Wyoming - Yellowstone

Mammoth Hot Springs - my favorite photo!

   

 

 

It’s hard to find words to describe Yellowstone.   First of all, it is huge.  It covers the entire northwest corner of Wyoming and extends into Montana and Idaho.  It is a contrast of mountains with snow still visible in the high remote valleys, magnificent waterfalls, and open grassy meadows with clear calm streams meandering through.  The geysers, mudpots, mineral hot springs, and fumaroles provide an entirely foreign and unbelievable landscape that staggers the imagination.   The colors of the microorganisms are an indication of the water temperature.    Green was the coolest, orange was getting hotter, clear blue indicated temperatures near boiling.  

Wildlife is everywhere – bison walk down the center of the roadways. The Park service paid a lot of money to have them trained. Elk graze along the streams, and the occasional bear runs across the highway.  One day we even saw a large wolf walking across a meadow.  After being eradicated from in park years ago, wolves were reintroduced about ten years ago to keep the elk and bison herds at a manageable size.  In spite of numerous signs warnings that wild animals are WILD, tourists stop their cars in the middle of the roads, jump out and practically chase down the animals to get the “up close and personal” photo of a lifetime.  At times the tourists are more entertaining than the wildlife!   We watched as a man was taking photos of a female elk and calf.  He was actually at a safe distance, however, another elk walked up behind him.  His expression was priceless when he turned around and was face to face with this very large animal!  To give him credit, he just lifted his camera and snapped a few shots before scooting away.

We did all the short hikes and walks around the numerous scenic stops.  We hiked down to the brink of the lower falls.  It was a drop of 600 feet over 3/8 of a mile.  It was an easy hike going down but a little challenging going back up.  I must admit that I stopped more than once just to catch my breath.  

 

I got a fishing license in Yellowstone –$15 for three days.  So I broke out my fly rod for the first time in over three years.  It felt really good even if I never did get a hit!

Yellowstone was absolutely unbelievable but it was very crowded and very busy.  I would like to return in late September when some of the crowds might be gone.  It was also interesting to note the many foreign visitors – Japanese, Chinese, German, Austrians, French, Italian – you name the country, their citizens were visiting Yellowstone. But, in all fairness, Yellowstone was the world’s first National park.   

I can’t describe all the wonders in Yellowstone, instead I’ll let my photos (I'll send a separate link to my Kodak Gallery) tell their own story.  I’ll hope you will visit Yellowstone someday to see this magnificent park for yourself..  As you can tell from the many photos, I found Mammoth Hot Springs to be the most beautiful.