Daddy's Christmas Angel

Monday, January 13, 2014

Yellowstone National Park - One Visit is Not Enough

"Yellowstone Lake" ©Mary Montague Sikes
One visit is never enough when traveling to and in Yellowstone National Park. It is amazing to realize that when Yellowstone was established in 1872, the United States was not yet 100 years old and the park was the first national one in the world. Located mostly in Wyoming, it extends into Montana and Idaho as well. When we spent almost two weeks there in 2006, we flew into Bozeman, MT which is an interesting town to visit and a good place to begin a visit to Yellowstone.

The park was everything I hoped it might be. I loved the rugged landscape, the wild animals, especially the buffalo, that lumbered across the roadway, halting the passage of all traffic. The mudpots were astonishing, like paintings on the surface of the land.

Can you believe the Yellowstone Lake is over the center of the super volcano that has been in the news a lot in recent weeks? How dramatic it must have been for early settlers to stumble across the fantastic scenery of Yellowstone.
"Yellowstone Falls"©Mary Montague Sikes


For Week Two of my journey through some of the National Parks, I will add more about Yellowstone. I haven't begun my paintings
 and will post them here when I do.

4 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I was a kid when we visited, but I remember it was rather spectacular. Will you be painting those falls? (Can't remember if those are the Upper or Lower Falls.)

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

That is a photograph of the Lower Falls, Alex. It's the second most photographed site in Yellowstone. Old Faithful is first. I probably will paint these falls.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I'd love to go back. I think I was 8 when we went. On the last day (in June) it snowed and a week later there was an earthquake. My father took some amazing photos and we got to see big horn sheep.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

What a nice trip for an eight-year-old. Thanks for sharing, Diane!