Yellowstone

Yellowstone was possibly my REASON for coming to North America. It is what I expected and yet it is not. The landscape is a world away from the Grand Tetons, yet it in reality it is but a few miles.

Yellowstone is unlike any of the other NPs I've been to as it covers such a vast area and has within it, several different exhibits. I realise as I write that I'm not explaining myself in the words that Yellowstone deserves but words seem inadequate. Like the Grand Canyon it has to be seen to be believed.

The park encompasses a very large caldera which scientists schedule to erupt every 600 000 years or so. We are currently past the 600 000 year mark. Yellowstone lake has receded on one side and risen on the other indicating a bulge in the earth's surface, a precursor to a volcanic eruption.

Yellowstone has unequalled wildlife - bison, elk, moose, bears, wolves, to name a few. Then it has all the habitats required for these creatures - forests, lakes, rivers, grasslands, mountains. It has it's own Grand Canyon, complete with its version of Niagra Falls. The crowning glory of Yellowstone is of course it's thermal activity - Old Faithful Geyser, mud volcanoes, fumaroles, hot springs, calcified terraces...

I feel like a robot regurgitating recitations (say that 10 times fast!) and this place does not deserve that. I AM IN AWE and you should see it for yourself before it erupts and is gone forever.

By the way - when it erupts we are all gone forever! Food for thought.