Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park has something for every nature lover: valleys, peaks, rivers, lakes, geysers, mud volcanoes, hot springs , canyon, abundant wildlife and endless natural serenity.

This is the world's first national park and it is the largest in United States. It is home to more than 2 million acres of steaming geysers, thundering waterfalls and panoramic vistas. We visited the park early Fall in September and lived there for 2 days.

First, we visited the famous Old Faithful Geyser and were just in time for the geyser eruption. Thousands of gallons of steaming water thunder into the sky with each eruption. The eruption takes place every ~92 minutes. The geyser has been considered sacred and preserved for generations to marvel at its glory.

 

We had lunch at the Old Faithful Inn. and moved on to spend a great evening at the Yellowstone Lake. It is the largest elevation lake in North America. The lakes' blue waters are encircled by a 141 mile tree lined shore.

On Day 2, we explored the upper and lower waterfalls and the canyon of Yellowstone. The Yellowstone river forms a breathtaking canyon for 20 miles with upper and lower waterfalls of 308 feet and 109 feet respectively.

  

Further, we drove to Hayden Valley. It  is one of the most active volcanic regions of the world. Elk, deer and bison graze open in the valley. We drove further to explore the mammoth hot springs. Mineral laden water from deep within the earth's crust finds its way to the surface and forms tiers of cascading, terraced stone. 

On our way to the west entrance, we stopped by to explore the mud volcanoes of Yellowstone and ended our beautiful journey to with a beautiful sunset.

Grand Teton National Park

Tetons are timeless, elegant and proud. Whether you love to hike or enjoy a calm sunset , these mountains and the national park will inspire you. 

We visited the park in September, early Fall. Drove from Salt Lake City to Grand Teton National Park. It was a beautiful ride with landscape changing from flat land to rolling hills and finally to hills filled with pine trees. This region is abundant with wildlife. Bison's & Elk's welcome you on the way and if you are lucky you may find a Bear greeting you on the road.

This was part of our week long getaway in the mountains of the West. We flew into Utah from Houston and drove up to Grand Teton National Park. One of the unique features of this park is its  limited or no access to wireless signal. This gives you the opportunity to lose yourself in its memorable and striking mountains, lakes, rivers, valleys and skies. We spent time the afternoon at  Jenny Lake, had lunch at Signal Mountain Lodge (Greek yummy food) and lingered at the Jackson lake for the beautiful sunset behind the mountains.

Drove to Colter Bay Village and stayed there overnight in the cabins awaiting bear's knock at our door. May be we were too tired and missed the knock. Woke up early morning with chirping of birds. Had rejuvenating walk along lakeside with beautiful serene bright sun rays and cool breeze.A nice warm breakfast at the Colter Bay Ranch House Restaurant and we were ready to burn the road to Yellowstone National Park.