A Snapshot and The Scoop: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Alisha and I managed to visit two Grand Canyons in two years! Last year it was the Grand Canyon in Arizona, this year it was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in Wyoming. Located in Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was carved by the Yellowstone River, downstream of Yellowstone Falls. Enough "Yellowstone" for you? It's easy to see how the canyon gets its name - sandstone colored by mineral deposits, smelling slighly like eggs, provide a backdrop for churning white water and roaring falls who's echos thunder down canyon to the viewpoint where I stood to take this picture. Though not a mile deep or a mile across, this canyon is still Grand in all the right ways.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Firehole River

A river of hot springs. That's right, the Firehole River that flows through Yellowstone National Park is a river made up of hot springs, geysers, and other geothermal activity. How cool is that!!! What starts out as a little stream quickly swells into a good sized river as the runoff from every hot spring and geyser in its watershed joins its waters, creating a river that is an attraction in and of itself among the vistas offered by Yellowstone. Not only does the river accept the runoff, but sometimes a geyser or hot spring are located in the river itself, though of course it is never recommended that you get close to such a phenomenon. Unstable crust and boiling waters and all that jazz. For real though, how many other places do you know where a river is created and sustained by geothermal activity? Gotta love Yellowstone!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: What Month Is It?

Do you know the feeling when you're on a trip and it seems like time is no longer a constant, but instead is a fluid entity, speeding up or slowing down on a whim? You can go into the trip, absolutely positive it is a Saturday, but after a while you're not sure what day of the week it is, let alone the date or the time. I experienced this phenomenon on a trip out west in March, where I was not only questioning what day it was, but what month. My problem was the temperature; living in Texas now I'm used to mild winters and am no stranger to the 70's and even 80's in March, but when my thermometer reached 95f one afternoon on my travels, I had to wonder if I'd somehow missed five months and it was in fact August, not March. I am certainly not complaining about the warmth - I prefer it - but I was completely thrown off by the fact that I could get heatstroke in the spring. I took full advantage of the weather and backpacked out to a shady spot, and spent my evening marvelling at springtime in the southwest.

Leave me a comment below and tell me if you've ever felt a disconnect between your life and time. I know I'm not alone!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Yellowstone = Animals

Ok, ok, I know this isn't a bear or a wolf, but is it even possible to go to Yellowstone and not see large animals up close and personal? I mean sure, I would have flipped if we had seen a wolf, but seeing bison, elk, and moose in their element is still really neat! And to think, Yellowstone National Park and the greater Yellowstone ecosystem host such a large number of these animals it's almost like they actually roam free like they're meant to. I don't know about you, but I still love seeing bison any chance I get!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Gila Fires

Look closely at the picture above and you can see the smoke plume from one of the wildlfires raging in the Gila Wilderness at the end of May this year. Fires are a force of nature that are always a concern of mine when I decide to travel, but there isn't a whole lot I can do about them other than rearrange my travel plans and hope for the best. This fire in particular was many miles away and headed the opposite direction from where I was going to hike, but a careless match, an unattended campfire, or a lightning strike (as was the case with this one) can spark a massive wildfire that puts people and animals in harms way. Fires are no joke, but they are a natural and important part of any wilderness area, and often are left to burn themselves out as long as they don't threaten habitated areas. Fires happen every summer, especially in the dry western US, and being this close to one, even from a very far and safe distance, was enough for me!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: A Hike to Hidden Falls

This year's adventure with my sister found us all over the place from mountains to desert, but our first stop was Grand Teton National Park in northern Wyoming. We spent two nights backpacking (stories for another time) and our hike began with a visit to Hidden Falls. A short ferry ride across Jenny Lake dropped us off at the trailhead for the falls as well as for our first camp site, so we figured a visit to the falls was in order. On our first visit to the Tetons way back when as a family (like, 15 or so years ago) we took the ferry across the lake and visited the falls, and this time around my sister and I couldn't pass up the chance to see them with grown up eyes. We were both glad we made the trip! We had the viewpoint all to ourselves thanks to the early hour, and we were left in peace to contemplate the thundering falls, the rising sun, and the hike in our very near future. It sure was great to be back in the mountains!