Driving Through Yellowstone National Park

Taking the shortest route, you can drive from Gardiner, Montana, to my home in a bit over three hours. Yesterday, Desiree and I spent twelve hours on an alternate route. The majority of those hours were spent touring Yellowstone National Park—Desiree's first trip from Mammoth to West Yellowstone by way of the park's interior.

The excursion could not have been better. We experienced no traffic and few people until we reached the geyser basins. Desiree and I were the only people peering down from three scenic overlooks above the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. In addition to viewing that, we visited most of the park's notable thermal features. Amazingly, we had no more than a ten-minute wait to witness an eruption of Old Faithful.

On the wildlife spectrum, we saw most of the animals we hoped to see, including bison, elk, black bear, and a moose (Desiree's first encounter with one).

I am posting three photographs Desiree shared with me. I love seeing this through her eyes.

308-Foot Tall Lower Falls of the Yellowstone

A Scraggly Moose

Black Pool at West Thumb (Yellowstone Lake in the Background)

—Mitchell Hegman