(May and August 2015) We first visited Yellowstone on our way out to Montana where we spent the summer of 2015 attending an 11-week photography class. We were looking forward to the roadtrip to Montana, planning several stops along the way. We reserved most of our time for Yellowstone due to the sheer size of this park. We spent a total of 5 days in this amazing park; 4 days in May, split between Grant Village and West Yellowstone and a full day in August on our way back to our temporary Montana home after a visit to Grand Teton National Park.
We saw a lot of Yellowstone, but yet there is so much more to see. I organized my photos by the vast contrasting types of landscapes and geological wonders and there were many. Of course, I was expecting the geothermal formations, but I was totally surprised by the number of waterfalls located in this park. I love to photograph waterfalls, so much of our exploration was the pursuit of these waterfalls. Here are the ones I captured; the upper and lower falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Firehole Falls, Kepler Cascades, Gibbon Falls, Rustic Falls, and Moose Falls.
Waterfalls
The next set of photographs highlight the bison! What can I say? I saw bison everywhere and I never grew tired of them. I was first surprised to find a bison lying in the middle of one of the geothermal mud pot areas. I first saw a bison patty and thought “No”, bison couldn’t possibly be roaming on these hot grounds. I was wrong! Then, I was surprised to be part of a traffic jam each day coming and going out of the park from the West Yellowstone entrance. Herds of bison with their calves would block the road each morning and early evening. They seemed like such docile (but huge!) creatures, but we were warned to keep our distance. Not everyone listened to that advice. Anyway, I found being so close to these animals to be a thrill every time!! I literally took hundreds of photos of bison! Why, I don’t really know, other than I was hoping for a chance to truly capture their spirit.
Bison
Another type of scenery that we saw around the park were lakes, rivers and mountain vistas. Yellowstone Lake which is located in the center of the park is the largest fresh water lake above 7000 feet (it sits at 7,732 ft. above sea level. It covers 136 square miles and has 110 miles of shoreline. It is a sharp contrast to the bubbling mud pots, geysers, and roaming bison and elk seen in other areas of the park. In late May, and again in mid-August, snow is still present in the mountains.
Mountains, Lakes and Rivers
One of the main attractions of Yellowstone are the numerous and varied thermal features; geysers, hot springs, pools, mud and paint pots, and terraces creating amazing patterns, textures and colors. I also loved all the dead trees, for the contrasting shapes and textures they formed in an area they once thrived in. We saw Old Faithful erupt in both rainy (May) and sunny weather (August) which made for very different experiences and photographs. We were also lucky to see Bee Hive Geyser erupt during our second visit. Bee Hive Geyser is bigger and much less “faithful” than Old Faithful, so it was a real treat!
Thermal Features
All total, we spent 5 full days exploring Yellowstone. As with all the big parks, this was still not enough! We did not even have time to explore the Lamar Valley area in the northeast part of the park. But, we feel privileged for having seen as much as we did. This is an amazing park with diversity you can only imagine.