A Bucket List Trip
Eight days, seven states, and 2,600 miles later we are home from our annual fall camping trip. We headed to northwest Wyoming, and while we were in the park for six days, I know we barely scratched the surface of exploring Yellowstone National Park.
What we did experience was breathtaking and majestic. Geothermal wonders of boiling hot springs and erupting geysers awed us. Howling wolves, bugling elks, and a glittering Milky Way amid a vast display of stars filled our evenings. We gazed in awe at a bald eagle taking flight on a chilly morning, spotted a lone wolf out hunting, observed a mother bear and her two cubs gathering berries, and watched hundreds of bison. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the "other" Grand Canyon in the United States, greeted us with her signature yellow color and rugged wilderness. In short: it was spectacular.
During the two day journey to the park, Caleb asked me what I was most looking forward to about Yellowstone. I wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but I think what he meant was that each visitor to the park takes special joy in a particular aspect of the park. Some visitors set up spotting scopes and telephoto lenses to capture wildlife in a pristine setting. Others wake up early to be the first one on the trail to take in a chilly morning sunrise watching hot spring steam dissipate into early morning frost.
Yellowstone National Park has been on my “bucket list” for years simply because I wanted to see with my own eyes what I have only seen in documentaries and geography books.. The thing I look forward to most is seeing the beautiful vistas, hearing the wildlife, identifying a glacier on the face of a mountain, crossing over the Continental Divide, seeing the headwaters of a river—and all in person.
This past week as our van slowed to a stop to allow buffalo to cross the road (a bucket list item!) the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance came to mind. Built in 1903, the arch says "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.'
More than a hundred years later that sentiment still rings true. What we were able to enjoy in Yellowstone is quite simply there because the National Parks were set aside for us, the people, to experience, explore, and enjoy together.
Snippets from our Trip
Grand Geyser was our favorite geyser. Just spectacular!
On our walk back from Grand Geyser, Old Faithful erupted in the distance. It's to the left of Caleb's head in this picture.
Another two stamps obtained in their National Parks Passports (Yellowstone and Grand Teton).
At the brink of the Lower Falls at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Buffalo Jam. Silly, but this has long been on my bucket list!
Mammoth Hot Springs.
Temperatures dipped into the teens or twenties every night. Morning fires (with hot chocolate) were a necessity.
Each day we would pack a lunch and explore a different area of the park. This was a favorite picnic spot: Nez Perce Picnic Area.
A tailgate breakfast with a spectacular view (we drove home through Grand Teton National Park).
Grand Teton Range.
At Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park.
A treat on the way home. We don't have Culver's by us, so we always stop—this time in St. George, Utah.
Thanks for reading! Have you visited Yellowstone? What was the thing that you enjoyed most from your trip there? I’d love to hear about it (and see a picture too, if you have one!) Just hit reply if you'd like to respond. (When you hit reply, your message goes directly to my email. It’s a private conversation between just us.) I read all your messages and try to respond, but not always in a timely manner. Sorry! And if you enjoyed this email, you’d be doing me a favor by forwarding it to someone else who might like it.