Tag Archives: Yellowstone National Park

Our Big Sky Adventure

28 Jul

We just returned from a trip to the Big Sky Country where we made our way through South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah. There was beautiful landscapes and a variety of wild animals everywhere we went.

We saw Bandlands National Park and the carvings – both Rushmore and Crazy Horse – of the Black Hills.

We rode up to Devils Tower but did not see any alien spacecraft landing.

We visited the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.

We made our way through Yellowstone National Park, where we stayed at the Old Faithful Inn. We saw geysers, bison, elk, a wolf and massive waterfalls. However, the best part was watching Old Faithful erupt and the sun rose over the horizon. It was just Necole and I watching a sight that usually attracts thousands.

We rafted the whitewater of the Snake River in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Along the way, we saw otter playing in the water and a bald eagle perched on the limb of a dead tree.

We glamped on the shores on Bear Lake, a natural lake that covered 109 square miles and straddles the border of Idaho and Utah. We floated the waters and took in the blueness that makes Bear Lake the Caribbean of the Rockies.

We drove the length of Wyoming on the return to Rapid City, South Dakota. On the route, we crossed the Oregon Trail and the Bozeman Trail. We passed by Teapot Dome, the namesake of a massive presidential scandal. We went through Johnson County, the location of a range war that made its way into the pages of history.

It was a lengthy trip, and a detailed account would take up post after post. Instead, I have decided to portray our excursion with my favorite photograph from each day. Be warned that they are mostly landscapes. I have been told that I am better at capturing landscapes than I am at capturing people.

Day 1 – Mount Rushmore

Day 2 – Devils Tower

Day 3 – Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Day 4 – Yellowstone Falls

Day 5 – Snake River

Day 6 -Conestoga Ranch

Day 7 – Bear Lake

Day 8 – Plains of Johnson County

It was a great trip that created a lot of fantastic memories. One of these days, we will make it back to Big Sky Country.

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Listeria – Inspiration Point

24 May

In the last post, I wrote about the list by True West of historic sites “that will make you weep.” That article contains a couple of secondary lists. One of those is “10 Western History Shrines That Will Inspire You.” Following are the ones that I have visited.

1. The Arch, St. Louis, Missouri – It is impressive to see. Driving into St. Louis, anyone can see that it dominates the skyline. However, I never saw it as inspiring. That could be because I have never been in it. I have been at its base and in the underground museum about westward expansion. However, my dislike of heights has kept me from going to the top. By the way, its real name is the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

2. The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas – In the last post, I wrote about my disappointment with the Alamo. Any place where people gave their lives is a place of inspiration. However, I cannot get over my initial feelings about the site.

3. Custer National Cemetery, Little Big Horn National Historic Battlefield – Before you get to the welcome center or the battlefield, you pass the cemetery. Like other military cemeteries, this one makes you think about all of those who gave their lives for their country. Our nation has not always gone into a fight for a just reason, but that does not lessen the sacrifices of those who served.Montana 2012 and Other Stuff 123

4. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho – The last time I was in the park was with my dad, my brother and my nephews. We did not go into the heart of the park but walked around the Mammoth Hot Springs and the Yellowstone River. The natural wonders are amazing, and the power of the earth is inspiring. Everyone should see Old Faithful at least once.Montana 2012 and Other Stuff 275

5. The Palace of the Governor’s, Santa Fe, New Mexico – I could have been there this week but had other things to do. It is the oldest government building in the United States. Today, it is a museum, but it has witness great events in history. It has been under Spanish rule and American rule. Heck, it has also been under Confederate rule. Governor Lew Wallace finished his novel, Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ, within its walls.SONY DSC

6. The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California – My wife and I drove across the bridge on our honeymoon. It is a cool feeling to drive across one of the most famous bridges in the world. However, I did not expect all of the people walking and cycling across it. Just thinking about the power of the currents underneath is enough to inspire.image-25

8. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, South Dakota – This is truly an amazing site. Looking up at George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln is an inspiring view. However, I cannot help but think that the Black Hills were taken from the Native Americans to get at its gold.

9. Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer, South Dakota – This one is also in the Black Hills and is the Native American answer to Mount Rushmore. Crazy Horse was a famous warrior, but I wonder what he would think about a mountain being carved into his likeness. There are no known photographs of Crazy Horse, so we have no idea if this looks like him. On top of that, they have been carving the mountain for decades, and it is nowhere near finished. When I see it, I cannot help but think that the Native Americans are getting shafted again.

There is another list called “10 Western Sites That Will Make You Misty.” Next time, I think I will skip that one and move on to another subject. I do not find it very interesting or misty.

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Listeria – Western Locales

12 Aug

The latest edition of American Cowboy lists twelve destinations in the American West that every cowboy must visit. Well, I’m not a cowboy. I don’t wear a cowboy hat, boots or Wrangler jeans. I don’t ride horses. At one time, my dad owned the top ranked herd of Angus in Tennessee, but I only went to the production sales to eat and watch the spectacle. Despite all of those non-cowboy things, I love the American West, and, of the twelve locations in the magazine, these are my favorites.

Grand Canyon National Park – I believe this is something that every American should see at least once in their lifetime.West 2010 313

The magazine says that people should visit Prescott, Arizona while they are in the area. I couldn’t agree more. Prescott has one of the coolest town squares I have ever seen. Wait, I guess I should call it a plaza.

Monument Valley – By far, my favorite place in the American West. It may be my favorite place in the world. It is the land of the Navajo. It is the land of John Ford. It is also the banner at the top of this blog.West 2010 258

The magazine suggests that people should also go to Canyon de Chelly. It is also in the Navajo Nation and is a place that should not be passed up. Although, be sure to go into the canyon with a Navajo guide.West 2010 213

Black Hills – This is the Holy Land of the Sioux, and the United States took it for the gold in the ground. Now, there is Mount Rushmore and a mountain being carved to represent Crazy Horse. The rest of the hills are covered with old mining towns, the most famous of which is Deadwood. No one should leave Deadwood without walking through Mt. Moriah Cemetery and leaving an offering at the grave of Wild Bill Hickok.

Yellowstone National Park – It is filled with natural wonders – geysers, hot springs, buffalo and more things than can be mentioned. This is another place that every American should see at least once, and they should enter from the original entrance to the north. If you are going to do it, then do it like they did in the old days.Montana 2012 and Other Stuff 275

Those are a few of the places to see in the West. There are only hundreds of more that could be listed.

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Listeria – Wonders of the World

25 Jul

Before this post officially begins, there is something that needs to be cleared up. I started the “Listeria” series a long time ago as a way to explore our fascination with lists. Since that original post, I have covered the best places in New Mexico; the greatest guitarists of all time; some of the best places to travel; the greatest cowboy stars; the fastest gunfighters; Nashville’s best restaurants; and the best movies of all time. At no point during that time did I know that Listeria is a serious disease. I think I first heard about it on CNN.

Now, I am stuck. Do I change the name because it brings to mind something terrible? Or, do I keep the name that has become a well-known brand? You know, Coca-Cola didn’t change their name because they took cocaine out of their product. It seems to have worked for them, so I’ll stick with it.

This edition of “Listeria” comes to us from the people at LIFE, which only puts out these special publications because their magazine didn’t make it. This one is called Wonders of the World: 50 Must-See Natural and Man-Made Marvels. However, there is a problem, only 41 of them can be seen because the other 9 either don’t exist anymore, are in space or are in the unreachable depths of the ocean.

Out of the 41 that are obtainable by ordinary humans, I have visited the following.

The Colosseum – It was cool because it was just like a modern stadium. Entrance gates. Concourse. Seats. There was even a roof over part of the audience. They had club level, too. It was truly a technological marvel. However, I remember two things about it more than anything else. It was surrounded by traffic. Now that I think about it, that’s just like a modern stadium, too. It also had a bunch of cats living in it.

The Vatican – Obviously, it’s in the same city as the Colosseum and is a testament to the power of religion. The art was amazing, and, to me, the Sistine Chapel stood out. However, I mostly remember a statue that everyone rubbed for good luck. I don’t know who the statue portrayed, but I know that the feet had nearly disappeared. That’s a lot of rubbing.

The Empire State Building – I have seen this building, but I don’t remember much about it. I was in high school when my parents decided to take a road trip through the northeast, and my dad decided it would be a good idea to drive through New York City. As navigator, I was busy looking at the map and trying to get us out of the quagmire. We succeeded but only by going through Harlem and the Bronx, and that really wasn’t the plan.

The Golden Gate Bridge – We just drove over it on our honeymoon. You can read about that here.

Mount Rushmore – Now, we are talking. This is one of my favorite places and is a monument to some of the men who built America. Unfortunately, these men helped build America on land that was owned by Native Americans. There is something ironic about this being carved in the Black Hills, land that is sacred to the Sioux and land that they have refused to take payment for.

The Grand Canyon – One of nature’s most awesome accomplishments, the canyon is almost too big to comprehend from the rim. It needs to be hiked or flown into to understand how grand it is. My nephew was lucky enough to camp inside of the Grand Canyon, and it’s something he will always remember. Most don’t know that a Native American community lives on its floor.West 2010 309

Yellowstone – I have been to Yellowstone numerous times, and there are almost too many things to see. Natural wonders are everywhere. Last year, the guys in my family took a trip to Montana and dipped into the northern edge of the park. We didn’t see geysers on this trip, but we did see buffalo.Montana 2012 and Other Stuff 302

I’ve been lucky to make it to those, and, hopefully, I’ll make it to a few more, some day.

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To Yellowstone and Beyond

17 Aug

Our last full day on the trip was a good one because went to my favorite place, Yellowstone National Park. We didn’t have time to go into the heart of the park and see the geysers. However, just entering its borders provided a feeling of being somewhere special.

We exited the interstate at Livingston, Montana, famous for being the filming location of A River Runs Through It. Livingston is a small town that can easily be turned into a scene from the early 2oth Century.

This church can be seen in the movie.

Before it became a movie locale, Livingston was known as the “Gateway to Yellowstone”, as travelers disembarked at its train station to take coaches into the park. Although, the north entrance has little traffic today, at one time this is how everyone entered Yellowstone. It’s ease and its history makes it my favorite way to go in.

The road out of Livingston follows the Yellowstone River through a valley filled with farms, ranches and vacation homes. We passed livestock and people fly fishing. As everyone took in the scenery, my mind drifted into the past. I was last in Yellowstone fourteen years ago. I had spent some time doing research in Butte and decided to spend my last weekend at the Old Faithful Lodge. It was a different time and place in my life, and I couldn’t help but think how much things have changed.

Finally, we made it to the gate that, at one time, everyone went through.

Gateway to Another Dimension – a Dimension of Natural Wonders

This led us to Mammoth Hot Springs, one of the park’s least appreciated wonders.

It looks better than it smells.

After walking the planks around the hot springs, we had lunch at the Roosevelt Lodge, where a Tennessee girl was our waitress. It was nourishment, but that’s about it. But, I needed it because I hiked with my nephews at Tower Falls. Going down was a lot easier than coming up. However, we got some good pictures.

Tower Falls

Proof that I hiked to the river.

We left the falls and drove toward the park’s exit and Cooke City. From the back seat, I said, “This is the first time I have ever been to Yellowstone and not seen buffalo.” Around the next bend, we saw buffalo, the best thing in the park, and my trip was complete. There is nothing that provides me with the feeling of the West like seeing these majestic creatures, the ones that were almost extinct.

There was once millions of buffalo throughout North America.

We stopped in Cooke City for a short break before driving on. We knew that there was a beautiful drive ahead, and I seemed to remember going that way on my previous trip. However, we were not prepared for what was about to happen. We went winding up and up until we reached an elevation of 11,000 feet. It’s one of the highest roads in the United States. As we went up, the air got colder and the sky got darker. Before we knew it, we were above the tree line, and it was snowing. Pictures can probably describe it better than I can.

That’s some cold water.

Only George Custer would have a national forest named after him that had no trees.

Remember, this is early August.

As my nephews played in the snow, my dad, my brother and I were wanting to get off this mountain as fast as possible. We finally did that and found ourselves in Billings, the city where the trip began. We even got the same hotel rooms that we had on the first night. After checking in, we ate at Jake’s, in downtown Billings, and talked about the past week.

We all had a great time and saw some great places. However, the best part of the journey was completing it together.

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