One of the Most Beautiful Nature’s Wonders of the World
If I could learn even a fraction of Nature’s creativity, I would be the most inspiring person in the world.
-SFDesiGirl Quotes
Happy Sunday beautiful readers! I am back on the blog sharing my experience about the recent trip to Yellowstone National Park. While browsing through our pictures to select the ones I want to share with you on the blog today, there is an exhilarating feeling of proudness, gratitude, and peace floating around in my heart and mind as I write this blog. I really consider myself of the lucky fortunate people who got to visit the utter beautiful place of Yellowstone National Park. I have always been thankful that I landed in California – one of the most beautiful states in the United States and all the other opportunities I have been offered here. Being able to spend a full week in Yellowstone National Park definitely gives me more reasons to express my gratitude. I really hope that all of you get to visit this wonder of nature one day.
Most of the pictures I am posting on this blog today are natural as I didn’t feel it would be fair to apply filters to these pictures. Plus, the lightning was already so good at YSNP since Jay (the hubby) took these pictures during the daytime and it was over about 90 degrees Fahrenheit that day. I can say that the next few series of my blog will be more of travel stories rather than fashion-related content just because I have been traveling a lot (locally in the US) to make the full use of the sun. Looking at these pictures, I really hope that I had spent some more time setting up the best angle but we were kinda in hurry to cover all major places in YSNP.
East entrance vs the west of Yellowstone National Park
Since we were there for one full week, we were able to cover all of YSNP. Starting from south to east and all the way to the west of the park, we got to witness the amazing creativity of mother nature. The pictures I am sharing today are from our day one at the park. We entered the park from the south entrance and that is where you will find the west thumb geyser which is one of the many must-visit geysers here. Apart from the beautiful Geyser, there were so many gorgeous pools at this place. I highly recommended walking a little bit ahead and checking out each of the pools. They are all so different and mesmerizing!
As you enter the park, you will be given a hard copy of the YSNP map that also includes a list of must-visit places there. I highly recommend saving that map as you won’t find any network in the park. In my experience, it was easy enough to follow the map (although I am most used to Wayz or Google map). Just in one day, we were pretty familiar with the route and were starting to navigate using the signs posted on the road. If you are visiting YSNP, I hope you are able to find enough time to cover all of it since the park is HUGE! But, I do understand that not always you get enough PTOs from work or might have other commitments. In that case, I recommend at least covering top attractions at the park.
Here is my list of top places to cover in Yellowstone National Park:
- The Old Faithful Geyser
- Hayden Valley
- Lamar Valley
- West Thumb Geyser
- The Artist point/Grand Canyon
- Mammoth hot springs
Honestly, the entire park is worth pulling over for and it’s best if you have enough time to cover everything at YSNP but, if you’ve got just a few days, you should be able to cover the above places in about 2 days. Off course, you will be in a rush and will need to start early to ensure you explore these top attractions at the park.
Jay and I were so happy that we had saved enough time to see all of YSNP. In the first couple of days, we were actually rushing, wasting no time to make sure we are able to explore at least all of top attractions. Although we did realize that one week is enough to see all of the YSNP. We did miss purposefully miss some of the smaller places since we were just too tired of driving all day in the end.
Where to stay at the Yellowstone National Park
First of all, I highly recommend booking your stay in advance. We started booking our hotels six months in advance and still couldn’t find a cabin inside the park. Two of my favorite places to stay at the YSNP are:
- Grand Village
- Pahaska Tipi
Grand Village is probably where you will find the biggest variety of food options. Since I am vegetarian, we stopped by at Grand Village every stay during our stay at the east entrance of YSNP. So as you might have already guessed, Grand village is my top choice because of the food options there. You won’t be able to find food easily at the park so you need to make sure you stock up at the places that have your choice of food. Grand village is also closer to the artist point/Grand Canyon and is in between the south entrance and Lamar Valley. It is also closer to the Hayden Valley. So if you are lucky enough to find a cabin here, you will get to see the wildlife every day!
Pahaska Tipi is where we found our stay. It is a Tipi restaurant that also has good food and drink options. We were really happy to be staying here because of 1. It was our first time experience staying at a Tipi, 2. they have a nice bar at the restaurant right in the middle of huge mountains. Their Tipis were more like a cabin but in the shape of a Tipi. Also, they have bathrooms and wooden bed so it was pretty much like glamping. It says that they have wi-fi on their website but, we couldn’t connect with the wifi. The front desk lady told me that the wi-fi doesn’t work where too many people are using it. It was fine with me since this trip was more to disconnect with the world and just spend time with my husband being close to the beautiful nature. Let’s be honest, all of us need that time to refresh our minds and rejuvenate. That was my time to rejuvenate and forget about the outside world that I live in every day.
All in all, I was really happy with the way we planned our trip (it was our first big trip of the year) and that this trip was a mix of exploring new cities (Salt lake city), some of the small towns (Jackson Hole, Montana, Ashton…) plus spending time being close to the nature while I am disconnected from the challenges of the outside world. For a while, I did feel like I want to stay at the YSNP, find a job there as a park ranger while I learn more about the beauty and creativity of nature. Maybe someday I will! For now, I am just happy that I’ve been to Yellowstone National Park. I have a lot more to talk about and share with you guys, but I will save my YSNP adventures and stories for my next blog (this one is getting too long!). Have a wonderful week ahead everyone and enjoy your life 🙂
Love,
Prati
