Last summer our family took a trip west. In mid July, we entered
Yellowstone National Park dressed in short sleeves and shorts only to
discover that at the altitude we were, we needed more. It was a chilly
47 degrees. Just before entering the park, we came upon a huge bison
bull lumbering up a hill alongside the road. We passed within a few
feet of him, and he totally ignored us. We were not about to get out of
the car though because we had heard of some horror stories of people
being seriously injured by these monstrosities of nature. We heard of
one very foolish tourist who tried taking a selfie with one of these
huge beasts and got stomped. Yellowstone itself is a beautiful park if
you enjoy nature, which we do.
As
we started through Yellowstone, the road climbed steadily until it
seemed as though we could see forever.
As
we were driving along, we heard the distinctive bugle of a bull elk not
far off. Look though we would, we were unable to see any elk; however,
about five miles down the road we were fortunate to glimpse some elk
grazing among the trees some distance from the road. These animals are
extremely shy, so we counted ourselves fortunate to see them. Will and
Matthew also saw a gray wolf that Everett and I missed. We all saw a
couple of bald eagles as we drove through the park but were unable to
get a picture of them.
Here
Matthew stands above the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (not to be
confused by the Grand Canyon), an impressive gorge running through
Yellowstone. We all hiked to the bottom of this
gorge which turned out to be a real workout, especially for me. By the time I got back to the car, I was
battling for breath, so quite possibly I was already dealing with the
pneumonia that took me down when we returned. Viewing the falls after
reaching the bottom of the gorge is a breathtaking experience.
Here
is a good picture of one of the bison we saw while driving through the
park. Grazing serenely in the grasslands, this animal seems very
innocuous. Don't be fooled! They can be extremely bad-tempered and can
easily kill a man.Not only are they big, they are also very fast,
reaching speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. They seem slow because
their movements are somewhat sluggish, but when angered or frightened,
they are flat out fast.
Our
budding photographer, Matthew, took our picture here above a pond in
the hills of the Yellowstone National Park. We were fortunate to
experience great weather the whole time we were out west.
Above
towers the Mammoth Hot Springs. Clouds of steam rise into the sky.
Colors transform the rock faces into a beautiful scene. The hot springs
are transformed into many colors because of the minerals that are
present. One thing that is not so pleasant near the hot springs is the
sulfuric odor. These springs are frequently called paint pots because
of the many colors seen in them.
Picture is another view from above of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The beauty of this park is amazing.
As
we travel north, we climb higher and higher into the mountains. On a
narrow two lane road, one peeks down hundreds of feet while at these
dizzying heights. Needless to say, one does not drive fast on this road
with its nonexistent shoulders and its sharp curving switchbacks. The
view, however, is spectacular. Leaving these mountains behind after a
nine hour drive around the park, we finally began our descent towards
the eastern exit where we left all this glorious God-created majesty
behind.
