A last minute trip fell into place last week and I just happened to end up on a six-day vacation in Yellowstone National Park. My friend, Lisa, and I packed a car and headed west on an iconic American road trip.
After 12 hours in the car we became immersed in the Yellowstone culture of nature and preservation from the moment we arrived. For five days in the park we didn’t mind at all that we didn’t watch television, flip on a radio (we were talking too much for that), and 99% of the time, cell phone connection was lost. While unsettling at first, after a few days, I didn’t care if I ever saw my cell phone or email account again.
I started to fall in love with a place 3-million tourists visit each year. It was difficult for me to understand the intense magnitude of the park’s size and breathtaking beauty until I experienced it first hand.
We got great behind-the-scenes perspective from my brother, who is a park ranger in the backcountry of Yellowstone and his girlfriend, who is a gate attendant. They took us to all of the typical tourist spots, including the Old Faithful geyser that naturally shoots an impressive water show every 90 minutes and the mud volcano – a thermal phenomenon where scorching mud bubbles and smells like sulfur. Our personal guides explained each feature, told us how beautiful rock formations were formed, and told us about the famous ghost stories of the park.
Old Faithful
We met park workers, rangers and many volunteers of varying ages who had been coming to the park for decades. I didn’t understand why someone would volunteer to shovel horse manure and clear trees off trails year after year – some had been volunteering for the park’s warm season for more than 30 years. It was a curious thought that stuck with me.
On the last leg of our trip, our guides took us to the northeast part of the park to Lamar Valley. From our location at the center of the park, the drive took nearly three hours and wound us through the Dunraven Pass. We traveled at the posted speed of 45 miles per hour, but slowed to a stop at times, due to winding roads and traffic jams caused by wildlife sightings.
Part of the bison herd in Lamar Valley.
When we rolled to the base of the mountain and into Lamar Valley, Lisa and I understood the term “breathtaking beauty.” The valley has a giant blue sky, plenty of green crawling up the petite mountain range. It’s home to a wild buffalo herd, and it’s a great place to spot wolves, bears and deer.
We entered the ranger station and small residential area for a cookout with friends of our guides, who lived in two 1930s log cabins that had been built for ranger use.
During a delightful meal of grilled chicken, we sat out on a picnic table with one of the most amazing backdrops I’ve ever seen. I listened to the rush of the creek, with its icy water flowing from the mountain’s snowmelt. As the sun set over the Specimen Ridge of the Absaroka Range, break lights of traveling tourists lit up the two-lane road. Some of the bison enjoyed a late dinner extremely close to the road, while others crossed to look for higher ground. It made for a great photo opportunity and a driving hazard.
The creek that dined with me and sang me to sleep.
The words of a 24-year Yellowstone volunteer rang in my head.
“Yellowstone gets in your blood,” he told me one night around a campfire.
I can see why he had stuck around for so long. Being surround by constant beauty in too many varying forms to count, while relaxing to a point of joy, would make a person want more.
I think Yellowstone has found its way into my veins too.
The sun setting over part of the Absaroka Range in Yellowstone National Park.