Yellowstone – Prelude

For the benefit and enjoyment of the people

Those words are carved into the Roosevelt Arch that is the North entrance to Yellowstone National Park.  Yellowstone was the world’s first national park, officially designated in 1872 by Congress.

As most of my followers know, Nikki and I are headed to Yellowstone for a week tomorrow morning.  In fact, as I am posting this, Nikki is on her way to Denver.  She’s flying in overnight and staying in a hotel, and will be meeting me at the airport tomorrow morning. We’ll hook up and fly on to Jackson Hole, getting there around 1PM or so, assuming the fucking airlines don’t manage to hose something up (we’re not flying Delta, so that should help).

There’s something about landing at the foot of the Grand Tetons, towering over 7,000 feet above the valley floor literally right in front of you, that is just incredibly awe inspiring.  The airport doesn’t have jetways like most airports – you have to get off by walking down a set of stairs right in front of those huge, snow-capped mountains, breathing in that fresh, cool, crisp mountain air as you take in the imagery presented by those spectacular creations of Mother Nature.

Yellowstone is a magical, spiritual place to me.  My parents first took me there back when I was a child and I have always been grateful for that.  I’ve been back several times since; there was a period of time where we went every summer for four years in a row.  I’ve been in May, June, July, August, September, October, and December (the park is closed in November and April, generally).  Christmas in the wonderland that is Yellowstone in the winter is in itself a unique experience.

Every time you go so much has changed that it is like going to the park for the first time all over again, yet everything’s the same.  Yellowstone is the one place where you can see the raw forces of nature at work, yet they’re very accessible.  There are not too many places in the world where you can be sitting at a picnic table and have these massive 2,000 pound bison walk right by you.  You’re scared to death, yet at the same time beset by an incredible sense of awe and wonder.

You’d likely not be surprised that I tear up a good bit when I reflect on Yellowstone.  I don’t know why, but being there is a spiritual experience for me.  It didn’t have that kind of impact on me the first time I went (I was eight), but when I got back a few years later, something about that place embedded itself in my psyche and just hasn’t let go.  In fact, it’s grown stronger every time I’ve returned.  I’d love to retire to the area one day and work in the park in some capacity.

Over the next few days, I’ll be keeping a journal of our experiences in the park and environs.  If I recall correctly, it is almost impossible to get a good cellular data connection inside the park, so I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to post our exploits to the blog every night, but I’ll try.  I will also try to post the important stuff to Twitter if I can – again, not sure how good the connectivity will be in various places throughout the 2.2 million acre playground (larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined).

I’ll be taking my camera with me as well.  It’s a Nikon D100, equipped with three different lenses (including an 80-400 mm zoom for those [hopefully] good wildlife shots).   I’ve got my polarizer and warmth filters and hope to get some decent shots of the animals, thermal features, mountains, and other sights in and around the park to post here and on my Yellowstone Tumblr. I’ll only post a handful here on the blog and the majority of them on the Tumblr to conserve space and load times on the blog.

Our itinerary tentatively looks something like this:

• Day 1:  Land in Jackson, drive to West Yellowstone to stay overnight.  We’ll pick up some groceries and snacky things in town, eat at one of the local eateries, and settle in for the night after all that driving.  It’s about 3-4 hours from the airport to WYS, and we typically stop at Lewis Falls and anywhere we come across wildlife when we drive through the park, so it often takes longer than that. 
• Day 2:  Head up through Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth, and Gardiner.  We’ll stay at Mammoth Hotel overnight, and probably eat in its dining room [menu].
• Day 3:  Get up at o-dark thirty to drive to Lamar Valley to see the wolves and other wildlife, then to Tower Fall^W, and onto the Old Faithful area where we’ll be staying the next two nights.  Dinner will be at the Old Faithful Inn^W Dining Room [menu].
• Day 4:  Head over to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone^W and up to Mt. Washburn^W.  We plan to hike to the top of Washburn if the trails are accessible.  The hike is about 2.5 miles each way and takes you to the summit of the mountain at about 10,500 feet, traveling through prime grizzly bear habitat.  There’s a huge fire lookout tower at the top.  The view is incredible on a clear day when you can see an unobstructed 360 degree view of the park, and can even see the Grand Tetons off in the distance (some 80 miles south).
• Day 5:  Walking tours of the Upper, Midway, and Lower Geyser basins, then head down to Grant Village where we’ll be staying that night.  We’ll probably also hike to Fairy Falls if the weather is cooperative.  Dinner will be at the famous Lake Hotel^W [menu].
• Day 6:  Up early again to head into Hayden Valley^W to catch the wildlife, then out to Sylvan Pass, Fishing Bridge, West Thumb, and around Yellowstone Lake^W.  We’ll head out to Flagg Ranch for the night.
• Day 7:  Take in the sights in Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole.  We’ll be staying in JH that night.
• Day 8:  Get up way too early again for our flights home.  :(

Of course, all of that is subject to change, based on weather, road construction/closures, how tired we are at any given point, etc. 

Right now the weather forecast if a bit iffy.  It has wavered between showing rain showers almost every day to being partly cloudy with a chance of rain some of those days.  The lows should be in the 40s and highs in the upper 50s, lower to mid-60s.  That said, a rainy day in Yellowstone is better than the sunniest days in just about any place else I can think of. 

We’re taking two sets of clothing – winter and summer.  When we get out in the mornings, it is usually in the 30s or 40s, and by the time afternoon rolls around it will be well into the 60s or 70s in many cases.  It’s not uncommon for it to snow in the park during this time of year even, so we have to be prepared for that as well.  We’ll start out each day in winter stuff, then get nekkid in our car and change into the summer stuff when the temperature warms up.

We’re also taking a radio scanner with us.  Listening to the Park Service discuss where the animals are and what’s going on in the park is the best way to know where to head many times.  We have a scanner that we use to listen to the local fire department at home (Fort Lauderdale), and so Nikki’s bringing it with her so we can hear what’s going on.

Anyway, I invite you to travel along with us via Twitter, the blog, and the Tumblr.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to post each day.  If not, we’ll eventually catch up.  Obviously, I won’t be posting anything of any substance on the blog or my other Tumblrs outside vacation stuff for the next week or so, so enjoy the break with me. 

I have to go finish packing. 

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