My office-working friend and I decided we needed time away from our local habitats, so we took a week to check out Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Teton National Park.
We drove up to YNP from Denver on Saturday and spent three awesome days exploring the park. Yesterday was Old Faithful day, so that was possibly our most touristy day here. Yellowstone has some magnificent areas, not to mention the geology perk!, but summer is definitely too trafficked for my tastes. Not that I can put myself outside that same tourist group, that is what we were doing there ourselves. To maximize exposure to the greater area, much of our time was spent driving. However, both of us fondly recalling our days spent exploring the BWCA in northern Minnesota, set us on plenty of side excursions on trails.
Some highlights so far:
-the drive across eastern WY into Yellowstone through Cody, WY, and the East Entrance of the park
-Grand Canyon and Norris Geyser Basin
-Gibbon Falls
-all the geothermal spots
-Madison Meadow and the meandering river. I should note that I LOVE oxbow lakes! Not sure why that has stuck with me from my physical geology class.
-driving up into MT, Big Sky Forest and Gallatin National Forest
-crossing paths with a black bear while on a trail!
Today we meandered on down to the Tetons. We will spend the remainder of the trip there. What beautiful country is up here. I cannot understand how it took me so long to make this trip.
Elizabeth Erickson 