"Y" is for Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks

"In Yellowstone" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Yellowstone National Park. Yosemite National Park. For me, both of these expansive and beautiful parks are intriguing.

We've visited Yellowstone which was established in 1872 as America's first National Park. Home of the most geysers in all the world, the park is worth a trip there just to view these scenic natural phenomena.

When we flew into Sacramento CA a couple of years ago, we had planned to drive down and take Highway 120 through the park. Although it was early June, the road was closed due to snow. The park alert shows the road is closed now, but expected to open sometime in May. We were disappointed and hope to return to the area and actually visit Yosemite.

"Vernal Fall" National Park Service Photo

Known for its waterfalls, Yosemite was first protected as long ago as 1864. The park encompasses 1200 square miles and in photographs appears much more rugged than Yellowstone.

Yosemite National Park is definitely on my list of places to visit. Yellowstone is on the list of National Parks to revisit.

"I" is for Interesting National Parks Photos

"Avalanche Creek on Trail of the Cedars in Glacier National Park" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Since Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior is the only "I" park, I've chosen Interesting National Parks photos that I'd like to paint for today's post. Isle Royale is isolated, has harsh weather, and looks difficult to reach, so we probably will not get there. However, it was once the site of a resort community and copper mining.

During our park travels, which have been limited thus far, I have taken many photographs that I long to paint. The Trail of the Cedars in Glacier was especially picturesque. Other promising pictures are also from Glacier and from Yellowstone National Park. Here are a few I might consider for pastels or acrylics:

"On Lake McDonald" (Glacier) ©MMSikes

Yellowstone National Park ©Mary Montague Sikes

Yellowstone National Park ©Mary Montague Sikes

 

Painting the National Parks - Mudpots at Yellowstone

"Mudpots by the Sea" Original Pastel ©Mary Montague Sikes

When we visited Yellowstone National Park, and I first saw the mudpots, I was astounded. I had no idea that such gorgeous phenomena existed in nature. The first mudpots we visited were located on a lake edge. As I took photographs, I felt as if I were taking the picture of a painting. It was so beautiful. In my excitement, I did not take note of the actual location of this scene.

At the time, I was so captivated by the beauty of the setting that I also gave little thought to the definition of mudpots. When I looked it up on Wikipedia, I found that they are actually "acidic hot springs."  Microorganisms are using the hydrogen sulfide from deep in the earth as a source of energy. The microorganisms convert the gas into sulfuric acid which in turn converts the rock into clay.

Although the mudpots are awesome in their beauty, they are also dangerous because of the heat coming up from deep in the earth. Tourists are cautioned to take care around them because of this deadly danger.

"Mudpots by the Sea" in the third in my series of paintings from the National Parks.

The Inn at Old Faithful - A Journey to Yellowstone National Park

When we visited Yellowstone National Park in 2006, our daughter arranged for us to stay at the Inn at Old Faithful. What a marvelous experience! We had a room located directly across from the famous geyser and could check the schedule of expected eruption times so we didn't miss seeing it.

The rustic Inn was built in 1903-04 when Theodore Roosevelt was president. Yellowstone, located on a plateau in midst of 10,000 foot mountain ranges, was established as a park 31 years earlier, and at the time we did not yet have the wonderful National Park Service that is so helpful to visitors today. In those days, travelers to the park had few accommodations for the brave guests who journeyed by horse or by stagecoach along rough and muddy roads where robbery was a definite threat.

Robert C. Reamer was the young architect for the difficult project of building the Inn at Old Faithful. From the local setting, he chose logs, stone, and twisted beams for the project. With his crew, they worked through the winter to meet a goal to open the Inn for the summer 1904 tourist season. It's amazing to realize they did this work despite the fact the park is snow-covered seven or eight months of the year and the snow can drift as high as 20 feet. So even though the men were dealing with brutal winter weather in 1903-04, they used the snow to their advantage by skidding logs and stones over it to the construction site. Stones for the foundation and the massive fireplace at the inn came from quarries at the Black Sand Basin five miles away.

Staying in the Inn at Old Faithful is a special treat for visitors to Yellowstone. Sadly, most of the photographs I took on that part of our trip are lost somewhere in my computer files. Hopefully, they will resurface eventually. I did find photos of some of nearby mudpots which create a beautiful and unforgettable terrain. Between the geysers and the mudpots, no wonder early 19th century visitors were willing to face the dangers to reach Yellowstone and the exotic Inn at Old Faithful. Anyone planning a trip to Yellowstone would be wise to make reservations far ahead of time at the Inn and to request a room overlooking Old Faithful.

"Blue and Ochre at Yellowstone" photo ©Mary Montague Sikes

Painting the National Parks

"Yellowstone Lake" pastel painting ©Mary Montague Sikes

These are the first of my paintings this year that are focusing on scenes from our beautiful National Parks. For these art works, I used as reference materials photographs I took during a trip to Yellowstone National Park in 2006. Both of these works were created using vine charcoal for the basic drawing, then I added color, working mostly with Rembrandt soft pastels. For both these paintings, I used half-sheets of Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper in the Moonstone color. The half-sheets are 19" x 12 1/2" unframed.

"Yellowstone Lower Falls" pastel painting ©Mary Montague Sikes

Yellowstone Lake Hotel is an Historic Convenience for Travelers

"Yellowstone Lake Lodge" ©Mary Montague Sikes

"Yellowstone Lake Lodge 2" ©Mary Montague Sikes

The Lake Hotel opened in Yellowstone National Park in 1891. Its convenient location provides visitors with an excellent base from which to start daily explorations of the massive park. We stayed at the hotel for a week in 2006, enjoying lovely views of the lake from our room windows and excellent meals each night in the large main dining room. I especially liked watching the work of the park resident artist as work in progress changed each day.

In 1903, the hotel was redesigned and expanded by architect Robert Reamer who also designed the park's famous Old Faithful Inn. The Yellowstone Lake Hotel is a rather plain clapboard structure with two large porticoes that face the lake. The original building was three-stories high. The 1903, 1922-23, and 1928 re-modelings added an eastward extension with a third portico, a two-story west wing, a dining room expansion, and a solarium. More renovations took place in 1984 and 1990. The most recent renovations occurred in 2012 and 2013-14.

"Buffalo Roam" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Although the hotel has an austere appearance from the outside, the lobby was cozy and inviting during our stay there. I especially enjoyed the art on display, and in the evening, buffalo were sometimes seen roaming along the lake front.

The buffalo often stopped traffic along the road that led to and from the hotel. Warning signs were posted throughout the park about the danger of the animals goring tourists, so most people were wise enough to stay inside their vehicles while taking photographs.

If we return to Yellowstone, I would like to once again stay in the Lake Hotel. However, I do not believe the resident artist program is still in place there. I will miss that feature.

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.

Y is for Yellowstone Buffalo - A Painting a Day

A to Z Challenge

"Yellowstone Buffalo" - acrylic painting ©Mary Montague Sikes

Today's painting is "Y" is for Yellowstone Buffalo. Several years ago, we spent almost two weeks exploring Yellowstone National Park. Wild buffalo roamed everywhere. They often stopped traffic through the park as they lumbered across the roads--sometimes pausing for a while there. Although there were warnings to be cautious because of the danger of being gored by these animals, people still jumped from their cars to take photos. I took the reference photo for this painting through the car window of a buffalo lying by the side of the road.

There are approximately 4200 wild buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. Compare that to the tens of millions that once roamed free across the plains of our country. Imagine people shooting these animals from trains long ago and decimating the buffalo population. Stampeding buffalo herds were a big danger to wagon trains in the mid-1800s.

"Yellowstone Buffalo" is 8" x 10" acrylic on stretched canvas. It is the next to last art work in my Painting a Day for the A to Z Challenge.

A to Z Blogfest Around the World in 30 Days - Yosemite or Yellowstone

"Yellowstone Falls" MMSikes

What should "Y" stand for in the A to Z Blogfest Around the World in 30 Days? The Passenger to Paradise couldn't decide between Yosemite National Park and Yellowstone National Park, so she selected them both.

In mid-June last year the Passenger traveled to Lake Tahoe and along the way had planned to take a sidetrip tp Yosemite. After all, she had long admired the photographs of Ansel Adams, many of which were taken in Yosemite. However, she learned after arriving in California that heavy snows still closed the road she needed to use for travel through the park. She was very disappointed.

In 2006, the Passenger spent two weeks touring Yellowstone National Park where she was thrilled to see the wild life, the geysers, the mudpots, and so much more. She wondered if the waterfalls pictured on the left might be similar to some of the scenery found in Yosemite.

Perhaps, another time she'll go to Yosemite. Have you visited either or both of these national treasures?

"Y" Is For Yellowstone

"Falls" MM Sikes

A two-week stay in Yellowstone National Park may be the highlight of travels for the Passenger to Paradise. Four years ago, one of our daughters planned a special family trip to Yellowstone, and it was unforgettable. We discovered a photo op in every direction no matter where we were in the park.

Along the way we found that buffalo actually roam free and block the roadways as everyone stops, gets out of their vehicles, and takes pictures of the big lumbering animals. We learned that might not be a good idea because of the danger of being trampled or gored by one of the wild creatures.

Old Faithful MM Sikes

We spent part of our time at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, a beautiful and delightful place with its own resident artist displaying work painted on site. We also stayed at the Old Faithful Inn with a view from our window of Old Faithful geyser which actually erupts every 90 minutes or so.

Among the highlights of our trip were the cowboy trail ride with a BBQ dinner that featured unlimited steaks. We enjoyed the Yellowstone Grand Canyon and Mammouth Hot Springs.

"A Mudpot" MM Sikes

Touring the amazing mudpots was yet another unforgettable experience.

I would love to return to Yellowstone, but for now I'll just enjoy looking at some of the many photographs I took on this fantastic journey.

"Y" has to be for Yellowstone.