Yellowstone National Park

After we got settled into our daily routines and my eyes stopped seeing two of everything we were ready to adventure into the park. We bought the ultimate guide to Montana and picked up all the maps and pamphlets at the entrance gate. We really had no idea what to expect. The is park is HUGE and one day would never be enough to see it all. Our friends and co-workers told us to go on the north loop first. They said we could find geysers, bison, elk, moose, and bears! Just a few miles into the park we crossed over another state line into Wyoming, making it a total of 15 states for Destiny in the past 9 months. Our minds were instantly blown by the beauty surrounding us. The streams, trees, fields of green... everywhere you looked. I was sitting there trying to figure how my mind was blown away by all this. I mean I did grow up on a mountain with trees, a lake, streams...why is this so incredible? Then I realized it was because of the ground coverage, it's all green and barely any dirt. Being so far north and surrounded by so many mountains, it rains a lot here. It's like Spring in So. Cal but all summer long. Nothing drys out here.. the green weeds and spring plants just never turn brown. Not all of the wildflowers are in bloom yet, but the ones that are sprinkle the fields with their glory! 

It's a drive up to the north side of the park, about 60 miles, but we took our sweet time. We pulled off the road every 3 minutes or so at some random turnout over a river, to spot some kind of wildlife or at some tourist attraction. All of it was amazing. At lunch we hiked down to the river's edge for a little picnic. After that we just continued to making our way north. It's out of this world, on minute you're in the most beautiful Forrest and then in the next you feel like you were transported to Mars. The geyser basins are barren, steam is bursting through little cracks in the earth, the colors are unnatural and the smell of sulfur fills your nose. 

                                         

We reached the Norris Geyser Basin and it is truly unreal. We didn't even hike through the whole thing but we decided to stop at Steamboat Geyser. Here's some information on it to give you a good idea of what we saw. "Steamboat Geyser- producing memorable eruptions since its first noted outburst in 1878, Steamboat Geyser is the world's tallest active geyser. When it first exploded, Steamboat hurled boiling mud and boulders into Wyoming's clear blue skies. Although the geyser calmed down for several years thereafter a violent 1911 eruption was followed by over 50 years of dormancy. During its violent 3-40 minute eruptions, Steamboat is capable of skyrocketing more than 300 feet. The sound is reportedly so deafening that people shouting to one another cannot make themselves heard. After a major eruption, steam then rolls from the geyser for hours upon end. Full eruptions such as the are highly unpredictable, and minor eruptions are the norm. Most of Steamboat's activity is limited to irregular 10-40 foot bursts of water and steam."

So as Jordan and I walked down the boardwalk we stopped in at a Steamboat look out point. We were the only ones up there. She was gushing out some water and steam so we were taking pictures and videos and then it happened! We saw one of her minor eruptions and caught it on video. It was awesome, and we were the only two who witnessed it. Other tourists came up to the look out afterwards as she was spitting up a little water but we just smiled because we had just seen one of her larger eruptions of the day!

It's crazy to think that one day this whole place is just going to BLOW!!! It's a ticking time bomb hidden underneath one of America's most beautiful places. Sad to think that eventually no one will be able to see this beauty and explore it for themselves. You have to come and see it for yourself. Don't let pictures, documentaries, or other people's stories be enough for you! It is well worth the drive..... one of America's last frontiers. 

We finished the day in Mammoth Hot Springs at the North entrance of the park. "Serving as park headquarters, Mammoth Hot Springs was one of Yellowstone's first commercialized sites. Prior to prohibition of soaking in Yellowstone's thermal features, many late 19th and early 20th century people swarmed to Mammoth for its purported healing effects. After years of poor park management and visitor abuse, the U.S. government intervened in Yellowstone's affairs, and the U.S. Calvary was called to the rescue. In 1886, the Army arrived in force and established a temporary tent camp. Five years later, the Army decided it would be a force in Yellowstone for years to come and erected the first permanent building. Construction began with clapboard building in 1891 and expanded to rows of red-roofed stone buildings in 1909. At the height of its use as a military post, Fort Yellowstone housed over 400 men and helped re-establish park control and dignity. When the National Park Service assumed park management duties in 1918, Fort Yellowstone was the logical headquarters for the growing park."

I am not always a fan of government intervention or the government in general but I have to say this is something they did right. Ulysses S. Grant saved this part of the country from the inevitable human destruction. Besides the few buildings they have scattered across the park this place has been preserved to it's natural beauty and for that I am grateful. They have done a great job turning Fort Yellowstone into a little tourist town. All of the old stone buildings still remain and the ones they have added were built to look similar. After exploring a little bit up there we went to the little gas station to get some coffee. We picked the brain of the man running the register as he was a veteran of  Yellowstone. It was a full and fun day of exploring but as the sun is setting we are ready to make the trek home. We are stoked to get back out here and see what else this place has to offer! Cheers to a great day and goodnight!

my awesome picture of a moose!