Norma's Homemade Banana Bar

2022 - January Eight

PROMPT January 8, 2022
SATURDAY IN THE PARK
What is your favorite park, where is it, and do you still go there? If youu don't have a favorite park, then tell us why Saturday night's alright for fighting.


Well, this is easy. I love, absolutely love, Yellowstone National Park. It was the first National Park in the world, the first in the U.S. We lived in Gardiner for a time, which is at the North entrance to that park. It is the only entrance that is open year-round. And that is because of Cooke City at the NE gate. The mail run goes daily through the park to Cooke City and back.

Yellowstone has so many features to love. It is overwhelmed in the mild months with millions of tourists. All want to see 'Old Faithful', of course. But there are hundreds of geysers, hot pots, mud features that it will take days to see all of them.

And everyone wants to see bears and wolves. But to really see those animals the best thing to do is be a photographer and get up at 3:30 in the morning, head out to an isolated area and wait. And wait. Hike back country and wait. Of course, no regular tourist is up for that. They want to drive around, then head back to their room at 5PM and get a meal, hit the bars, then go back to their room and get up at 9 AM the next day to drive around again.

So, geysers, bears, hot springs, also a beautiful Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, bison, elk. NaturalThe best way to really enjoy the park, in my opinion, is to get out of your car and go on a hike. When we lived there, we hiked over 200 miles in and around Yellowstone. And you see very few people once you get off the main roads.

Now is a good time to go to Yellowstone. You can go snowmobiling with a group, take a snowcoach to Old Faithful Snow Lodge, go cross country skiing or snowshoeing. There are so few people around it's like the park is your own. And you have to see and hear Old Faithful geyser erupt on a -10° day. Amazing.

Here is a webcam link. https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm