Uniquely Yellowstone
Yellowstone is one of the most well known national parks in the whole world. It has the reputation of the first national park, although Hot Springs and Yosemite also claimed to be the first one, it all depends on your definition. Yellowstone was the first one to have the name "national park" but Hot Springs and Yosemite were federally protected lands before Yellowstone. Either way, people from all over the the world travel to see this unique place.
The park sits on top of the largest supervolcano on the continent, which is why half of the world's geothermal features are here. The park is also home to one of the largest nearly intact ecosystems in the world and the largest location of megafauna in the continental U.S. This means, a diversity of indigenous plant and animal species are supported in their unbroken natural habitats with minimal human contact. So when you visit Yellowstone, you are seeing a wilderness that is almost unchanged from how it looked when the first explorers saw it. This explains why even though I was only able to visit a fraction of the park, I saw more animals in one day there than I have seen throughout the course of my life. I had an amazing time.
I visited Yellowstone towards the end of its winter season, so I still had to deal with the seasonal road closures. But, I got to enter the park through the Gardiner, MT north entrance and through the Roosevelt Arch. Theodore Roosevelt laid the corner stone of the arch, which is a beautiful piece of architecture that celebrates the amazing place. Across the top of the arch it reads "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People;" a quote from the Organic Act of 1872 that created the park. Even right there at the arch, outside of the park boundaries, there was a huge herd of grazing elk. As I drove into the park to the visitors center, I passed more elk, some pronghorn, and bison. At the visitors center, I did like I always do and asked a million questions about the park. The ranger told me about the animals I would see, about the bears coming out of hibernation, about what's open in the park, and about how I should plan my day. The rangers are always full of great information and they love talking about their park.
After the visitors center, I went a little up the road to the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. This is one of the many places in the park to see geothermal activity. Here, I saw many colorful hot springs all over the ground. The water is heated by the underground volcanic activity and a variety of microscopic organisms thrive in the water. The result is beautiful pools of all shapes and colors. I walked along the boardwalks over the travertine terraces created by the mineral rich water, watched chipmunks run all over, and watched some of the most colorful birds I've ever seen. I saw a mountain bluebird and a Cassin's finch, the first bright blue and the second bright pink. The birds really liked the juniper and pine trees.
After I finished my birdwatching, I continued east down the road. I stopped at many overlooks to see Undine Falls, Phantom Lake, and multiple herds of bison and elk. I even got stuck in a bison traffic jam. As I passed by Roosevelt Lodge, I saw a red fox and a yellow-bellied marmot, both animals I've never seen in the wild before. Then I made it to Lamar Valley, a river valley well known for wildlife watching. It is also home to the reintroduced wolf population. There I saw a large group of wolf watchers with their scopes and cameras. They had tracked the wolves and were hoping to catch a glimpse of the packs. Even though we didn't end up seeing the wolves, it was fun to be a part of. And, I saw a coyote right next to my car in the parking lot.
On my way back down the road to leave the park, as if I hadn't seen enough wildlife, I got to see one of the most well known residents of Yellowstone, the grizzly bear! First, I stopped at a lot because I saw a group with some scopes. It was a tour group and the guide said they saw a grizzly bear but it went over the hill. So they left to go down the road more to follow its path. I went down the road also and came across tons of cars pulled over and I figured they must be bear searching too. Then I looked over and saw the bear. It was huge! I saw the characteristic hump on its back and watched it wander along the stream. I was very lucky to see one, the ranger that morning had said only an estimated 6% of bears in the park were out of hibernation. It was a great way to end the day.
I had a magical day at Yellowstone. I saw so many animals and so much beautiful scenery. I understand why Roosevelt and so many other people have been inspired by the park and have fought for its protection. Its a unique place of potential supervolcanic destruction bubbling beneath snow topped mountains, lively river valleys, and peaceful forests. Amazing!
See my pictures of Yellowstone National Park in the Gallery.
