Focus Fox Log: Yellowstone National Park

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.