Yellowstone 2009

In May of 2006, I took, as I consider it, my first serious vacation. By serious, I mean, more or less, that I flew somewhere, rented a car, and stayed away for at least week. The destination was Yellowstone National Park. Since then, I must have visited everything else there is to see, because, when planning to squeeze one trip in this year I found my way back to Yellowstone. Not to put to fine, I put on it, but I do see the return to trodden ground as a milestone for me, someone for whom much of travel's lure is the opportunity to explore new areas. In truth, I spent most of the trip visiting virgin territory outside the park. Even once in Yellowstone, I spent more time climbing new trails, than in previously visited areas.

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Whereas on my first trip I flew to Denver, this time around I landed in Salt Lake City, which is closer to the park. In fact, it was the the cheap, direct flight to SLC that first lured me to that airport. Only after purchasing the plane ticket did I opt for an itinerary leading to Yellowstone. Once on the plan, I discovered an added bonus. Delta had equipped it with a fancy entertainment system that allowed me to play trivia against other passengers or watch live TV on the small screen built in to the seat in front of me. I did well on the trivia, winning quite a few rounds, but not earning the high score for the day. Sadly, ESPN was one of the few live TV channels that didn't work so I couldn't watch the Thursday night college football game.

I spent the first day and half taking an indirect route to Yellowstone. Along the way, I stopped at a number of sites, including Spiral Jetty, Golden Spike NHS, Logan Canyon Scenic Byway, and the Teton Dam ruins. Once in Yellowstone, I stretched my legs on a six mile hike up and down Purple Mountain, before heading to the geyser basins for the rest of the day. I followed a similar pattern on Sunday, hiking up Mount Washburn in the morning and wandering about Norris Geyser Basin in the afternoon. It culminated on Monday with my most ambitious hike, the 3,000ft climb to Amphitheater Lake in Grand Teton National Park, after which I drove back to Salt Lake City to catch an early Tuesday morning flight back to Philadelphia.

Yellowstone Photo Album

(This photo album contains all the pictures used in the Google Map. You can also see any picture by clicking on a blue pin and following the direct link to the that picture in the album.)

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