YELLOWSTONE
You can’t really talk about the National Park Service without mentioning Yellowstone National Park, the first national park. Its sort of the crown jewel of the park system for a reason too.
After spending a wild and completely wonderful week in Glacier National Park, Yellowstone was our next stop on the five week road trip we took in the summer of 2021. We got into the Yellowstone area in the later afternoon on our first day and set up camp at the KOA in West Yellowstone. This was a great location for us, but still a bit of a drive to get into the park proper. Definitely something to consider if you are headed to the park and plan on camping. Rather than go into the park that evening, Mike acquiesced to Dusty’s love of trinkiting and exploring the gateway community towns around the parks, and we headed to West Yellowstone. This felt like a small time Disney World.
On our first morning, we rose early in order to get into the park before the crowds, this was a really smart move. We were through the park entrance before the rangers manned their admissions booths and found ourselves at the Artists Paint Pot Area with plenty to explore and marvel at. Yellowstone truly is an alien world. After enjoying the early morning geyser mist and slippery boardwalks, we drove on to the Norris Geyser Basin, getting an eyeful throughout the Porcelin and Back Basins. Seeing these geothermal features in the early morning light was even more spectacular as it added to their otherworldly beauty.
After having our gay cards revoked for not knowing that Madonna sang “Crazy for You,” we arrived at Mammoth Springs. Mammoth springs with its gleaming white rock formations and somewhat still water gave our jaws even more of a workout from them being so agape. After traversing the boardwalk we made our way back to the car and arrived in Mammoth Springs village. Here we were able to meander and explore the visitor center and some of the original structures of Fort Yellowstone while also watching visitors get way to close to the elk that come to this spot to enjoy munching on the grass.
From here we drove out to the Lamar Valley section of the park, stopping first at the Roosevelt Lodge to hike the Lost Lake Loop. This was a peaceful and moderate trail which took us to a petrified tree and through some open fields with wildflowers. Driving out to Trout Lake, we were able to see some incredible wildlife from the windows of our car. You didn’t even really need to stop as traffic was slow in spots and there were bison aplenty. Almost to the Northeast Entrance of the park, we stopped to hike Trout Lake, a short hike with lots of bugs before looping back to see the North Entrance Gate and finally driving back to our campground to collapse.
On our second day in the park we headed to Old Faithful first. Much to Mike’s chagrin, there was some waiting involved before being able to see the beauty and majesty of the geyser. From here we walked the boardwalk to explore the other geysers and water features of the Upper Geyser Basin (a thing not many people were doing). As we looped back after our trek, we actually got to see Old Faithful erupt for a second time before making our way to Grand Prismatic Spring. The hike we were recommended to do here involved us avoiding the main boardwalk area of the Spring and instead getting an “aerial view” of it from an overlook. This was an excellent recommendation. You can’t really get a sense for the Spring without doing this.
From here we headed out to Fairy Falls which was a beautiful sight. Hoping to hike what in essence would be a giant triangle to return us to the car after leaving Fairy Falls, we ended up on a back country trail which had us both speaking loudly to avoid any bear encounters. After deciding to turn back and reaching the original juncture point, we realized that through poor trail marking at this point, we had made a grave error. We trudged back the way we came, exhausted from the day.
The final day in Yellowstone involved a later start, which involved some traffic at the West Entrance. When we got in we headed right for Grand Prismatic Spring to be able to walk the boardwalk directly around the Spring. This. Was. Crowded. Be prepared to get to this parking lot early as it fills up and people hunt for spots like hawks. Through luck, we were able to get to explore the Spring and get a better sense of its layout after viewing it from above the previous day. From here, our last stop was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. You cannot miss this as it truly is a spectacular site and hike. After traversing the South Rim Trail and taking in the sites, we hiked through what felt like a movie backlot before making it back to the car and reveling in the beauty we were fortunate enough to see.
There is definitely much more to uncover in Yellowstone, and we can’t wait to get back to explore more of it.
Yellowstone National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Eastern Shoshone, Crow and Cheyenne People along with many other indigenous peoples.
Listen while you look! This buttons will link you to the podcast episode for this park and gallery.
