I spent a week in Yellowstone National Park in early September 2009. It was my first visit to this natural wonder upon wonder. These are my reflections on the wonders and lessons of Yellowstone.Lesson 1: Getting There
One can read dozens of books, watch several DVDs and go bleary-eyed looking at Yellowstone web sites (I did all of the above). But nothing can prepare the novice for the wonders inside Yellowstone’s 2.2 million acres. The first lesson we learned was how to get to and from the park. Or, perhaps, how not to get there.
Our trip coincided with a parents’ weekend visit to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs to visit our son, Cadet Third Class Matthew. We figured we could make the drive northwest on Labor Day (at the conclusion of parents’ weekend) and do the return trip to the Denver airport a week later. Thankfully my wife thinks long-distance driving is fun and she was up for the 20 plus hours of round-trip driving. But even she agrees that flying to Salt Lake City, Bozeman or even West Yellowstone is worth the extra Benjamins – no matter how many – to shorten the drive time to the park. It turns out that one spends an awful lot of time in the car in Yellowstone, and driving 10 plus hours to get there just makes one dread the return drive so much that it’s hard to enjoy all the driving through the park.
The drive improved greatly as we headed north and drove along the Hoback River. This is a river I had never heard of and I was immediately mesmerized as it emerged from the Gros Ventre Range and wound through the ranches and mountains before reaching the Snake south of Jackson. I will return just to fish the Hoback.
We stopped in Jackson to play the role of tourist. Pictures were taken at the antler arch in the town square. Art galleries were admired -- before and after suffering from sticker shock. T-shirts were laughed at. The only purchases were a few post cards. We’re cheap.
We arrived Tuesday afternoon at the Park’s southern entrance. We cruised through (with our pass bought in the Tetons) and the park began to teach us even more lessons.
Next: Where to stay in Yellowstone.
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