Starting Point: Rexburg, ID
Ending Point: Grand Teton National Park
Distance Traveled: 350 Miles
This morning, I woke up at about 5AM and was out of Rexburg, ID by 5:15AM. Within a couple hours, I was eating breakfast at the McDonalds in West Yellowstone, CA. Although, McDonald’s has low-quality, average-priced food, it’s nice to know that the option is always available, especially when I’m in a rush and just want a quick bite.
I entered the park through West Yellowstone, a town in Montana that’s main economic engine is being an entrance to the National Park. The town is filled with diners, hotels, and shops catering to the tourists.
My first major stop in the National Park was Artists Paintpot, a mile-long hike that leads to a small river, geysers, and mud pots.
Next was Norris Basin, which consists of two large basins, each with a 1-2 mile long loop trail through the basin. Steamboat Geyser, the most active geyser in the world is located at Norris Basin.
Mammoth Hot Springs is mostly known for it’s terrace-like structures. The terraces range from hundreds of feet tall and several square miles in size, to mini-terrace structures with each level just a few feet high.
Tower Fall was a beautiful waterfall view point and our first view of the Yellowstone River and the awesome Canyon that towers on both sides of the river.
The Canyon Village area is where most of the high-profile attractions in the park are located, including the North Rime Trail Drive, South Rim Trail Drive, Upper Falls, Lower Falls, Uncle Tom’s Trail, Artist’s Point and Inspiration Point. Uncle Tom’s trail descends several hundred feet to near the base of the Canyon and provides a great view of Upper Falls.
Next, Yellowstone Lake is a beautiful lake within the National Park. At Thumb Geyser Basin, there is a lake-front walk where you can see Geysers in Yellowstone Lake located near the shore near the lake’s surface level.
The last stop on the loop around Yellowstone National Park was old faithful. Old Faithful erupts every 60-90 minutes and I was fortunate to arrive at Old Faithful about 10 minutes before it’s next eruption. Hundreds of tourists stand around the observation area and impatiently wait for the geyser to erupt for 2-3 minutes.
Upon leaving old Faithful, I saw two Korean Yellowstone Employees hitch-hiking toward Grant Village, where they’re stationed for a few months. I gave them a ride and continued to drive down to Grand Teton National Park. I was lucky to get the last campsite at Colter Bay Recreation area and as soon as the rain stopped I got a great night’s sleep.
