A Yellowstone Vacation...

My parents went to Yellowstone National Park on their honeymoon, so when it came to family vacations once we kids came along, they always chose someplace they'd never been to.  We camped in Colorado twice, saw the Bad Lands in South Dakota, the Corn Palace in Nebraska, and went all the way to Key West one winter, but we never saw Yellowstone National Park.

So when my mother-in-law applied for a job at Yellowstone National Park the summer of 2006 (they hire senior citizen's to work in the gift shops and restaurants over the summer), we decided that it would be fun to visit her while she was there. 

(Yes, there really are yellow stones at Yellowstone.)

Although Yellowstone Canyon and Yellowstone Falls were absolutely breathtaking, what really fascinated me were the buffalo.

My childhood hero was Sacajawea, and I read many books about the Shoshone Indians and the buffalo when I was younger.  Seeing them up close was thrilling!

Whenever we had to stop to wait for buffalo to cross the road, I took a lot of photos.

We didn't see much else for wildlife except for one lone moose, which was fine with me.

What we did see were a lot of sizzling hot, putrid smelling, freaky, creepy things. 

It occurred to me more than once that if these things were happening anywhere else in the world, they'd be evacuating people for miles around.

Instead, we're hanging over the edges of the catwalks...

Gaping at the sights...

Breathing in fumes and gases that are so caustic they kill trees...

Reading stories of the poor people who have been scalded to death over the years when they stepped in the wrong place and fell through the thin crust of earth that covers the steaming cauldrons of acidic water...  

Holding our noses and inhaling vapors that would have the EPA screaming if we were at work...

And despite it all, trying to get as close as we can...

Risking life and limb should we trip and fall...

So we can take some macros.

It truly was a bizarre experience. In fact, after using the outhouse near one of the boiling mud pots at Yellowstone, my husband commented that it was the first time in his life that the air was fresher inside the outhouse than out!

Then, when we visited the Observation Point were we would look down and see Yellowstone Falls, we found out that the place were my parents stood and looked at the falls when they were on their honeymoon in 1953 wasn't even there anymore because the whole thing fell into the canyon during an earthquake!

Granted, the view was beautiful, but I really wasn't sure I wanted to hang around taking pictures for very long - if you get my drift!

Despite the oddities, the sulfuric smells, and the weird factor that pervaded our visit, I felt a great sense of awe while at Yellowstone.  Parts of the park exuded a sense of serenity that I've rarely felt before.

Being in a place where there are acres and acres of untouched land was a rare and very touching experience.

Yellowstone Park truly is a grand place. No trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a visit to Old Faithful. While I don't have a photo of Old Faithful, you can click here (Old Faithful About to Erupt - Anticipation!), to experience it - complete with sound effects - on a video I posted a few months ago.

After 3 days exploring Yellowstone, we headed home. We caught a glimpse of the Grand Tetons on the way... maybe next time!

Our train ride home was relaxing and fun. All in all, our trip out west was a great summer vacation!

Thanks for coming along on my journey to Yellowstone National Park!

(All pictures were taken by me with my trusty Canon Powershot A85.)