Every year we try to take a family vacation. This year we couldn't agree on our destination, so we let our five year old pick. He chose Yellowstone. We had taken our oldest son there about nine years ago, but the little one had never been, so we let him have his way.
If you have never been to Yellowstone, add it to your to-do list. It is an amazing and surprising place. It was nothing like I expected. I grew up in Colorado where we have lots of mountains, lakes, parks, and forests, and I guess I expected to see the same things in Yellowstone. Don't get me wrong, it has all of those things, but it also has so much more!
What makes Yellowstone so unique? It is located in a giant volcanic caldera, or supervolcano. It is the largest supervolcano on our continent and is active. Half of the world's geothermal features, such as geysers, hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles are found here. It is like being on a different planet in places. The first time we went, in 2003, there was so much new volcanic activity going on, that some of the features were closed to visitors. They were recording ground temperatures over 200 degrees in these places. The geysers were all erupting more often than usual and we saw so much that was so super cool. This time, there wasn't near as much activity, which was a little disappointing, but we still had a great time.
One of the other great things about Yellowstone is the wildlife. Being from Colorado, I'm used to seeing lots of wildlife, but I have never seen so many different types so close to each other in one day. Our first day there we saw: a moose, grizzly bear, elk, bison, canadian geese and pelicans. Over the course of our visit, we would see many more bison, elk, some deer, antelope and we think we even saw the outline of a wolf chasing a bison herd. Of course, you also see a whole lot of stupid humans trying to get as close as possible to the animals for a great picture. Not the brightest, people!
The one thing that really disappointed me was the mountains. I have not really spent a lot of time outside of Colorado, and I always assumed that other places had mountains like we do. I was really wrong! So far, I have seen nothing to rival our wonderful Colorado mountain ranges. I always laugh when I see the t-shirts they sell in Yellowstone that say: Got Oxygen, Elevation 8,000 feet. We get these t-shirts in Colorado, and for us, 8,000 feet is nothing. My son works at a restaurant on Mt. Evans by Idaho Springs at over 10,000 feet. Of course, Mt. Evans is one of the many Fourteener's here in Colorado, and I never realized how many of them we have here in Colorado. I will not take them for granted any more!
So if you've ever thought about going to Yellowstone but haven't, please do it. If you like nature and walking, it's ideal. If you don't like the Great Outdoors, you probably won't like it, but we had a wonderful time!
