I love national parks. Dedicating beautiful and unique land for use as a park is one of the best ideas our country has implemented. I have been to many national parks and have enjoyed them all. I have a somewhat annoying habit of ranking things. I maintain a ranking of my favorite national parks. After visiting Yellowstone for the first time five years ago, it soared to the top of my list. Last week I returned to Yellowstone for a second visit, and it proved once again to be deserving of the number one spot.

I have mentioned in previous blog entries that my wife is an avid wildlife photographer. At her suggestion, we signed up for the Wolf and Bear Adventure through Yellowstone Forever. This adventure is a three-day program that searches for wildlife, delivers education, and offers some mild hiking. We stayed at the Mammoth Springs Lodge in a Frontier Cabin. The cabin was old but clean and comfortable. We loaded the bus each morning at 6 AM for our wildlife adventure. While cautioning us that we might not see any animals, our naturalist was able to locate the following animals.

  • Black Bears
  • Bison
  • Grizzly Bears
  • Elk
  • Big Horn Sheep
  • Prong Horn
  • Bald Eagles
  • White Tail Deer
  • Golden Eagles
  • Wolfs
  • Coyotes
  • Marmots
  • Mule Deer

Spring is a great time to visit Yellowstone. The crowds are smaller, and the animals are more active. When scheduling your spring Yellowstone trip, be aware of when the roads open. We almost went too early as some of the roads were still closed during our visit.

Our wildlife adventure included breakfast and lunch each day. We ate on the move so we could see more wildlife. Our naturalist, Nancy Lewis, was awesome. She was knowledgeable, personable, and a great driver. She was able to sense the interests and needs of our group and consistently exceed expectations. If you want to see abundant wildlife and learn about the eco-system, I highly recommend signing up for a Yellowstone Forever program and if possible, get Nancy for your guide.

What makes Yellowstone so special is the diversity of flora and fauna. There is no place like Yellowstone on earth. From mountains to streams with geysers and abundant wildlife, there is something for everyone.

After our time in Yellowstone, we struck out on our own and headed to Grand Teton National Park. The road south was just opened, and we saw a large amount of snow on the side of the road. Due to my obsession with National Park stamps, we stopped at the Old Faithful visitor’s center. We were lucky in that we caught the Beehive Geyser. Beehive is an enormous geyser that only erupts once per day. The eruption was very impressive.

We continued traveling south until we entered Grand Teton National Park. The weather was much warmer and the wildlife less abundant. The Grand Teton Mountains are a wonder to behold, and viewing them leaves me breathless. We saw four moose near an area, not surprisingly called moose junction. The bird watching was excellent, especially near the Jackson Hole Visitor’s Center.

Jackson Hole is a charming town. The town is targeted towards tourists; there are many art galleries, mostly displaying wildlife and landscape collections. We spent two nights at the 49er Hotel. The hotel was average and a good value with free internet, breakfast, and parking. There are many restaurants in Jackson Hole. I was able to eat my fill of Bison burgers and Elk steaks.

If you like the outdoors, wildlife and beautiful scenery, it doesn’t get any better than Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons. I believe this place should be considered one of the “wonders of the world.”

Make the most of this day!