My favorites… (post 4)

Working my way back down toward Utah…

Bozeman, Montana

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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming:

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Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming:

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Jackson Hole, Wyoming:

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Salt Lake City, Utah:

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Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah:

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Open Range Cattle Heading to Arches…

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Arches National Park, Utah:

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Canyonlands National Park, Utah:

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copyright 2016 jcl photography & design

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Yellowstone National Park…

I really wasn’t sure what to expect with Yellowstone National Park – I spoke to people along my trip who absolutely loved it. And I spoke to people who were very disappointed, as well, so I really didn’t know what I’d think. While I wasn’t as impressed with the geysers as I thought I’d be (still cool, don’t get me wrong), I absolutely loved being able to see the wildlife so close.

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This old school/tour bus and the Old Saloon were actually right outside of Yellowstone – they take you back to an earlier time period before you even enter the Park, and I really liked this.

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The Midway Geyser Basin was a great stop – there were pools that didn’t seem could possibly be that color and some smaller geysers as well. But, uh, that sulfur…

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While Old Faithful is technically faithful in its regularity, it can sometimes take up to three hours between eruptions. I got really lucky and only had to wait about 20 minutes from the time I got there to see it.

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While the pools and the geysers were great to see, what I was most impressed with was the wildlife. Within two minutes of entering the park I saw the elk above, and it wasn’t long after that I saw a ton of bison. There’s just something exhilarating about seeing these animals in a more natural habitat. The speed limit throughout the park is 25 mph and that’s because of the wildlife crossing — and when they want to cross, they’re going to cross — and you’re going to wait. But even that is cool to see. While in Yellowstone alone, I saw elk, bison, wolves, a moose, deer, and a bear. (One thing that was very disappointing was the way that visitors were acting — the Park and the Rangers are very clear that you are not to approach the wildlife, yet people were doing so left and right — not that I wanted to see anybody harmed, but…)

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Lewis Falls were a sight to see and, located on the way out of the Park on the way to the Grand Tetons, they were a powerful way to end the visit.

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Once again, the pic above gives you an idea of just how incredible the views are while driving through these areas — crossing over the Continental Divide at 8200 feet isn’t too shabby, either.