Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is dear to my hear--near and dear I'd say, but it's not near enough, and so I haven't been there in some time. It was so good to go back, after all these years.

In 1988, I quit a job as a circulation manager for a newspaper so that I could go and visit Yellowstone and that area of the country.  I went with intentions of working at the park for the summer, as I had heard jobs were easy to find. Unfortunately for me, that summer the Park had a historic fire season, and so most of the inns and facilities were running at limited capacity, meaning no job for me. I was young, and so I stuck around, sleeping in the back of my pickup in different spots, exploring the park. I didn't have much money at all--I had to save what I had for gas money to get home, but I remember feasting on 3 for $1 hot dogs and soaking ramen in a bowl. I parked the truck and hitch-hiked all over the park, and down to the Grand Tetons as well. It was great adventure.  

I went back a few times after that with family members and friends, and did a few hikes, but it has now been more than 20 years since I last visited. I really wanted to go there with Deborah, and enter via the NE gate and Lamar Valley, and so we did.

It was a bit of a whistlestop tour, but we saw most of the classic spots in the park, and there was less traffic since it was September. We spent a night in West Yellowstone, just outside the park, which by the way is kind of spendy for what you get. Our other stops on the trip were half the price.  

For me, the highlight was seeing a big grizzly bear. This bear was a bit of a celebrity, as someone shot a video of it killing an injured bull elk in the Yellowstone River, and then dragging it to shore. The bear sat on top of its kill for several days, eating it and shooing away wolves and another interested grizzly. We came upon the site a couple days after the kill, which was across the river on the road. People were lining up to take pictures--your typical Yellowstone traffic jam, but seeing a grizzly this close with a kill is a bit unusual.

We also saw tons of elk and bison, a lone wolf or coyote, and a herd of antelope up by Gardiner. We spent some time at Old Faithful, visited the Roosevelt Arch, and took a short walk at Artist's Point for Canyon. Lots of geothermal sites--Mammoth, which is incredible, and then many other hot spots. There simply is no place like Yellowstone. I hope to get back sooner next time.