My trip to Yellowstone
If you look up things to do in the United States of America, the second thing on the list is Yellowstone national park (right behind Disney World if you were wondering). Despite it being a very popular tourist attraction, Yellowstone has retained its uniqueness and did not disappoint.
I decided to visit this famous park for myself. I flew into Denver, rented a car, and then drove up to Wyoming with a couple of stops on the way. Even in the middle of June, the weather up there was quite chilly. But the scenery and general ambiance of quaint Wyoming cities was pleasant. My favorite town was Dubois, Wyoming
My trip in Yellowstone lasted 4 nights, but I spent a night in another lesser known gem, the Grand Teton National Park. Even before I entered the gate of the park, I saw an adolescent Grizzly bear right next to the road! Eventually, that would become one of my best sightings, but it made a good first impression. I stayed at the Hatchet Resort. The next morning, I went for an early morning drive through the park. Although the wildlife sightings were not very impressive, the snow-capped mountains and lakes made for a beautiful sunrise. The natural wonders were the best part of Teton for me.
Once I arrived at the Yellowstone gate, I had a picnic lunch at Lewis Lake. After that, I went straight to the West Thumb springs. The springs were truly awe inspiring. The pools of stunning blue water look so inviting, but are in fact boiling hot and acidic. It’s amazing that things like this exist naturally and in such splendor.
The next morning, I headed out for an early morning drive through the park, and that’s what my morning routine would be for the rest of the trip. I had some fantastic wildlife experiences including experiencing a bison jam, and seeing a wolf drag a carcass up a mountain! There are 11 wolf packs in Yellowstone, and they’re all very elusive. They are pretty rare, and can only be seen through the scopes that the local biologists set up, so I was in luck.
One of the other things that make Yellowstone special is that they let tourists go for trails that they have marked among the wilderness. One morning, I decided to go for a hike on one of these trails and was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful and calm my surroundings were. The trail was next to Lamar river, with herds of bison grazing the grass a little distance away. While I was scanning my surroundings through binoculars, I saw something moving in the distance. When I looked closer, I thought it was a wolf! As it got closer I realized it was a Coyote, but I was still thrilled at what an awesome sighting it was.
When you arrive at Yellowstone, the first thing you should do is pick up a good map of the park, and ask one of the rangers at a help desk all the questions you want answered. They are knowledgeable, helpful, and will help you find the best ways to experience the park according to your interests. My main question was where best to see wildlife, specifically wolves, and bears. The best spots (just like the ranger told us) was Lamar Valley for wolves, and Hayden Valley for bears. The best chance you have to see them is either sunrise or sunset, but you have to be in the heart of the forest by that time. I had an amazing experience at sunset, a little past Hayden Valley. I was driving along a road, and I saw a spectacular bald eagle! It was just perched on a branch of a tree and it didn’t fly away for a good 15 minutes. Then just a little further down the road, I noticed that a lot of cars had stopped, which meant there was probably a large animal nearby. Sure enough, there was a mother grizzly and her cub. It was so unique because they were so close by and they didn’t seem to mind human presence. Once the bears started to go deeper into the brush, many of the cars started to leave. But I stayed, and I’m so glad I did.I got to see the mother suckling her cub, and they crossed the road not once, but twice, right in front of my car.
Another nice bear sighting was when we were driving back to our lodge at Canyon Village. In the hills by the road, a little distance away there was something brown and moving. As they got closer, we realized there were 3 moving somethings! Sure enough, they turned out to be a huge mama grizzly bear and her 2 cubs, just a few months old! The mother would move along the side of the hill at a pretty fast pace, and her 2 cubs would stumble after her while simultaneously playing with each other. It was really something.
That being said, the wonderful wildlife doesn't overshadow the amazing natural marvels that Yellowstone has to offer. I also had the pleasure to experience the Old Faithful Geyser and the Grand Prismatic Springs, which were both magnificent and just beautiful to see.
That still wasn’t the end of my adventure! On my drive out of Yellowstone park, I saw a black bear wandering around near the road! He was absolutely stunning, with a silky black coat and beautiful eyes. A half hour later, I also saw some Bighorn sheep high up on the mountain (through a scope).
I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Yellowstone and was impressed with the spectrum of wildlife it had to offer and I would definitely come back again.
If you look up things to do in the United States of America, the second thing on the list is Yellowstone national park (right behind Disney World if you were wondering). Despite it being a very popular tourist attraction, Yellowstone has retained its uniqueness and did not disappoint.
I decided to visit this famous park for myself. I flew into Denver, rented a car, and then drove up to Wyoming with a couple of stops on the way. Even in the middle of June, the weather up there was quite chilly. But the scenery and general ambiance of quaint Wyoming cities was pleasant. My favorite town was Dubois, Wyoming
My trip in Yellowstone lasted 4 nights, but I spent a night in another lesser known gem, the Grand Teton National Park. Even before I entered the gate of the park, I saw an adolescent Grizzly bear right next to the road! Eventually, that would become one of my best sightings, but it made a good first impression. I stayed at the Hatchet Resort. The next morning, I went for an early morning drive through the park. Although the wildlife sightings were not very impressive, the snow-capped mountains and lakes made for a beautiful sunrise. The natural wonders were the best part of Teton for me.
Once I arrived at the Yellowstone gate, I had a picnic lunch at Lewis Lake. After that, I went straight to the West Thumb springs. The springs were truly awe inspiring. The pools of stunning blue water look so inviting, but are in fact boiling hot and acidic. It’s amazing that things like this exist naturally and in such splendor.
The next morning, I headed out for an early morning drive through the park, and that’s what my morning routine would be for the rest of the trip. I had some fantastic wildlife experiences including experiencing a bison jam, and seeing a wolf drag a carcass up a mountain! There are 11 wolf packs in Yellowstone, and they’re all very elusive. They are pretty rare, and can only be seen through the scopes that the local biologists set up, so I was in luck.
One of the other things that make Yellowstone special is that they let tourists go for trails that they have marked among the wilderness. One morning, I decided to go for a hike on one of these trails and was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful and calm my surroundings were. The trail was next to Lamar river, with herds of bison grazing the grass a little distance away. While I was scanning my surroundings through binoculars, I saw something moving in the distance. When I looked closer, I thought it was a wolf! As it got closer I realized it was a Coyote, but I was still thrilled at what an awesome sighting it was.
When you arrive at Yellowstone, the first thing you should do is pick up a good map of the park, and ask one of the rangers at a help desk all the questions you want answered. They are knowledgeable, helpful, and will help you find the best ways to experience the park according to your interests. My main question was where best to see wildlife, specifically wolves, and bears. The best spots (just like the ranger told us) was Lamar Valley for wolves, and Hayden Valley for bears. The best chance you have to see them is either sunrise or sunset, but you have to be in the heart of the forest by that time. I had an amazing experience at sunset, a little past Hayden Valley. I was driving along a road, and I saw a spectacular bald eagle! It was just perched on a branch of a tree and it didn’t fly away for a good 15 minutes. Then just a little further down the road, I noticed that a lot of cars had stopped, which meant there was probably a large animal nearby. Sure enough, there was a mother grizzly and her cub. It was so unique because they were so close by and they didn’t seem to mind human presence. Once the bears started to go deeper into the brush, many of the cars started to leave. But I stayed, and I’m so glad I did.I got to see the mother suckling her cub, and they crossed the road not once, but twice, right in front of my car.
Another nice bear sighting was when we were driving back to our lodge at Canyon Village. In the hills by the road, a little distance away there was something brown and moving. As they got closer, we realized there were 3 moving somethings! Sure enough, they turned out to be a huge mama grizzly bear and her 2 cubs, just a few months old! The mother would move along the side of the hill at a pretty fast pace, and her 2 cubs would stumble after her while simultaneously playing with each other. It was really something.
That being said, the wonderful wildlife doesn't overshadow the amazing natural marvels that Yellowstone has to offer. I also had the pleasure to experience the Old Faithful Geyser and the Grand Prismatic Springs, which were both magnificent and just beautiful to see.
That still wasn’t the end of my adventure! On my drive out of Yellowstone park, I saw a black bear wandering around near the road! He was absolutely stunning, with a silky black coat and beautiful eyes. A half hour later, I also saw some Bighorn sheep high up on the mountain (through a scope).
I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Yellowstone and was impressed with the spectrum of wildlife it had to offer and I would definitely come back again.