The drive from Cupertino to Yellowstone is about 1100 miles. We had to divide it into 550 mile legs, and we stayed the night in the middle in a town in Nevada called Elko. We drove for ten hours per day....through Nevada. Nevada is...deserted. Literally. There's nothing there, besides scrubby desert. Oh yeah. not counting the casinos and prisons. Nevada's a fun state. Then comes Idaho. Idaho is more fertile than Nevada, but it's COVERED in potato farms. There are special mobile potato sprinklers, and they looked to me like swings. They are basically rods from which hoses hanging from them. Anyway, these states, to me, aren't the most interesting. But then we arrived in Yellowstone.
The first thing we saw in Yellowstone was trees. Trees and trees and trees and trees. It was so.....natural, pristine, and untouched. Occasionally we saw small geysers and steam coming from the side of the road. But we had arrived at around six, so it became dark soon. We soon had to go to bed, in our cabin in the town of Canyon. The next day, we set out exploring. So Yellowstone basically has this huge 8-shaped road called the Grand Loop. It includes the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Hayden Valley, the Old Faithful Area, the Norris Geyser Area, and Yellowstone Lake, and many more small areas. On the first day, we visited Norris and Old Faithful. Norris was basically just a lot of steaming geysers. There was just one eruption, and not much at that. But then, we went to Old Faithful. It's famous for erupting every 90 minutes. We arrived JUST in time ( it was pretty amazing) and the eruption commenced. It was...awe-inspiring. The scalding water shot up a hundred feet in the air, with steam everywhere. I won't ever forget it. ( I'll talk all about geysers and how they work in another post) That night, we went to bed with just a taste of Yellowstone in our mouths, and we were hungry for more.
The next day, we hit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This canyon looks just as big and deep as the Grand Canyon. That's what i find amazing about Yellowstone. The environment is so diverse. It has geysers, wildlife, a GIGANTIC lake, and huge canyon, and waterfalls. It combines the best of the national parks into one huge beauty. Anyway, back to the canyon. The Yellowstone river cuts through a HUGE canyon, culminating in Lower Falls. The canyon was amazing. Soon after, we got into the car and drove through the Hayden Valley, famous for its wildlife. At first, we saw nothing. But then, a herd of bison appeared out of nowhere. And by a herd, I mean a herd, like the kind you see at the waterholes in Africa. It was amazing. But as we drove by, we headed north, to the town of Mammoth Hot Springs.
The next day, we visited the Mammoth terraces. Formed by redeposited limestone, the formations look like small stairways. Colonized by bacteria, the formations boast amazing colors and serene cascades of scalding water, straight from the hot springs. The good part of this part was the ranger guiding the tour. With a little more knowledge about the area, the visit was much more enjoyable and didn't seem tiring in the least. Afterwards, we hung out in the Map Room of the Mammoth Lodge and waited until 6, for the animals to come out. Then we headed to the Lamar Valley, a not-so-known wildlife viewing spot. It turns out that it completely destroyed Hayden in terms of awesomeness. We saw a grizzly bear sharing a dead elk with a pack of wolves. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. It was just.....wow.
We spent a few more days in Yellowstone, but then we headed to Grand Teton National Park. The whole park is centered around the massive Jackson Lake, with the Teton range jutting out against the sky. We woke up early in the morning and got the most amazing photos of the sunrise on the mountains. We saw an elk farm on the way out, and it was great too.
In conclusion, Yellowstone is by far the most amazing natural place I have ever been to, and the beauty and serenity will never to cease to be etched into my mind.
Look below for a few pictures from the trip;
