YNP

So what is this park all about?  Yellowstone - now that we understand how it got it's name from the yellow rock you see every where - is beautiful.  The areas we have seen so far can only be described as raw wilderness.  And how did the pioneers and Jim Bridger and John Colter in particular (he was with Lewis and Clark on their 2 year trek) find all the places that the tourists go to today?  Most of the Grand Loop Road/Trail that winds around the park was formed from old Indian trails.  The Indians knew all about this place - they knew of the hot bubbling springs, the abundant wildlife, and spoke of the fires that happened in summer.  They came here to hunt, for rendezvous, to gather the special water for medicinal purposes.

Hayden Valley - along western Grand Loop Road

My impression of the park is this:  you drive in and out of pristine forests of lodgepole pines, into wide open meadows (like this HaydenValley picture above that we have drive through) with small streams running through it, vista views of mountains with snow on them, then into an area that stinks from the hot springs/geysers, then back into an open meadow and then into forests.  80% of the trees here are lodgepole pine.  Big open sky.  The temperature varies from area to area, and you have to realize at some points you are 8000 feet up in altitude so the temp could be 10 to 15 degrees cooler there.  It is a beautiful park.  Lodgepole pines burnt out in areas from a wildfire and new seedlings growing up at the base of the old trees, the smell of the forests, the wide blue sky, the wind rustling the trees. life is good.

They have experienced a drought just like the rest of the country and the wild flowers are dried up. Seems everything is quite dry.  And to imagine that within one month there will be snow here.  The roads are closed in the winter but one, shutting down about October 31st, the only entrance in is through the north entrance that we travel on.  People can drive to Mammoth Hot Springs and use that as a winter base to move around in.  Snowmobiles, cross country skiing, etc.  I would love to see what it looks like in the winter - with snow covering everything and steam rising from the hot pools and springs giving a mist like a cloud.  Must be beautiful.

And this park, being the first in the country, is very tourist friendly.  Lots of areas to stop and picnic, areas to pull off and view the scenery, camping is abundant in designated areas, there is a section in one of the meadows where horseback riding is done - parking for those trailers is plentiful.  Many waterfalls to view and lots of parking to stop and walk to them.  Signage seems to be appropriate and able to view. We have noticed on the couple of hikes we have done - the signage is there, readable, and well marked - unlike Glacier where we got lost at times. There are 6 visitors centers with full services, and 2 other centers that have limited service.  And roadside restrooms - I only saw 1 during the whole time in Glacier.  Glad we came here.