Yellowstone

 

James and I just returned from a trip to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons! It was wonderful and we are very thankful that we were able to enjoy such a great trip.

I took this picture the day we arrived. The airport runway is right beside the mountains.

 

We flew into Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Jackson Hole is the valley at the base of the Grand Teton Mountain Range. This range is the youngest of the Rocky Mountains. The Tetons are formed by faulting action where the mountain side of the fault is pushed upward and the valley side of the fault sinks.  This faulting action began only 6 - 9 million years ago.

 

 

 

 

When John D. Rockefeller, Jr. visited Jackson Hole, he decided that this area should be added to Yellowstone National Park. He began buying property that he later turned over to the National Park Service. Today the two parks are connected by the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway.

 

After two nights in the Tetons, we headed up to Yellowstone.

 

 

 Yellowstone National Park was established by Congress and signed into law on March 1, 1872 by Ulysses S. Grant.  It is the largest super volcano on our continent.  Half the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone. 

 

 In 1805 when they entered the region, Lewis and Clark were told about Yellowstone, but it was south of their route and so they decided to skip it. Bless their hearts! In 1807, John Carter, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, passed through the area. He described "a place of fire and brimstone", but his comments were dismissed as delirium and myth. Later pioneers called it "the place where Hell opens up".

 

 

 

 

 

Each year at the end of our Earth Science studies, I showed my students an ABC News program entitled "Last Days on Earth" in which scientists predicted the seven most likely ways life as we know it on our planet could come to an end.  (This video played right into the mind set of middle schoolers!  They love to be "freaked out" just a little so the video became a legend in its own right and was much anticipated as a great ending to the Earth Science year.) The eruption of the super volcano, Yellowstone Caldera, was one of the most probable scenarios.

 

Vixen Geyser, Norris Geyser Basin

Blue Mud Pot, Norris Geyser Basin

 

 

Besides its geothermal activity, Yellowstone is also known for its beautiful scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

 

We also enjoyed the varied wildlife, much of it right outside your car window!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm going to have to help you with this one...trumpeter swans.

 

 

 

Our favorite accommodations were at the Old Faithful Inn. It is right beside Old Faithful geyser and was built in 1904. It is the largest log structure in the world and is an example of "rustic resort" architecture. It is built out of lodgepole pines and rhyolite stone found in the park.

 

 

 

Loved the fire screen!!





 



 

 

On the last morning, as we headed out from Mammoth Hot Springs to drive back down to Jackson Hole, we were treated to one last gift from this beautiful part of the country -

 

SNOW!!!!!

 

 

 

 

It was such a great trip!!!

 

 

 

 

“Memories are the stars that brighten our dreams.”
― Sharon Repp

 

 

 

Love ya'll, Shelli