Yellowstone National Park

Grand Tetons National Park

These are two of Linda and my most favorite and visited places

We love each and desire to return not only this fall but as often as we can

Where do I start in describing Yellowstone?

Perhaps coming in from Gardiner, Montana through the tall gate as that was the original entrance to the Park

You drive in through so so scenic land into the Mammoth Hot Springs area and everything then changes

Of course there is a wonderful lodge and food courts and billions of people but the landscape also changes almost instantly and now you know you are in Yellowstone

There are also elk everywhere and you are tempted as with all wild animals to touch or get way too close

These are not pets and so no matter how close they get,. Take millions of pictures but don't touch

The Hot Springs need to be explored and the water flowing from them has visibly decreased in the years we have been there

Then you might as we have done many times, go east on the Great Loop Road to the junction of the road to Cooke City

On the Great Loop road you will first travel over a bridge that spans a huge gorge

Then later you will pass over a mountain past an area we have walked and seen foxes in

This is also a horse trail but we walked part of it with our grandson Zach

We also ventured on another path off this trail where we took pictures of elk and a not so small brown woodchuck

We have seen a sand hill crane in its nest on a small beautiful pond on this drive

On the way down to the NE Entrance junction is the best place in the whole world to see bears,

That is if they are there and you can squeeze your car off the road to the satisfaction of the ever present and nice ranger

Dead trees just slightly up the hill and even the small pasture right at the junction are places where the bears seem to like to gather

We have many pictures of bears playing on these dead trees

We once took a picture of a cinnamon bear walking right in front of a big buffalo in the small pasture at the junction

Going toward Cooke City, you cross over the Yellowstone River and we have wonderful Big Horn Sheep pictures right in the picnic area and up the path there and across the road

One of our daughters mistook a real bighorn because she first thought it was a dog and our family wasn't all that impressed because it just stood there and seemed to wait to be photographed as it was calmly grazing

Linda and I were certainly impressed as in all of our travels through the years to Yellowstone; we have only seen the bighorn sheep twice

Further down the road we have been chased by a real grizzly bear and seen a grizzly fishing in the river

We have camped many times at Slough Creek and had fox, deer and buffalo next to our tent

The Lamar valley awaits you on the drive toward the northeast entrance and what a place

Every animal I have described is present there and antelope and yes, we have seen the famous Druid Pack when they were at their most powerful

We have watched as the feasted on the carcass of an elk,

Once we observed wolves, buffalo, a moose, and a grizzly all spread out in the same valley at the same time

This is indeed an incredible place

Quite often you will see moose just before you leave the Park at the Cooke City entrance

There are tons of "wolf" photographers all along the Lamar Valley and Slough Creek Roads

Continuing on our journey we head up the mountain toward Canyon and go past a beautiful waterfall

We stop and take more pictures and usually have something hot and usually with chocolate in it to drink

One time right after we had been to Tower Falls a woman tourist got too close to the edge and slipped and fell to her death

The Park is more than you can believe and that in itself seems to allow for visitors to take unnecessary and very dangerous risks

Continuing to Canyon is over a narrow and winding but easily traversed road that is often still closed in early June because of snow

We have stayed twice at the Canyon Lodge and always been treated so very special

Once we laid down so very tired we actually fell asleep instantly in the early afternoon and woke up to knocking on our door

In the one hour we have been asleep over eight inches of snow had fallen and young workers from the lodge had come to check on our well being

The next day was so very clear, sun out and beautiful with all the snow cover and all the roads were great

From Canyon you head down to the Fishing Bridge but first you must stop many times along the way

The first stop must be Yellowstone Falls and again it is so romantic, so photogenic, so Yellowstone

One visit just is not enough and you will find a way to come back again to this spot

You drive along the Yellowstone River, stopping to take pictures of almost everything from Herons, to Buffalo, Elk and even coyotes and wolves

You enter the Hayden Valley and we have spent so much time here watching and taking pictures of coyotes and wolves and yes, a mother grizzly and her sub adult cub

The Hayden Valley is not a second choice to the Lamar Valley, it is an equal choice to see animals and experience Yellowstone and a different choice

Fishing Bridge is a neat place to see many thousands of fish clearly from the bridge only if the water is clear and no rain

The drive out to Cody is beautiful and scenic and a drive we have taken many times yet we prefer the two great valleys

The drive around Yellowstone Lake is long and filled with animals and we have seen it in the winter and in the summer

There are small geysers along the shore that attract and hold

Your attention as you are driving through

For now I am going to continue through Yellowstone and on toward Old Faithful

Later I will take you out of the Park and into another great scenic wonder, the Grand Tetons

On the way north now to Old Faithful you climb up and over the continental divide and there is an amazing lily pond near the top where we took wonderful pictures of lily's in bloom

A lot of people seem to be disappointed in Old Faithful but we have never been disappointed

It isn't quite as huge an explosion as it once was even on our first trip so long ago, but, it is still beyond special

We were there once walking the circle trail around Old Faithful when the Beehive went off and that was really neat because it doesn't erupt so very often

The Lodge and cafe there are all worth taking your time to see and enjoy

From Old Faithful you travel further north toward the West Yellowstone road past so many beautiful geysers and you must stop and explore as many of these as you can

One of our daughters fell in love with the most perfect blue pond of boiling geyser in the Park I think it was Imperial Geyser

This is the flattest part of the Park; perhaps, it is the center of the volcano we have all heard so much about, perhaps

We have taken the Fire hole Road which is one way and a must do

My favorite drive on this road is near the West Yellowstone junction

The Fire Hole Canyon road is where we have seen big beautiful elk and of course the canyon with the falls is not to be missed

Turning up toward West Yellowstone you will pass a large meadow with buffalo, elk and moe

Then you pass the eagle's nest which sits right next to the road and of course you stop and take more pictures

We also like to take Riverside drive on this road to West Yellowstone as it runs along the river and is like everything else here, beautiful

West Yellowstone is a neat touristy town where the McDonald's is so very expensive and yet you don't mind too very much

We saw the most wonderful display of painted life sized buffalo's in West Yellowstone once and we have purchased camp food in the small grocery there often

Going back to Mammoth Hot Springs following the Great Loop Road you pass Steamboat Geyser just before the short drive at Norris Junction back to Canyon

This cut off road is pretty and we have seen bear and other animals as we drove it, once we had buffalo all around our car as we were very slowly inching our way to Canyon

Our grandson took a picture that showed him as a reflection in a buffalo's eyes, very cool

The Road back to Mammoth Hot Springs is across a pass and past a waterfall and more geysers and again ultra scenic in every way possible

One of the things you must note is that there is always road construction and it will take you twice as long to get anywhere as you think

It isn't just the road construction but you will find yourself looking for "car jams" which mean animal sighting and yes, you will stop and enjoy also

We first visited Yellowstone prior to the huge horrible and very damaging fire that destroyed so much

You can still become emotional when you drive through the forever burned areas

The Park came back so much quicker than anyone thought and it is still the most visible place of God's Presence in our country

This is our must visit and most beloved place along with our next destination, the Grand Tetons

You drive out of Yellowstone south past the Flagg Ranch but before you leave the Park there is at least one more must stop and take pictures place

It could be as you drive out past Lewis Lake but it isn't

Lewis Falls is a spectacular place where you can take wonderful photographs of not just the Falls which are wonderful but also many different birds of prey

You come down into Grand Teton National Park past Jackson Lake which is huge and where we have camped

The drive out to Moran Junction is short and so very special

Perhaps at the far back on the little dirt road, back where the eagles have a nest and there used to be a bridge across the river, behind the bend

This might be where we would love to have our ashes scattered so we could rest here forever among the beauty of God's Presence

We have spent hours watching and photographing a big beaver and on other occasions moose and elk

This is a serene and peaceful area and we love this place where the Snake River has the big bend

Although I am not certain why we always call this place the Oxbow Bend this huge bend of the Snake River

A little closer to the entrance there is the Pacific Creek road up and over a very scenic area

This is where Linda and I took the wonderful pictures of the mother bear and her two cubs

We had them all to ourselves for over a half hour and this is a moment in time we will never forget

We have seen almost every animal back here including sand hill cranes, and have explored a long ways into the forest and to the secluded housing area

The main road into Jackson is another fabulous drive past famous Dude ranches and filled with scenic views of the Tetons

We have seen grizzly bears, black bears, elk, wolves, moose, coyotes and buffalo and more all on this main road

This is a relatively flat drive surrounded by mountains almost a very high meadow but far too big to be a meadow and not deep enough really to be a valley

Some call it Jackson Hole, you drive past the airport and down into Jackson

The main entrance to the Park is at Moose junction and as you enter you can take a back road into the Jackson Ski Resort area

This is the drive where we first saw a moose and we have never forgotten the experience

You drive up and over the top of a ridge overlooking a moose area where we have walked and enjoyed

You drive further down alongside areas where we have seen many moose

Right at the bridge into Moose Junction, we have seen many moose

Moose are animals we always stop for no matter where we are and no matter how often we see them

They are an incredibly huge animal that is both majestic and have a certain authority and presence about them

You simply want to look at them, and look at them and you do and you don't even notice the time as it flies past

Jenny Lake is our most favorite camping place in the whole country

We have a special favorite camping spot and we try to get it as often as we can

You stare up at the mountains and you walk back into elk filled fields

The Tetons are named after the Breasts of a woman and it takes little imagination to see why

They are just perfect in size, shape and are firm and beautiful

We have heard the bugling of male elks there and we have walked in the fields there both in the day and the night

Once you hear a male elk bugling you never forget the sound

The Jenny Lake drive is awesome and inspiring and filled with elk, deer and other animals

We have seen a cinnamon bear there

 We have taken great pictures and visited at all times of the day and early evening

You drive up further amid scenic Teton views toward Jackson Lake and take the Signal Mountain road to the top of the mountain where the wind is always blowing

 Jackson Lake Dam is one of the most photographed points in the Park and a fine moose and bear area

We took pictures of a grizzly there one time and many times we have taken moose pictures and even a porcupine picture

Coming down into Moran Junction from Dubois is a very scenic and beautiful drive

Just up the mountain at the Lodge area is yet another walking trail and moose area

Where if you wait for a while you surely will see one of these huge animals

So much more to both Parks, so much more to say, to be seen

They are separate and different, yet the same and perfect,

They should be experienced together and we have both loved and experienced them together and individually

This is, in our opinion, the most special area of our country and should be kept as close as possible to its natural beauty

People should always be allowed to visit and experience this place and its natural beauty

I think people should be strongly encouraged to come and visit here

It draws us back to when our country was really young and allows us to feel the presence of God in a unique and clear way

On our 46^th Wedding Trip in June of 2011 we went back for three days each in the Tetons

and of course, Yellowstone.

We spent the night at the Old Faithful Inn in room 50 which is

something of a famous room. It was wonderful. We saw moose in the Tetons and bear

almost everywhere including an incredible blond young huge grizzly.

We saw wolves, bisen, coyotes, elk, big horn sheep and a lot of snow.

We have included in this update several pictures of this trip.

Yellowstone and the Tetons are our special place and yes we will return as often as possible !