Friday, July 22, 2011

Yellowstone National Park

Last weekend my husband and I went on a wonderful road trip to Yellowstone National Park.  We traveled on our Harley Davidson motorcycle.  What an awesome treat that was! Not only did I get to see the amazing beauty, but I got to feel it and smell it too.  It was very refreshing to breathe in the clean mountain air and  smell the pine trees, wildflowers, hot pots and the water as we rode through the park. I have been to Yellowstone many times and will continue to go back because it rejuvenates my body, mind and soul!

 If you are you looking for a new place to visit this summer, I would like to suggest Yellowstone to you. It is a GREAT travel destination!  It is a place that literally flows with energy, from the spectacular waterfalls and rivers to the life giving geysers, calderras and hot pots that continually fill the earth with  minerals and energy. It is also a wonderful haven for a wide and interesting variety of plants and animals.  Visitors have many different options for food, lodging, and shopping whether you choose to stay in the park or outside the park in one of the nearby towns. 

One of the most awesome things to me abut YS Park is the amount of water that is running through it.  There is a huge, beautiful, blue lake that seems to go on forever and also alot of little ponds and streams everywhere, but the things I love the most are the rivers and waterfalls.  Yellowstone River is a large river that snakes its way through the south east side of the park.  It is slow moving in some spots but becomes very powerful and ferocious in others.  It boasts two of the most spectacular waterfalls I have ever seen.  One of them is over 100 ft. high. The other one towers over the last one at more than 300 ft.  There is a tremendous amount of water that ferociously flows over these falls every second. It is exciting and exhilerating to stand above these natural wonders. After going over the waterfalls, this powerful river flows into a very deep canyon called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  It is hard to believe that this canyon is real because it is so picture perfect that it looks like an artist just finished painting it with his brush.  The canyon walls are made of a beautiful, yellow stone ( which must be where the park got its name) that is moss covered at the bottom where the river runs through and also has pine trees growing out of it sporadically along the canyon walls.  Seeing this canyon is very inspiring and always make me realize how amazing, God, the creator of all of this splendid beauty is.

The Madison River is a very gentle, river that flows unhurriedly through the western side of the park.  This river seems to call people to stop a while, relax, and enjoy the beauty of the park.  It is also a fly fisherman's dream.  Many people come to the park just to fly fish the Madison River.  I go there to sit by the sparkling water and listen to it as it flows by.  I find it very healing and energizing.

Yellowstone is a volcanic area that is filled with hundreds of hot pots, and geysers that are found throughout the park.  In the geyser basin people have an opportunity to see beautiful geysers that one minute are just a hole in the ground where steam comes out and the next minute are shooting water hundreds of feet into the air.  There are also many geysers that don't erupt anymore but have formed beautiful multi-colored pools.  The many different colors come from all of the minerals that are found in the water.  These geysers are very fun and interesting to see.

Another thing that is cool about Yellowstone park is the great variety of plants and animals. You will find massive pine forest and beautiful meadows that are covered with multi-colored wildflowers, plants and tall grasses that blow gently in the breeze.  There are many different birds and animals that live in the park as well.  These include ospreys, bald eagles, deer, elk, moose and bears just to name a few.  Yellowstone is also know for its herds of American Bison.  These animals are massive!  They can be seen grazing in the meadows and wandering along the side of the roads where tourists love to stop and take pictures of these rare, intimidating animals.

Yellowstone is a place that attracts a large variety of different people and offers many different experiences.  It is a wonderful place for hiking and biking (peddle or motor bikes), fishing, photography, boating, swimming, reading or just plain old relaxing and enjoying the great outdoors.  Visitors can camp in the park in tents or trailers, stay in cabins or even stay in the very nice Yellowstone Inn.  Most of the visitor centers offer food, drinks and souveniers as well.

 West Yellowstone is a fun, little western town that is just 5 minutes outside of the park to the west.  There are a lot of restaurants, hotels, motels, and shops there that make it very convenient for visitors.  You will also find Jackson Wyoming about and hour drive out the south entrance and Cody Wyoming outside of the east entrance.

Yellowstone offers something for everyone who visits whether you are a sportsman looking for adventure, a photographer who wants to enjoy nature at its best, or someone, like me, who just wants to rejuvenate your body, mind and soul by connecting with God, yourself and the earth.  It is difficult to express all of the incredible things about Yellowstone National Park.  It is an amazing place that is not duplicated anywhere on earth!


Yellowstone Lake
Lower Falls



Upper Falls
This video was taken on a digital camera so it is very unprofessional, but it shows how powerful the waterfalls are.  I hope they show up ok.


The last three pics are of the beautiful Madison River.
~Elizabeth

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