The Many Faces of Yellowstone

We entered Yellowstone from the south after a long day in the Tetons.   It was a 63 mile drive to our campground, almost all of it in the park.  What became clear on that drive is that there isn't one landscape of Yellowstone, it is an amazingly diverse world unto itself.  Seriously it is like no where else I have ever been.

We started out in a fairly flat area of pine forests as we entered the park.  Then the landscape opened up as the road hugged the edge of Yellowstone lake, an absolutely huge lake on the south side of the park. 

Next the road followed Yellowstone river as we began to head north.  We encountered our first geo-thermal areas as we smelled before we saw the mud pits and sulfur cauldron areas.  The road got a bit more hilly and we saw our first bison as the landscape changed once again and the trees gave way to the open grasses of the Hayden Valley.  This is where the buffalo roam although we wouldn't see the whole herd until our second full day.

After the beauty of the valley we once again were in the pine forests as the road again rose up as we approached the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  We finally got to the Canyon junction and our campsite. At that point we had only seen a fraction of the park but it was amazing.  It felt like each time we rounded another bend we were entering a new world.  

As we settled into, our campsite, I began to realize what a special place Yellowstone really is and how lucky we were to be able to be there and witness nature and the world as it should be.