Stardate 65053.7
15:34 - As the oldest national park in the world, Yellowstone
National Park remains a wild place in the U.S. My family and I went on a
camping trip in Yellowstone in late summer 2011. It took us 3 days to drive up
to the Wyoming side of the park. We spent 5 days wandering around the park,
passing buffalo and elk, chasing after bears, and hiking up two mountains:
Bunsen Peak and Mount Washburn.
Interesting story, Focus Foxies, throughout our
trip I was trying to receive calls from my future employer. They were trying to
gauge my interest in the job and were going to have HR call me. Well, wild
places, like Yellowstone, do not thrive on cell phone reception, but high up,
say on Mount Washburn, you do get service. I returned HR’s call and accepted
the job. After months of tears and interviews, I had a job. From then on, I was
a happy camper in the nation’s most beautiful park. 
Yellowstone is also the location of the largest super volcano
on the continent. In fact, Yellowstone caldera is still active with large
geysers, mud pots, and hot springs. Almost every day, Yellowstone has mini
earthquakes. On the backdrop of mountains and wildlife, these geothermal
features seem to put Yellowstone in a world of its own. 
A variety of wildlife species call Yellowstone home. We saw
buffalo, coyotes, and bears, on my! We had a close run in with a badger that
was mistaken for a wolverine. We climbed mountains with mountain goats. Fun
fact, Focus Foxies, the best place to see bears would be on the north side of
the park. We saw both Grizzly Bears and Brown Bears. The Brown Bear had two
cubs! Before we sent to Yellowstone, a Grizzly Mama killed a guy for getting
too close to her cubs. Moral of the story: Bears are crazy. A fun little animal
we got to see is the marmot. They are cute and live in colonies! I am sad to
report that we didn’t see a fox.
Other highlights from Yellowstone include the Yellowstone
Grand Canyon. While not as big as the real Grand Canyon, this canyon splits up
the east side of the park and offers spectacular views of waterfalls. You can
hike around the whole rim of the canyon, but part of the rim was shut down when
we were there. See Grizzly Bear induced death story above. Another fun aspect
is the below freezing temps it gets to even in the middle of summer. I suggest
a warm sleeping bag.
I could spend my whole life in Yellowstone and still find
different things about it to explore. I will definitely be back one day
(hopefully soon).
