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My husband and I took a long-awaited trip to Yellowstone in June. It was absolutely spectacular! After a while I ran out of superlatives to use, as every place we stopped was magnificent. Everyone goes to see Old Faithful, of course. Old Faithful was right on time, and we decided to catch the show twice surrounded by people from all over the world. We checked out the Old Faithful Inn, an amazing old lodge with fabulous rustic architecture. We sat outside on their deck sipping beverages, and looking out toward Old Faithful.
We were thrilled to see pronghorn, elk, bison, a wolf, and a grizzly throughout the park, as well as osprey, magpies, grey jays, and pelicans. We even got stuck in a bison jam, complete with a ranger directing traffic as the big creatures took their time crossing the road, much to our delight.
But we had no idea how many other awesome sights there were to see. Places like Norris, the Artist Paintpots, and all the stops along the Geyser Basin were like watching the formation of the earth. We saw bubbling mud pots, boiling springs that seemed to bloom with color from the bacteria and minerals, hissing fumaroles releasing steam from deep under the earth, and geysers spraying, whirling, and filling the air with sulfur-laden steam. The boardwalks gave us close-up views. One of our favorites was the Grand Prismatic Spring. What colors!
Mammoth Hot Springs was perhaps our favorite place with the surreal looking formations made by the travertine deposits cascading from hot pools. We were surprised by all the wildflowers growing so near the geysers and hot springs, as well. Nature is certainly resiliant. All around us were views of the Rockies, too, so we could be standing by geothermal features, looking out across beautiful valleys or plateaus, and seeing the snow-capped Rockies beyond. Beautiful!
One place neither of us had heard of was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The colors of the steep canyon walls were stunning, and after a long hike to see a powerful waterfall on the Yellowstone River, we said we weren't going to stop again. Then we would see signs that said things like Grand View, and we'd stop anyway. We were never sorry!
We spent one night at the Lake Hotel on Lake Yellowstone. By then we had done all of the driving we'd planned to do, which was lucky because it rained in the morning. The hotel is the oldest lodge in the park and has a 1920s kind of charm all its own. We had an elegant lunch in the dining room where presidents had dined in the past. We spent a lovely day sitting in the huge parlor overlooking the lake, reading, watching mule deer amble by, and sipping Brandy Alexanders. That evening we listened to a talented string quartet.
We crossed over the Fishing Bridge on our way out of the park - No Fishing Allowed (the Yellowstone cutthroat trout were endangered by overfishing in that one spot, but fishing is allowed in other places - catch and release only). We moved on to other destinations, but our memories are saved in a photo album so big it takes both of us and a wheelbarrow to move. Well, not quite, but we took a lot of pictures.
If you love the outdoors, nature, geology, or the science surrounding volcanoes, visit Yellowstone. It is like no place else!