At one time this dam was the tallest in the world. Learning how this dam was built is very interesting. It was started in 1910 during the winter and no steel was used in its constructions.

It was the model for the Hoover Dam later and was created using rocks from the canyon with concrete. The winter made it hard for the concrete to cure so the workers covered the dam with tarps and used steam to keep the temperature up. Here's a link about the dam if you want more info.

Leaving the reservoir you drive through Wapiti Valley where the views are breath taking with rock formations like nothing you'll find in Yellowstone.

Cliffs and crags line the horizon all around and every turn has another amazing view.

Most of these rock formations have names and we bought a book at the Buffalo Bill Dam that pointed them out. It was a fun activity for the family. 

The goose or Bart Simpson riding his skateboard.

Driving through the East entrance of Yellowstone you go over a pass and see your first glimpse of Yellowstone Lake

The picture in no way captured how awesome this view is. The water is a turquoise blue and has a major contrast to the green of the grass. I'm no sure what is going on with the forest around this area. I'm not sure if this is the result of a fire or some other phenomenon. Going down to the lake we saw our first geyser and bison. 

I'll continue the rest in the following post.