SPRING VACATION: Yellowstone National Park

We came back late Saturday from an extended visit to Yellowstone National Park; what a trip.

We usually go on one of our “hard” meaning “physical” vacations in early spring (May) to beat the crowds and the kids but maybe we were a little too early but as it turned out; it was a perfect time.

Yellowstone opened a week before we arrived. The winter there was the worst on record with some areas getting over 25 FEET of snow and some of that snow was still there when we entered but the roads were clear.

We made a loop in the park, staying at three (3) locations: Old Faithfull, Mammoth Springs and Lake Village in individual cabins, each area quite different from each other.

I didn’t know that the whole park is basically a volcano with hot, spewing geysers all over the place. The last time the volcano blew was 640,000 years ago so I guess it can blow at any time. The smoking geysers made the place look like Mars.

But we really came here to see the animals. Early spring was birthing time and most of the animals had young ones with them. We saw bears with cubs and buffalo and calves. The valleys were lush and green and the animals finally had some grass to eat. The mountain melting snow also produced many rivers and rivulets all over the place.

We took nearly a thousand (1,000) pictures; we both had cameras and have many stories to tell. It was quite an experience.