Yellowstone: A Bucket List Adventure

Yellowstone; the first National Park, opened in 1872. A dream for so many of us to visit. A reality for so many who turned to road trips when air travel was not an option in 2020.

I had visited this gem as a 12-year-old but Steve had never been. It was very exciting to discover it together, as we had talked about visiting for many years. The first day was beautiful bright blue sunshine. Almost seems there’s no one around…it was actually packed with people and cars. The large tour busses are still not back so that was something.

Every National park currently is telling visitors to “pack their patience.” Getting in the the park was no exception. On the first morning we were greeted with this line to get in the park. We had previously purchased an annual pass, and there was an express lane. For $80 it is well worth it (a day pass to Yellowstone is $35), especially if you think you’ll visit 2-3 parks in a year.

We entered through the West Entrance; the #1 entrance, where 60% of all traffic arrives in the park. It took us 90 minutes to go the first 14 miles. We were quite worried that this would be a problem the entire trip. Turns out the traffic was due to a herd of bison in the road. They have the right of way!

Trying to get away from some crowds we turned north. Our first stop was Gibbon Falls. It is along the Grand Loop, one of the main roads in the park. The falls themselves have an 84 foot drop. They were a beautiful site.

Oh…and these two adorable “littles” joined us with their parents on the trip. At 6 years old, J. informed us that he was visiting his 10th state.

The next stop was Artists Paintpots. This was Steve’s first glimpse at the thermal hot springs. There were also mud pots; basically boiling mud bubbling in the ground. It is called Artists Paintpots, due to all the colors of the hot springs and mud. The colors vary with the temperature. The hottest spots are yellow or green and the cooler are brown and rust. Don’t let it fool you! The “cooler” colors are still over 160 degrees!

To get to this area takes about a 10 minute walk from the (very small) parking lot. Then, if you’re up for it, you can hike on the boardwalks above. From here you get a great view of the entire Paintpot area with all the colorful hot springs.

After the Paintpots we stopped for a quick picnic lunch, along a beautiful stream. I highly recommend coming into the park fully stocked with food and water for the day. The food for purchase is far and few between, with lines that are long and might not be convenient when you’re hungry. We had no trouble finding picnic spots and it seemed many other groups had the same idea.

The next stop was Norris Geyser Basin. This is the largest concentration of thermal areas in the park. It’s also noted as the hottest (we felt it walking around) and oldest at approx. 115,000 years old. Makes anyone feel young!

Below is one of two areas in Norris; Porcelain Basin. This is an amazing site, that you can walk right down into on the wooden boardwalks.

If you haven’t been around a hot spring before you might be surprised by the strong smell of sulpher. Rather, in common terms, it smells of rotten eggs. While J. and I were walking by the small geyser below it blew off and sprayed us a bit. It was not hot but it smelled!

My little explorer. I bought both boys “adventure backpacks,” complete with binoculars, a compass and magnifying glass. It was fun add to the adventure for them.

This area felt much warmer due to all the thermal activity. The breeze was nice (except for my hair!)

The walk around the entire Porcelain basin is just under a mile. I worked really hard to take pictures with as few crowds as possible. Sometimes it was easier than other times!

Sometimes it’s just the little things.

There are miles of natural wonders all around us, but a butterfly is still so captivating.

Emerald Spring is a part of the Norris Geyser area. It is so crystal clear blue, it feels like it should be cool. Don’t be fooled, this is one of the hottest springs in the park and is 27 feet deep.

Next we walked to Steamboat Geyser. This is tallest shooting geyser, reaching heights of 300 to 400 ft when it erupts. The problem is that it is totally unpredictable. A ranger was in the area while we were there. She explained that this geyser is going off more frequently in the last few years. It went off 42 times in 2020. Oddly enough, it had just gone off about 28 hours before we were there. She further explained that what we were seeing was the residual of that eruption, as the steam remains high up to 48 hours after Steamboat goes off.

When we asked how they knew it was going off, she explained that the ground shakes like an earthquake for about a mile! So fascinating!

After the Norris Basin we got back in the car and continued North to an area called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. So many people talk about seeing the geysers, especially Old Faithful, where are terrific. But the Grand Canyon was incredible.

First, we visited the Lower Falls. There was a 3/4 mile hike down. It was pretty steep with 11 switchbacks (we counted). The Yellowstone River cuts through this canyon. On this day it was rushing at a very fast pace.

Now….do you see why it’s called “Yellowstone?” No filter'; picture taken with my trusty iPhone.

Lower falls is over 300 long and dumps 65,000 gallons of water a second over the falls during peak season. It was rushing pretty fast the day we were there for sure!

Do I look scared?

That Tiny little railing was the only thing between us and a 300 ft. drop. Yes, it was beautiful, but other than this quick picture I stayed back.

After this, it was time to hit the switchbacks and head up almost a mile back to to the top.

Next, we headed for a different view of the canyon, looking back at the Lower Falls. It was a beautiful, different perspective.

We were here about 5PM, the golden hour for photography. This is called Artists Point. You can certainly see why.

Looking back at the Lower Falls. See the platform just to the right right at the top of the falls? That’s where we just were. Beautiful to look back and see from this vantage point.

One last picture of us on this incredible day in Yellowstone!

The recommendation is to be in the park before 10AM or after 4PM. We were in the park on this day until about 7PM. It was even more beautiful, with less crowds, making it much easier to get around.

We rented a vacation home in Island Park, ID. This home was about 20 minutes outside the West Entrance of the park. Excellent location in a beautiful home. The sun does not set in the summer until about 9:30. This was our view from the home at sunset. Great first day in Yellowstone!