Yellowstone National Park (First Among Equals)
Let me put Yellowstone into perspective for you. The park itself is bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. I tell you that so you understand the scope of what you're about to get into. Getting to Yellowstone is rather painless, but you have to take a journey to get there. There are several ways to get into the park. We chose to come from Bozeman, Montana, and drive south into the park through the famed Roosevelt Arch, built in 1903. The drive is about an hour and a half from Bozeman, and is a straight shot off the interstate once you turn off in Livingston, Montana. You can fly to Bozeman, which they actually call Bozeman-Yellowstone International Airport. There are other options for getting into the park. You can drive over from the Idaho side of the park and enter through West Yellowstone, or you can drive up from the south coming from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Either way, plan on doing some driving to get there. You will also need to get some gas before you get there. There are gas stations in the park, but they are 20-30 miles apart, and you don't want to run out of gas when the sun is setting in such a giant place. Once you get in the park, which cost $35 a car in 2018, you can drive anywhere you want. I would again like to recommend buying the annual national park pass that gets you into most national parks for $80 a year. We bought one last year in Arizona, and have more than made up for the cost in one year just on the money we saved on this trip visiting national parks. Where you stay in the park is up to you, but you need to plan this out MONTHS in advance. The demand is so high for places to stay in the park they usually are sold out at least half a year in advance. I can't tell you what the demand is if you plan on camping, but there sure seemed to be plenty of people doing that too, so I would reserve a spot. We stayed at the Canyon Lodge, located in about as much of a center of the park as there can be. For those of you who want to stay in a hotel there, the rooms are very expensive, and don't come with televisions (there are literally no rooms in the park with a TV) or air conditioning, but that should never be a problem since you will be out all day traveling around, and it never got above 75 degrees the entire time we were there.
Recommending places to see in Yellowstone is an effort in futility. Anywhere you go is going to be amazing, and you can literally spend weeks in there seeing wonderful sites each day. What I'm going to do for this one is tell you what we saw in our two days in there. Before I start, I want to make one point. If you're planning on visiting national parks like this where the beauty is not always located at the edge of the road, you need to be willing to get out an explore. We saw far too many people who came all the way out there just to take pictures from their car windows, or if they did try to get out they stayed within 10-20 feet of their car. You owe it to yourself to wander around these places and see what they have to offer. Remember that Yellowstone is a volcano, actually it's a supervolcano. There is so much seismic activity happening under the surface that it could blow at any minute. Luckily for us, and you, it probably won't. To deal with all of this turbulence underground, the Earth has figured out ways to let of some steam, literally. Coming in from the northern end of the park, the first place you'll see is Mammoth Hot Springs. Mammoth Hot Springs is a collection of hot springs that are bubbles and boils at a constant rate, cutting through the travertine stone that lies at the surface. The park has created amazing boardwalks that will take you out through these hot springs. The hot springs are not actually boiling. While they are very hot, what is actually making the water move is the release of gas from under the surface that looks like a boil. The smell of sulfur is extremely strong, but the colors that are produced in these springs is amazing, and the change in the landscapes caused by millions of years of activity makes for an impressive site. This is actually the oldest part of the park, and one of the few places that stays open year round, so you can visit some of the more historic sites like Fort Yellowstone, a U.S. Army fort that was built in 1891 to control the park.
Wendy's favorite part of the trip was a visit to the next collection of sites in the park, called the Norris Geyser Basin. The Norris Geyser Basin is a collection of dozens of geysers that are all within a mile of one another. When you get there you can hike two directions, and either of them is wonderful. To the right is a shorter, but hillier, hike that will let you walk around some of the most colorful hot and geothermal springs you can imagine. The real action though is if you take the hike to the left. Out there you will find Steamboat Geyser, the tallest geyser in the world. While everyone comes to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful, and that's understandable, Steamboat can erupt upwards of 300 feet at a time. The problem is, unlike Old Faithful, they have no idea when these eruptions will occur. Apparently we missed a full blast eruption by about two hours when we went. Spend a few minutes to see if it will blow, but then set out on the two plus mile hike around the basin. Almost entirely on boardwalk, the trail brings you to geyser after geyser and spring after spring. You can spend hours just sitting down and watching some of these, and even if they didn't go off you would have spent the time well. We had been out there a few hours when we walked past Vixen Geyser, which let off a might eruption (well, it was about 15 feet high, but it was fun nonetheless). When I say there are dozens of geysers on just this hike, I mean it. I thought the mighty bison and elk at the park would have avoided this site like the plague, but look around and you will see hoof prints almost everywhere proving animals can adapt to almost anything, including humans and volcanic explosions.
Since we stayed at the Canyon Lodge, we obviously wanted to visit the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Located about a mile from the lodge, this massive canyon pales in comparison to the real Grand Canyon, but is unbelievably impressive nonetheless. Formed by the Yellowstone River carving its way through the park, the canyon has two tremendous waterfalls within several hundred yards of one another. The most accessible to viewing is the Lower Falls, which is the larger of the two falls. Hiking along the North Rim Trail, which takes you about two miles along the top of the canyon, you can take side trails that will take you down to the bottom where the falls tumble over the edge. The first side trail to the edge of the falls is about a 600 foot descent. The trail is very roughly paved, it looks like the original CCC guys did it in the Great Depression, but it's better than many trails you'll find. Through a series of switchbacks, you wind your way to the bottom, and witness millions of gallons of water a second tumbling over the edge. The hard part is not getting down though, it's getting back up. Some people were giving up on the hike back up, as if the rangers were going to come down to get them. Just take a break and keep picking those knees up, you'll eventually get back to the top, and you'll be glad you went down for the inspiring views. Back up top take the North Rim Trail towards Inspiration Point. The trail is also paved, so it's pretty easy to hike, but there are some steep slopes so be careful. Along the way you will pass Red Rock Point Trail. This is another, even more challenging hike down, but this time you are about a mile down river from the Lower Falls, and will get to see them in all of their glory. This trail is both a paved trail, and a well-made wooden foot path out to the viewing stand. Back up top, head towards the end of the trail at Inspiration Point. At this point some of the trail becomes unpaved, but nothing that can't be hiked with reasonable effort. After you go down and back, you will have hiked about 4-5 miles. The hike is worth it not just for the views, but also because it will help you get away from the hundreds of people I mentioned before trying to take pictures from the sidewalk.
I could go on and on about other places to visit in the park, but for the sake of time I will just mention a few more. South of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is another neat location called Mud Volcano. While you are there look at Dragon's Mouth, a massive cave that erupts with steam almost constantly. You can imagine how the Native Americans must have thought some demon lived in there thousands of years ago. You should also visit the West Thumb region of the park. They have a lake overview hike that will actually take you back across the main road away from the lake. As you're marching in the opposite direction, you wonder how this can be the right trail, but when you get to the top you'll see the Yellowstone Lake below you, and the Absaroka Mountains framing the lake to the east. Be careful on that hike, there were bears in the area. Make noise, travel in groups, and carry the bear spray they rent at several locations in the park, and you'll be fine. Finally, and obviously, go visit Old Faithful. Located at the southwest corner of the park, this geyser has been going off at fairly regular intervals for as long as man has recorded history. They can give you a time, within about a ten minute window, of each eruption. Be prepared, there will be thousands of people surrounding it with you to watch. If you want a seat on the benches, plan on getting there about half an hour in advance.
Yellowstone is a place that everyone should visit at least once. Home to the largest collection of free roaming bison in the nation, getting to see these mighty animals, and learn about the rebound they are experiencing is also worth the trip. You will also get to see elk (which just walk right up like they're there to see the geysers too), bears (which are a lot harder to find, but you will), and bighorn sheep (standing on the ledges like a four-legged madman). Remember the rules, stay a safe distance away from the animals. They may look welcoming, but they will attack if they feel threatened. No matter how cute a bear cub is, and even if you think you can put a coat on him and pass him off as your hairy son on the plane ride home, you can't take a bear cub. Also, watch out for the pronghorn deer. They're everywhere, and like deer on the East Coast, they'll walk right out into traffic too. All of these things make Yellowstone a wonderful site to visit, and a fun experience. Please remember to plan some time for your visit. You can't do this all in one day, and you shouldn't try. Relax, spend some time, and you will understand why it's been wowing people since 1872.
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