Yellowstone and I; A Love Story

I have had the privilege of visiting Yellowstone National Park now for over half my life. My first visit to Yellowstone wasn’t until 1991, three years after the infamous fires that burned so much of this iconic national playground. My entrance at the time was through the aforementioned Grand Teton entrance, and I saw the aftermath of the fires work. At the time I remember thinking how tragic it was that this beautiful place had burned so prolifically. What I did not know then is that fire is an important part of the nature of Yellowstone, and the park environs would not be what they are today without its historically important role.

My visit to Yellowstone that day was only a few hours in duration. A friend and myself were camping quite a distance away in Northern Utah and decided to make a spur of the moment trek to Yellowstone as part of our camping trip. We vastly underestimated the time it would take us to reach the park from our camp spot and as a result, cheated ourselves out of a longer visit; for by the time we reached the park itself there were only a few hours left of daylight. We rushed through Grand Teton, not taking the time to see any of its wonder and beauty, in a mad rush to get to Old Faithful. Like almost any first time visitors, our vision of the park was intertwined inextricably with the iconic geysers image, and so to us Old Faithful was Yellowstone. Ironically, by the time we reached the geyser, it had just erupted, and we would not be able to see the geysers next eruption properly because by that time darkness would have descended.

Instead, we spent the next hour or so literally running through the geyser and hot pool basins, snapping pictures as we went for later, and more leisurely, perusal. (As an aside, I DO NOT RECOMMEND RUNNING ON THE BOARDWALKS OR WALKWAYS NEAR GEYSERS OR HOT POOLS! In your own adventures to Yellowstone exercise extreme caution in the thermal areas of the park! What I did not know at the time was that the majority of the hot pools are so hot that they can, literally, boil the flesh from your bones in a matter of minutes, and even a short exposure to their intense heat is enough to seriously injure and often kill those exposed.) In another ironic twist, the pictures I snapped did not turn out, as I had not threaded the spool of film correctly in the old Kodachrome camera I was using at the time (this was long before digital came along, and I have since hardily embraced that format), and I was left with nothing but fleeting memories of wondrous hot pools and fleeting colors that were fading in the early twilight. We left off our whirlwind tour of the hot springs areas before we even hit Grand Prismatic spring, that so often photographed hot pool, known around the world for its rainbow hues and impressive size. I had seen enough to intrigue me greatly; enough so that I was plagued with the desire to see more of it. I had already begun to fall under the Yellowstone spell.

Grand Teton National Park

Since my first visit to Yellowstone I’ve returned again and again, each time finding something new about it to love. In my most recent trip I took a route into the park I don’t often take, through Grand Teton and in through the south entrance. Along the way I took time to appreciate the fact that Grand Teton in itself is a magnificent National Park.

Teton had a rocky start. Private owners owned much of it, though for years many had urged that the already existent Yellowstone National Park be allowed to expand its borders to encompass the area now known as Grand Teton National Park in order to protect elk in their yearly migrations. Unfortunately in the early days of Yellowstone, the preservation effort was more about protecting thermal features than it was anything else, and no real thought had been given by congress to preserving wildlife. It just wasn’t a concept that had found its way into the national consciousness yet.

In the twenties John D. Rockefeller, who was a admirable man and quite a philanthropist, began purchasing much of the private land in the upper Jackson Hole Valley and Grand Teton area in secret, establishing a company for that very purpose that did not include his name in it. It wasn’t for some time that people found out that he was behind the purchase of much of the area. Under his guidance, the organization he put in place to buy the property (the Snake River Land Company) had eventually purchased a respectable 35,000 acres. With the establishment of a National Park in mind, Rockefeller took his acquired land to the National Park Service and asked them to accept it as a donation. Incredibly, they refused.

Even more incredible than this is the fact that even after the Park (first declared a National Monument) was established, Rockefeller’s generous gift, that included much of the northern end of the valley floor, was still refused and was not included in the original Park declaration. It wasn’t for many years and much argument later that his philanthropic effort was recognized and included into the National Park.

I for one very much appreciate the fact that he went to this effort. On my last trek through that beautiful park, I observed and photographed a grizzly bear on an elk carcass, practically right next to the road. That would likely not have been possible if it were not for Mr. John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his efforts, because where I saw this was in the lands that he purchased and later was allowed to donate to the National Park Service for inclusion into the Grand Teton National Park.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone helps me understand the most basic part of myself. The natural side that yearns for the tranquility of the wilderness, the good feel of unspoiled forest and wildlife. It helps me understand my place in the world and what my true priorities are. It gives me a respite from the world I live in day today, the world we all have chosen to make for ourselves, which sometimes seems so sterile in comparison.

Most people believe the struggle to preserve Yellowstone occurred a long time ago and was won. Unfortunately that isn't true. The fight to preserve our sacred wilderness continues and will continue as long as there are people. The demands of society and of population have put pressure on Yellowstone that it has never had to contend with before. Yellowstone is still and always will be at risk. Even now there are people asking the federal government to open surrounding national forest land to development. Yellowstone is not just the boundaries of the national park, it is much greater than that, and it needs the entire surrounding national forest land to survive as an ecosystem. If it is to be preserved then we must all care about it, love it and want to protect it.

If I am right about Yellowstone’s ability to take us out of ourselves, to move us and to inspire passion in us, if Yellowstone can inspire that spiritual side of us that sometimes gets lost in our daily lives so filled with technology and progress, then the fight to preserve Yellowstone takes on a much more important role than just protecting some animals and forestland. It becomes a conflict for the best part of ourselves, a war for our spiritual selves, a battle for our very souls.

We can win it, if we choose to. I fear the consequences should we lose.

Yellowstone National Park - A Place of Wonder

We would all do well if we were to heed that lesson. From the largest animal to the smallest, Yellowstone lives that lesson every day. It is the fundamental nature of the world to embrace itself and live every moment of life to its fullest. An elk does what it does because it must. It eats, it sleeps, it runs and it reproduces the next generation of elk because that is what evolution has bred it to do. Just as the predator, wolves, cougars and others kill to eat, sleep and breed because they must do so also. It is the balance they have been created to maintain. They cannot survive otherwise.

Of all species, only the human animal deliberately goes outside those boundaries. We have built our world to exclude the natural and in doing so we are in danger of losing a part of ourselves. That part is a vital essence and its absence in our lives may destroy us in the end. If we can't see ourselves as a part of this world, then we are doomed. We will break down our world into pieces and systematically kill it until we have eventually killed ourselves. Yellowstone is able to remind us that we are a vital part of nature, and that we cannot survive without the natural world.

Do we reject our world or embrace it? Love our world, preserve it, or kill it and therefore kill ourselves? Does Yellowstone inspire great passion in me because of who I am? Or does it help define me as a human being, bring forward in me those passions, the best of myself, the most spiritual side of my being? I choose to believe the latter.

Yellowstone For Me

The fact is, I felt it to be such a special place, when I thought of proposing to her, I couldn't think of anywhere in the world that would be more special to do so than Yellowstone. She fell in love with Yellowstone just like I have and it is a passion we both share to this day. This particular picture was taken seconds after I asked her to be my wife on the lip of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Eventually we had to leave, as all visitors do unless you are in the ranks of a few privileged souls who get to call Yellowstone their full time home. I envy those people; rangers, researchers and guides. Sights like this are every day occurrences for them. Visualize if you will that this is your office, and you see this every day. Picture the kind of outlook it gives you, the insights you might have if this becomes your every day experience. I imagine it gives you a unique perspective on the world.

Yellowstone reminds us of life and it's constant renewal. How the world works, that nature has her ways and we would do well to listen to her wisdom. Nature itself should be our greatest teacher. Life is everywhere. Yellowstone also reminds us that life is a circle. All things that live must eventually perish. This is natural and right. Those who live for a time must enjoy it, and then make room for the next generation.

In my travels throughout Yellowstone I've learned a lot about myself. The most important lesson is to enjoy each moment as it occurs, because it will never come again.

Yellowstone - A Wonderous Place

I have a great respect for nature and always have. Animals and plant life, insects; all are critical to making the wilderness work. Mankind seems to have a way of screwing up the balance just by being there. It's only when we stop, take time and truly see what it is that surrounds us that we can become one with it and understand our own role in its survival.

From the first time I set foot in Yellowstone I knew it was a different place, special...sacred. A soulful place, a spiritual land. I could feel it renewing my spirit. I felt it had a soul of its own that nurtured me. I’ve never felt anything like it anywhere else.

I don't know if there is a good way to explain it to someone who's never experienced it. The only thing I can think of is to take a spiritual experience you've had; either in church, or maybe your baby being born, or the first time you fall in love. Combine that feeling with a sense of coming home after being gone for a very long time. That is what Yellowstone is like to me.

Like any wonderful thing in this world, it doesn’t truly become all it can be for you unless you share it with someone else. I've shared Yellowstone with many people throughout the years; all have come away different, changed. Some have come away from it with the same sense of passion that I have. One of those people is my wife.