Greetings from Yellowstone National Park

I visited Yellowstone National Park many years ago as a teenager. Although I have visited many U.S. parks both before and since then, my fondest memories are of this park. It wasn’t an easy trip—my father was suffering from a chronic disease, Crohn’s disease, and had several flare ups during our trip. In addition, we were on a driving vacation from Texas. It was a long car trip with two teenagers in the car!

We stayed for a week in the park in one of the cabins along the lake, and greeted the sun every morning and experienced the sunset every evening with walks along the lakeshore, keeping an eye out for moose swimming across the lake and driftwood washed up on the shore. During the days we took long drives throughout the park, always alert for bear sightings. To my regret we never saw a single bear! But we did see many, many other animals as well as the magnificent landscapes of the park. To this day, some fifty years later, I attribute my fascination with landscape photography, although (another regret), no photos exist from this trip. The visit to Yellowstone also inspired me to learn about ecology and the environment, and to eventually become a high school environmental science teacher.

Due to my father’s illness, some of our day trips were undertaken without him, and thus shorter and less adventurous than the others; a drive to Gardiner, MT, to see the north gate of the park and the town associated with it, a guided boat trip on the lake (we did have a close-up encounter with a swimming moose!), and a driving tour of some of the campgrounds. Although, not all that we had planned for our park visit came to fruition, I will always fondly remember our adventures, and, someday, hope to return to this fabulous, magnificent park.

Sincerely,
Karen

Yellowstone National Park

America's first national park is named after the river that runs through it. Within the park's massive boundaries, visitors can find mountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and some of the most concentrated geothermal activity in the world. The park has 60% of the world’s geysers, as well as hot springs and mud pots. It is also home to diverse wildlife with the largest concentration of mammals in the Lower 48 states, including grizzly bears, wolves, bison and elk.

State(s): Idaho Montana, Wyoming,

Established: 1872

“I support the national parks because they are prominent in our conservation of biodiversity and provide us an opportunity to see nature at work.”

National parks represent the best of America. Why do you care about protecting and preserving them? Tell us why parks matter to you!

{{ active ? "Cancel" : "Begin"}}

Success! Thanks for sharing your story with us.

You’ll be notified by email when your story is approved and added to the collection on the My Park Story homepage.

In the meantime, you can share your own story page with your family and friends — and help us spread the word about these priceless memories and priceless places!

Here’s your unique story page link:

{{ storyUrl }}

* indicates Required fields

Click to choose a file to upload

Submitting your story means that you agree to our Terms of Service

More Stories

  • Greetings from Yellowstone National Park

    With a bottle of water in one hand and a camera in another, I joined the throngs of visitors in Yellowstone. On a recent trip to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, I was eager to capture the breathtaking beauty of the Park that I only saw in pictures. Descending the…

  • Greetings from Yellowstone National Park

    Looking past the neon orange “Watch Your Step” sign, I leaned against the flimsy, chipping wooden fence to get a closer look at the serene, steaming geyser lying a few feet away from where I stood. Just one day prior, my family and I had landed at the Yellowstone Regional…

  • Greetings from Yellowstone National Park

    I have been to Yellowstone at least six times over the years. I took my kids a couple times and now I’m getting ready to take my grandkids. The diversity and wander of Yellowstone is a fantastic learning experience.

Donate

Preserve Our Parks

Make a tax-deductible gift today to provide a brighter future for our national parks and the millions of Americans who enjoy them.

Donate Now