First Impressions of Yellowstone National Park

Somehow, I managed to make it to my early 20s without ever visiting Yellowstone National Park. I chalk it up to a lapse of judgment on my parents' part. We went to plenty of other great parks, like Yosemite and Zion, but for some reason never made it to Yellowstone. That all changed this summer, when we headed west for a full-fledged family reunion at Grand Teton National Park. My extended family arrived from Utah, Arizona, Idaho and Minnesota. Although we enjoyed hiking the trails of Grand Teton National Park, we decided to make a short day trip up to Yellowstone National Park.

The most surprising thing for me was how bad the infamous 1988 burn really was. It was like looking at acre upon acre filled with just the skeletons of what used to be healthy trees. I though there would be more regrowth by now, but I was clearly wrong.

Despite all the dead trees, there was plenty of wildlife to see at Yellowstone National Park. I saw two elk near Old Faithful and later saw black bears, bison, moose and plenty of white-tailed deer. It was pretty funny to watch people crowd around to snap pictures of the deer, since, where I'm from, we consider the white-tailed deer a pest. When I see deer at home, I usually send out my German Shepherd to scare them out of the garden.

I got to see more of Yellowstone National Park on the drive home. While we had driven in to Grand Teton National Park through South Dakota (and the craziness of Sturgis) we decided to take the Northern route home, going through Montana and North Dakota. Although we made a quick stop at the Paint Pots and a few other cool geysers, the best part of my second day in Yellowstone was the quiet northern section of the park. Very few people venture up in that area, which is why it is one of the best places for seeing animals. Best of all, we had no trouble finding parking when we wanted to stop for a picnic. Parking is a major hassle in the Old Faithful area.

Now that I've finally gotten a taste of Yellowstone National Park, I am eager to go back. After all, I do have plenty of lost time to make up for.