Yellowstone

This is the grandaddy of all National Parks.  When President Grant designated this amazing wilderness in 1872, there was no such thing as a National Park anywhere.  Yellowstone is the first and arguably the greatest of all natural conservation areas.  Due to the volcano beneath the park, it’s boundaries encompass more active thermal features (over 10,000) than the rest of the entire world.

In a span of less than 1 hour, we saw a coyote hunting on a hillside, bison grazing in the grasslands and a black bear napping along the banks of the Yellowstone River.  The scenery at Yellowstone’s “grand canyon” is magnificent:

While some national parks overwhelm with vistas and the sheer size of features, there is a quiet serenity at Yellowstone:

And the Old Faithful Inn is an architectural knockout:

Here are some thermal features near the Old Faithful Inn:

And here’s Old Faithful doing it’s thing!

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