Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park

A massive and mature bull American Bison in the grasslands of Yellowstone.

Traveling to Yellowstone can be like taking a nature trip to a Kmart parking lot. But for some reason, I have traveled to the national park at least a dozen times! In all those times, I have been able to steal quite a lot of “alone-with-nature” time. Actually all one has to do is walk about 20 meters down any trail and you leave the crowds (usually filled with overweight Wal-Mart republicans) behind.

Most of the trips I have taken to Yellowstone happened during the peak of the summer tourist season, but back in 1991, Lien and I drove across the US to visit my family for a Christmas in Chicago. On the way back, we stopped off at Yellowstone for a week hanging in the national park to experience its nature in the winter. Wow! What a difference! We rented snowmobiles and cruised the park in the dead of winter for many days The crowds were simply gone. Solitude was the name of the game and, with only the warming chalets as an exception, we basically owned the park completely! The game was very easy to see and the geysers, fumaroles and hot springs were sublime.

I plan on visiting this national park as often as possible for as long as possible. I have yet to see the Lamar Valley pack of wolves, and that is high on my “gotta do” list! Maybe this summer.

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Yellowstone Image Gallery

Here are some images of my trips to Yellowstone National Park:

	Stand off with a herd of American Bison. We were both wondering who should make the first move!
A spectacular bull American Bison grazing in the grasslands of Yellowstone.

	A young Rocky Mountain Elk bull alerted to our presence in the back country of Yellowstone.
A few female Rocky Mountain Elk from the northern herd browsing their way through the sage brush scrub in Yellowstone's Montana portion.

	A mature bull Rocky Mountain Elk eating some aquatic plants in the middle of a blizzard.
A couple of Rocky Mountain Elk cows wading in the Yellowstone River.

	One of the many geysers in the Geyser Valley region spouting its stuff!
Yellowstone's spectacular Grand Prismatic hotspring is filled with colors caused by both the minerals and the archaebacteria found in the pools.

	One of the many hotsprings found along the trail in the Grand Prismatic region of Yellowstone.
Massive mats of archaebacteria and cyanobacteria populate the pools and hotsrpings of the Grand Prismatic.

	Mammoth Hotsprings is without a doubt one of the more spectacular sights in Yellowstone. Hard to believe that it will one day be blown to bits when the super volcano blows its top!
More archaebacterial mats in the Grand Prismatic basin.

	Mammoth Hotsprings is a sight to see...
Almost looks like spectacular piles of guano...

	Lien on her snow mobile cruising the back country of Yellowtone! Winter is absolutely a fantastic time to go there! Although I consider myself a serious environmentalist and conservationist, I quietly applauded the decision to continue to allow snow mobiles in the park. When done correctly, I can think of no reason not to allow them. The main problem is when redneck morons are behind the wheel.
Yellowtone's famous yellow stone.

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Yellowstone Image Gallery