Yellowstone National Park

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Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 as the world's first national park. The park, named from the Minnetaree Indian phrase mi tsi a-da-zi (yellow rock river), is accessible by several scenic approaches to its five entrances: Gardiner, Mont.(north), West Yellowstone, Mont. (west), Jackson via Grand Teton National Park (about 60 miles south), Cody, (about 53 miles east), and Cooke City, Mont. (northeast).

We entered at the south entrance at Grand Teton National Park which was breathtaking itself, and drove through to the north exit. It snowed on both of the major passes we traveled and some of the roads were under construction repairs and were very muddy. The season here to repair roads is extremely short and unfortunately most of the repair work is done during tourist season as the rest of the year the roads are covered in snow. We viewed the bison (buffalo), wolves, bear, moose, elk, pronghorns, mountain big horn sheep and many other wild beautiful animals. The rivers in Yellowstone were too high and swift for fishing as the rain and snow here this year has been falling almost daily. It has snowed twice the three days we have been here and it has rained every single day.

We have been to Yellowstone 4 different times and we love it every time we come here. Bill's mother, Ruth Maxey won a national contest to work at the lodge one summer when she was 18 years old. That would have been in 1928. She came to Yellowstone on a train into Gardiner, Mont. and then road in one of the old yellow cars to the main Yellowstone lodge where she worked.

Bill's father, Louis, engineered the roads in yellowstone and they met here at the swimming pool at the lodge. They lived in a very small cabin after they were married and fought off the bears during their stay here in the park. Many times the bears would try to break into their cabin because they smelled the food being cooked, etc. This was a small two room log cabin and there were not many places to go if a bear came through the window or door. They were here for 7 years before they left and moved to Denver.

Although most of the park's 3472 square miles lie in the northwestern Wyoming, they also extend into Montana and Idaho. The central portion of the park is essentially a broad, elevated volcanic plateau that lies between 6,500 and 8,500 feet above sea level. The park has mountain peaks that range in heights from 2,000 to over 4,000 ft. above the enclosed tableland. The most outstanding of Yellowstone's natural phenomena are the thousands of displays that compose the world's largest thermal basins. Bursts of scalding water spurt into the air from some of these, while others bubble and spit in murky depths.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone near Canyon, Wy., a section along the Yellowstone River between Canyon and Tower-Roosevelt, is noted for its spectacular coloring. Vista points offer supberb views; among the best are Artist's Point on the south rim and Inspiration Point on the north rim. Lookout Point provides the best view of the Lower Falls. Uncle Tom's Trail descends about halfway to the canyon floor and ends at the base of the Lower falls on the south side.

If you are a senior citizen , get yourself a national parks pass and you will save a lot of money entering the national parks in this country. One carload of people entering the park pays $25.00 per vehicle. The pass is $10. and gets you into the parks for free. With the pass, you do not pay upon entry. You must be 65 years of age. Fortunately, Bill qualifies!

We visited most of the areas in the park. Mammoth Hot Springs was very interesting. The live volcanoes, spewing thermal basins, cascading waterfalls, beautiful rivers, hundreds of picnic areas, several museums, beautiful breathtaking scenery, and the many wild animals make this a perfect place for a family vacation.

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Photos

The yellowstone arch
The famous Yellowstone-Roosevelt Arch at the Gardiner, Mt. entrance was dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt in 1872. This is the only entrance to the park that is open all year.

The old yellow cars
These cars carried visitors who arrived by train in Gardiner, Montana into the park and up to the Yellowstone Lodge.

The falls
There are many falls here in Yellowstone! This is a smaller falls located near Mammoth Hot Springs.

Devils Thumb
This is not ice you see, but deposits from the thermal pool that spill over and roll downhill. They harden and then form layer upon layer to look the way they are today.

More Mammoth Hot Springs
These stairs go all the way to the top and you can walk around on the hot spring mounds as long as you stay on the stairs. Many people have been scalded or more seriously injured by leaving the stairs to roam and falling into the hot pools. Some of these pools exceed temperatures of over 200 deg.

The roadway
You can see here that the roadway in some sections is built on the side of the mountain.

The beautiful scenery
This is such a beautiful place. The camera cannot capture what the eye can see.