We are blessed to have two National Parks nearby...and I believe they are 2 of the prettiest national parks in the US. The closest is Grand Teton with a boutique range of spectacular mountains, that captured my heart and soul half a century ago
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The Tetons from Schwabacher's Landing are spectacular. You can see a sliver of the Snake River shimmering in the foreground.
Natural beauty at it's best.
Another view of the mountains from Oxbow Bend...possibly my favorite place in the world. I can gaze at Mt. Moran for hours and feel at peace.
A few short miles from the Tetons is Yellowstone, the first national park in the world. It's impossible to use one word to describe this park as it's too big and filled with amazing wonders. You can look at Old Faithful Geyser one minute and see a 2000 pound bison resting near a mud pot the next. There are geysers and mud pots that spout and smell, as well as an outdoor zoo filled with some of America's iconic animals, lakes and rivers, mountains and streams, all above a huge resting volcano that has not blown it's top for millennia.
Sunset at Yellowstone Lake is special as it marks the time when some of the large animals make a foray into the meadows for some juicy morsels to munch upon. There's a chance (not guaranteed) to see bear, elk, moose, deer and bison. Sometimes you are lucky and you see all of them, sometimes you see none of them. We saw a mama moose and her twins one evening (but her twins were camera shy).
The elk congregate in the Mammoth area of the park, and they are quite adept at blocking traffic (but bison do it even better)
This big guy was ready for the rut which was about to begin when we were there.
In a few more days, harems would be formed and bugling would begin. He's resting now.
No trip to Yellowstone is complete until I see Artist Point, in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.
Here you can see the rhyolite...or the yellow stone that gives this natural wonder it's name.
If you want to get up early (and it's mandatory if you plan to see critters) you will be entranced by the morning mist on the rivers and lakes.
I'm always amazed at how a tree can grow in a rock...but they do. It's my way of thinking "never give up hope."
Throughout the park, you will see critters big and small--a coyote looking or lunch...
...or a pronghorn enjoying the sage. We saw herds of bison but no bears.
No matter...any time spent in Yellowstone and the Tetons is amazing and we had an amazing time.
