Earlier this month we were holed up in the house for 5 days with Snowpocalypse 2014 (a big deal for us in western Oregon.) Cabin fever set in quickly and I knew there was no excuse. No reason to procrastinate. So I tackled a project that tugs at me guiltily every time I think of it: doing something with the thousands of photos on my computer.
In the course of assembling two digital photo albums (which is not fast and simple – it was way easier to slap snapshots into the old fashioned, tactile album) I stumbled onto tons of pictures from our road trip to Yellowstone National Park. Then my National Geographic Traveler magazine arrived a few days ago with a feature about Yellowstone. And today I found my notes from our trip in the first pile I looked in my office. So clearly – this post is ready to be written.
Ah, Yellowstone. America’s first and oldest national park. Jason and I had gone to Yellowstone before we became parents. I would have been satisfied to keep it to one visit, but Jason really wanted the kids to experience it….and who am I to say no to an adventure?
Like 90% of our vacations, we made it a road trip. After two loonnngg days of driving (with an overnight in Boise to visit old friends), our road-pounded muscles and frazzled moods arrived at West Yellowstone. As we unpacked, the irony that we would have another two full days of driving to cover the park was not lost on me. (Which is why I would have been okay with only one trip to Yellowstone in my life.)
A fiery orb lifted at dawn the next morning. Surely such a brilliant sunrise indicated a great day ahead! Refreshed, we tumbled into the car again. We all agreed to push the reset button to make life more pleasant on the road. These comments are straight from my notebook:
Mom – “Have patience and use a happy tone of voice.”
Dad- “Have patience and enjoy the day.”
Vivian – “Ignore things and people who are bothering me.”
William – “I’ll try not to whine.”
Rolling into the park we kept our eyes peeled for wildlife. Soon we spied mangy, hulking bison, ubiquitous at Yellowstone. We snapped a bunch of photos of that first bison, not realizing we’d see bunches more throughout the park. Cruising through Yellowstone, we passed the Continental Divide, where west side waters flow into the Pacific and eastside waters flow – you guessed it – the Atlantic! 
Throughout our many stops, a sulfury-rotten egg smell wafted around as we observed steamy fumeroles and deep azure puddles. Bubbling paint pots looked like dancing frogs! Geothermal pools spilled down granite banks into tumbling rivers.
Truly, there are so many geologic wonders at Yellowstone. We waited patiently with the hordes for spazzy Old Faithful, a window into the the interior of the earth, to explode.
My favorite was the West Thumb Geyser, a crater within a crater. Powered by our planet’s inner heat, it steams and glows year-round. Peering through my sunglasses illuminated deeper fissures in the cauldrons. It was like wearing 3-D glasses.
Our drive took us through Hayden Valley, a massive swath of rolling rangeland with lots and lots of grazing bison.
Another highlight was Artist Point, aptly named for the streaky rose, peach, and ivory cliffs. Photo opp!
All our stops on day 1 were clogged with visitors, and again, made us road-weary. We decided to take a different approach for the next day. After some research, we chose to hike Bunsen Peak. At 8564 feet in elevation, the hike was rated as strenuous, but only 4.2 miles round trip. Of course we went for it!
The trail was littered with minerals and Feldspar rocks (comes in handy to have a science teacher on your hike!) that clinked and plinked under our feet. Our efforts were rewarded with panoramic views at the summit. Even though it wasn’t a clear day, we could still appreciate the vast vistas of the entire park. And you know what? We met only one other party on the trail and one couple at the top. That hike was just what we needed after all the driving and touristy stops from the day before.
We headed toward the village of Mammoth Hot Springs for an ice cream break, but first explored the bizarre moonscape of the Travertine and Minerva Terraces. The sheer variety of landforms at Yellowstone is unbelievable and impressive.
Even the architecture at Mammoth Hot Springs is different, not rustic or “lodgelike.” Ivory clapboard buildings with red roofs stand among trim sidewalks and lush green grass. A herd of very tame elk grazed and rested on the grass.
These elk aren’t from Mammoth Hot Springs, but they’re the only elk photo I took.
The kids wanted to put one foot in Montana and one in Wyoming so we motored onto the North entrance at Gardiner, MT.
It was a thrill!
The Gardiner (Gardner? We saw it spelled both ways.) River slices through muscular mountains. The road ribboned along mountainside and led us to Lamar Valley, known as North America’s Serengeti for gray wolves, moose, elk, and bison, bears. We saw lots of elk, bison, and two antelope.
The scenery was naturally gorgeous, but the kids and I were bummed we didn’t see a bear (or a wolf!) in Yellowstone. Before we departed Montana for Idaho (which you may read about in a future blog post) we spent the morning at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in downtown West Yellowstone. And yes, we saw bears and wolves.
Ah, those were the days at Yellowstone – Parks and Re-Creation at its best in the West.
Experiential Passage 