Mindful of different ways of being, our awareness as a species shifts –
We recognize the soul of the land as our own.
~Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve, unattributed
Back from Yellowstone, back from paradise. Thirteen days, some alone, some with my group, some with old friends. Why is it so special? Why do I long to return when there are so many other places to explore? Is it that it was here, so many years ago, that I first knew the power of wild places? Is it that I have seen the magic of Yellowstone in the faces and thoughts of the many people I have guided over the years? I don’t know for sure, but it is an influential place for me, and always will be. There is something to knowing a wild place too, knowing its rhythms, knowing where to look to find its secrets. And there are the lucky ones, the friends that call this place home – Dan, Cindy and Kelly, Beth, Laurie, Jan and Leo. And others who love it like I do that I frequently see in my travels – Parks and his group, Melissa and Megan and the North Carolina teachers, Bill the wolf interpreter, Bob. It certainly is also the wildlife, so abundant, so different from that at home. Perhaps it is the soul of the land, a feeling I have of being connected to something grand, something far bigger and more powerful than what I experience back home, something that demands respect and awareness. I may never truly know, but that may be just fine. Maybe I should just accept that there is something special about this place…
Whatever evaluation we finally make of a stretch of land, no matter how profound or accurate, we will find it inadequate. The land retains an identity of its own, still deeper and more subtle than we can know. Our obligation toward it then becomes simple: to approach with an uncalculating mind, with an attitude of regard. To try to sense the range and variety of its expression – its weather and color and animals. To intend from the beginning to preserve some of the mystery within it as a kind of wisdom to be experienced, not questioned. And to be alert for its openings, for that moment when something sacred reveals itself within the mundane, and you know the land knows you are there.
~Barry Lopez
I do know this…every time I leave, I know I will be back. Until then, some images to remember it by….
Traffic control in Lamar Valley (click photos to enlarge)
Appropriately named lodging in Silver Gate
Grizzly Bear dining on Dandelion flowers
Rocky Mountain Goat surveying his domain
Snake River overlook, Grand Teton National Park
Elk skull that has been in this same spot in Little America for at least 4 years
Strange clouds at sunset at Slough Creek
Bison emerging from a swim across the Yellowstone River
Great Gray Owl out toward the Beartooths
So many Black Bears and cubs this year
A rarity to photograph these days – a mature bull Elk
Pronghorn doe at sunrise
View down the Upper Geyser Basin
Western Tanager male
After the storm in Hayden Valley
Majestic sunset at Roosevelt Arch
Roads End Naturalist 
Mike, these photos are perfection…I do understand why you love Yellowstone and want to share the experience with others 🙂
Thanks, Denise. It was great sharing it with all of you.
You got some great shots of the wildlife and the beauty of Yellowstone. Thank you for sharing them. What a pleasure!
Thanks, Mary.
Yes indeed it is such a special place. We just visited twice but I will return.
Thanks, Vivianne, definitely one of my favorite places.
Wonderful photos; your love of the park comes through clearly! How do you get there from NC – if you fly, to what airport do you go?
Hey Maria…yes, I fly out there to Bozeman (I must admit, I have a bias toward the northern portion of the park:)
May I ask why the bias? I am thinking of going there next year. Your photos are inspiring!
You certainly want to see the rest of the park, especially the thermal features and other unique geology. But, the other areas of the park tend to be much more crowded in summer (especially Canyon and Old Faithful areas), and hotter. The northern section has no major tourist spots with large visitor services complexes (other than Mammoth, park headquarters). Wildlife is high on my priority list so the so-called northern range is one of the better places to view wildlife (Hayden Valley is another great location farther south). I also like the area outside the NE entrance up toward the Beartooths. So, I guess it is my wildlife bias and fewer people (although you might think it is excessively crowded if you run into a “bear jam” along the road or wolves have been spotted in Lamar Valley.
And, fyi, I will be leading a trip again next summer in early June. Hope to have details on my blog sometime in the next month or so.
Thank you for the information!