Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is one of those places that every American should see at least once. It is a wild place in a remote location, but you can visit in high style with luxury accommodations and air-conditioned bus tours if you want. You can also rough it by back-country camping or staying in a campground. Or you can do what I did, which is a combination. No matter how you do it, though, go! 

There are several ways to get into Yellowstone; having explored them all, my favorite is definitely the Beartooth Scenic Highway, which takes you into the northeast entrance of the park. It's not for the faint-hearted, though. Climbing from the valley floor to a height of over 11,500, this is a serious road. Here's a view of the valley below from about 9,000 feet up.

The climb is vertigo-inducing, but once you get up to the plateau, you cruise along for a while at about 11,000 feet. It's absolutely gorgeous, with stunning vistas in all directions. And who doesn't love a little snow in July?

The Lamar Valley: Once you actually get into Yellowstone, you drive through the beautiful Lamar Valley, one of the best places in the park for wildlife watching. Drive through at dawn or dusk for the best chance at seeing bison, wolves, bears, moose and deer. I was fortunate enough to see a mama moose with her calf.

And of course, several bison. It's neat to see a bison in person, but after the first few, they become sort of routine. Some animals don't, such as moose or wolves, but bison get old. They are still huge, awesome creatures, though.

Weather in Yellowstone, like in any high mountainous area, can be unpredictable and change quickly. A storm rolled through the Lamar Valley, which was a bummer, but this rainbow made it worth suffering through the storm.

Canyon: Another beautiful area of the park is in around the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, called simply "Canyon" in the park. The best view in Yellowstone is from Artists' Point. Not only is the waterfall gorgeous, but the colors in the canyon really change, especially at sunset.

Geothermal Features: Yellowstone actually sits in the collapsed caldera of an ancient supervolcano, which is partly what creates all of the unique geothermal features for which the park is known. In my opinion, they're interesting to see, but they're not really my favorite part of the park. Here are some of the ones I saw:

Fire: Forest fire is common in Yellowstone's pine forests; coniferous trees actually depend on fire to reproduce. In 1988, many areas of the park were burned and still look stark today, especially from far away. But fire replenishes the soil and while it may take longer for trees to grow, gorgeous wild flower displays are common in Yellowstone in the areas that have been recently burned and re-seeded by fire.