Yellowstone National Park

When I was nine my mother signed me up for a subscription to National Geographic magazine and insisted that read about nature. Since then, I've wanted to visit Yellowstone; I was finally able to go this past May :O) ... Yellowstone is an active volcano that has more geysers than anywhere else in the world. About 640,000 years ago it exploded to create the beautiful landscapes we have today. The park is filled with wildlife and beautiful waterfalls. Along our drive we were lucky to see buffalo, deer, a coyote, three grizzly bears, and elk. From the south entrance we were able to stop at Lewis Lake, and West Thumb Geyser Basin.  To the west is Old Faithful and Madison. To the north, we visited Norris, Mammoth, and Tower Falls.

Lewis Falls

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Map of Yellowstone

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Admission: $25 per vehicle
National Geographic - Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park

photos by Olema Lewis

Grand Teton National Park

Yes, Grand Teton means "large tit" in French.  According to Wiki, they were named by a French members of an expedition. However, they could have also been named after the Teton Sioux tribe of Native Americans; I think the name "large tit" is much more fun!

Once you're in the park, the Teton range is toward the west and it's about 5 1/2 hours from the Great Salt Lake.  A little further north is Jenny Lake.  From the lake, we took a ferry over to hidden falls which was great.  The trail to hidden falls was still icy in May and it was a little challenging to climb to the top.  However, it was worth it.

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Map of Jenny Lake



Jenny Lake ferry

Trail to hidden falls (it was icy and a little muddy)

Great Salt Lake

Great Salk Lake

Salt Lake 101: Antelope Island State Park is the perfect place to view the Great Salt Lake and it's also home to about 500 bison. The first thing I want to let everyone know about the salt lake is that the flies are not that bad.  Yes, the flies are a little large and eat the brine shrimp that live in the lake, but it isn't catastrophic like some make it out to be.  Since the lake's only outlet is evaporation, it's salinity is higher than the ocean and doesn't support any other marine life. The lake is very large and there's plenty of room for walking and taking pictures.  The lake also has a newly renovated lunch spot (they have really good bison burgers) and a beautiful visitor's center.

Visitor's Center

Salt Lake

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Admission: $9 per vehicle
Great Salt Lake State Park