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My trip to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons (July 1995)

Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

Domz
2004-04-06 19:18:36

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Yellowstone

When John Colter's descriptions of Yellowstone were reported in the St. Louis newspapers in 1810, most readers dismissed them as tall tales. But 60 years later, the nation was convinced and in 1872 Yellowstone became a national park.

After hiking in the nearby Beartooth Mountains, a friend and I drive through Yellowstone Park on our way to Jackson, Wyoming where we are to meet our Yellowstone tour group. We are greatly impressed with the northeast section along the Lamar River valley. Driving at dawn, we see moose, elk, coyote, bison. (The park seems to be filled with huge bison. The herds are immense.) An impressive cloud bank softly blankets the valleys.

Yellowstone is 2,220,000 acres and is a Biosphere Reserve. It is also a World Heritage site. Old Faithful and 10,000 other geysers and hot springs are found in the park and make it the world's greatest geyser area. In 1872, it became the world's first national park.

After meeting with our tour group (our tour is six days long and includes 12 others) in Jackson, we drive up to the Old Faithful Inn ( Old Faithful regularly erupts right next to our Inn) to see all the impressive and colorful geysers—much more interesting and impressive than I had expected. We then spend time at the Lake Yellowstone Lodge, which includes a hike up to Avalanche Peak—this trek affords incredible views of snow-capped peaks and valleys throughout Yellowstone (see photo at left). We also engage in a day hike along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, a 24-mile long, 1,200-foot deep canyon, which I am awestruck by. The cliffs and waterfalls are breathtaking (see photo of Yellowstone's Lower Falls—308 feet high—upper right of this page), as are the occasional glimpses of secluded marshes and lakes. Also breathtaking are the many fields filled with a riot of wildflower colors.

Because we are so impressed by the ...