FOCUS ON THE BACKROADS: National Parks: YELLOWSTONE

One March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law establishing Yellowstone as the first national park in the United States.  For centuries Native Americans lived in the Yellowstone area.  This area was by-passed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 1800’s (if they had visited this region they may have stopped and never made it to the Pacific Ocean).  Except  for visits from Mountain Men there were no organized exploration of this area until the 1860’s.  Almost immediately 3,500 square miles of the most beautiful  and unusual terrain  in the US was set aside to be enjoyed by people from around the world.  From 1872 till 1917 the US Army was in charge of overseeing the park. When the National Park Service was created the this task was transferred.

Yellowstone  Lake, one of the largest high altitude lakes in North America is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super volcano in North America.  There have been three super eruptions occurring 2.1million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago.   These along with numerous smaller eruptions formed the spectacular sites at one of our most visited National Parks.

Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles have been documented in Yellowstone.  These include Grizzle bears, wolves, bison, elk, deer, and many others.  This area has many recreation opportunities:  fishing, hiking, camping,  white water rafting, site seeing, and (you guessed it) MANY PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES.

My family roots are firmly planted in Montana.  Both my parents and grandparents were born and raised there.  Along with my family I made many trips to this area when I was young and had the pleasure to visit Yellowstone during the “Wonder Year” period of my life.  Recently my son and I visited Yellowstone and the Tetons (subject of another blog entry).  With our cameras in hand we headed out before the sun came up and returned long after it went down at night.  He and I did not get to visit every square mile of the park, we tried, oh well a good reason to go back.

If you are planning a trip to Yellowstone I would suggest checking out Yellowstone Under Canvas.  If you are looking for a “non-traditional” place to stay – this is the place.  It is Glamping at its finest!

Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.  Albert Einstein