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Old 09-09-2010, 11:18 AM
 
Location: Utah
293 posts, read 563,633 times
Reputation: 443

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enjoy folks! After spending sat.-mon. of labor day weekend in the area, I can tell you that Yellowstone is certainly doable in a short timeframe if you take the right approach. For my full day in the park on sunday, I made it to the South Entrance by 6am, did some hiking/sightseeing till noonish, went back to my room for a snack/nap, then hit the park again in the early evening. I did the same thing monday, but only spent a half day and headed home around noon.

All in all, I pretty much hit everything i wanted and saw some amazing stuff. I think the highlight was having a grizzly bear and 2 cubs walk right in front of my car. I also got trapped in a series of early morning 'bison jams' that i got some entertaining video of. But at least 80% of my cool animal experiences happened either before 8am or after 7pm, so it pays to get out early and stay late!

Also be prepared for all kinds of weather....on sunday it went from 60s during the day to a snowstorm in the evening. Also, if it's windy out, do not under any circumstances stand downwind of Old Faithful during an eruption!

I have lots of pics/videos which i cant access at work, but I'll post later!
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Old 09-09-2010, 02:18 PM
 
74 posts, read 275,790 times
Reputation: 36
That sounds PURE AWESOME!!! Few more hours to go!!!!!!
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Old 09-09-2010, 04:22 PM
 
Location: Utah
293 posts, read 563,633 times
Reputation: 443
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs425.snc4/46870_541793960138_173700523_32080921_4470405_n.jp g (broken link)


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Old 09-09-2010, 04:27 PM
 
Location: Utah
293 posts, read 563,633 times
Reputation: 443

YouTube - Grizzly Bear and cubs at yellowstone


YouTube - Yellowstone: Elk in the snow (on LABOR DAY)
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Old 09-09-2010, 04:33 PM
 
Location: Utah
293 posts, read 563,633 times
Reputation: 443

YouTube - Bison jam at Yellowstone


YouTube - March of the Bison!!!
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Old 09-09-2010, 06:11 PM
 
74 posts, read 275,790 times
Reputation: 36
great!!!!!!!!! seems like you really enjoyed this trip..
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Old 09-10-2010, 11:05 AM
 
8,228 posts, read 14,217,702 times
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I'm freaking out - I leave a week from today for my 1 time big ever (5 day) vacation in YNP (staying in Gardiner) at the ripe old age of 54.
Thanks for the followup.
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Old 09-10-2010, 05:11 PM
 
Location: Cabin Creek
3,648 posts, read 6,288,980 times
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there snow (7500 ft) here a 100 miles south of the park today
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Old 09-13-2010, 08:19 PM
 
74 posts, read 275,790 times
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Just got back!!! I did the loop after driving through Grand Teton...... AMAZING! I did a few short hikes. Personally I liked the lower loop more (maybe because I loved the Canyon and springs/geysers).. Mammoth area to me was less impressive and boring compared to other places in the park...

My camera's battery died and the usb cable I have apparently does not charge it! I had to buy disposable cameras but nevertheless, this is by far the best national park I have been to.

I also encountered a lot of wild life INCLUDING a black (thankfully) bear with her cub!

The park is huge and a lot of driving is involved to see things (some road closures with significant delays).. I woke up everyday around 6AM to end the day at 8PM (sunset). Another drawback is accommodations, everything is at least 45 minutes away (West Yellowstone, Cody) with the exception of Old faithful area (it was overbooked)..

In addition to yellowstone national park I took an extra day off work and attempted the Beartooth Highway. So I thought of taking advantage of the night since there was not a lot to do. I thought maybe I could travel at 8PM, sleep in Red Lodge (other end of Beartooth Hwy) then head back. That way I will not lose 6 hours of daylight or see the same highway twice. I had a chat with the visitor center asking them about the travel time (2:30hrs), weather conditions (good), and if it is safe to travel during the night (they assured me that it is fine and they have done it after dark). I went for it, big mistake.. The scariest drive I have ever done, wind gusts with snow and black ice every few meters in a winding road that is mostly without rail. No phone service, last car I saw was 3 hours ago. Sunsprit mentioned getting survival gear which I thought was too much but if my car broke down in that area that day.. I would have surely died. Nevertheless, beartooth highway (on the way back during daylight) was astonishing.

I will answer my question in the original post with an example; Grand Prismatic Spring. To reach the spring it only takes a few steps on a boardwalk that any 3 year old or 70 year old can do. When I saw the grand prismatic spring I was impressed and I did enjoy it.. I talked to a park ranger who suggested the Fairy Falls trail which gives you an overlook of the grand prismatic spring. This is a few mile hike (if you go from the other end it is a 1 mile hike) and then you have a short steep hike to the overlook... So I decided to dedicate couple of hours to do it. However, I did more, I hiked to the top of the hill where I had to jump over fallen trees and find my own way.. Once I did, I looked back at the spring from the top and saw the most breathtaking, jaw dropping, astonishing view that was a million times better than what the boardwalk had to offer. I stood there for 10 minutes taking in the view, I felt I did not only look at it but I truly experience it.. That by itself was worth a day of attraction hoping.

So long story short, yes you can definitely see Yellowstone in 3 days or even 2 days but to truly experience it you need way more than 3 days as sunsprit mentioned... To me, that hike was the thing I will remember the most about Yellowstone National Park... Until my next visit.
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Old 09-14-2010, 12:22 PM
 
369 posts, read 681,555 times
Reputation: 118
Quote:
Originally Posted by adelashk View Post
No phone service, last car I saw was 3 hours ago. Sunsprit mentioned getting survival gear which I thought was too much but if my car broke down in that area that day.. I would have surely died. Nevertheless, beartooth highway (on the way back during daylight) was astonishing.
Thanks for the info about the Beartooth. The above post shows how folks rarely prepare. I think the bulk of this country is so used to urban, suburban, or rural-suburban living, that we take things for granted, especially when any of the above folks head out to states and areas that are really rural and vast. If you go out to a rural area, at a minimum you need the following:

#1: Food
#2: Water
#3: One roll of toilet paper

Stock up on snack bars with nutrients and just buy a case of bottled water. In most cases, that should be enough.

Now, if you are going somewhere with extreme cold, you need to pack an emergency foil blanket, winter clothing, and a sleeping bag. If the sleeping bag is too much, the foil blanket (you can get these at Walmart for $1.00) and a good warm cap is the only other option. If you know the area you are going to could get even a hint of snow, prepare for the need to pull over, sleep in the car, and having to scrape ice/snow off the car in the morning (which means make sure you have an ice scrape and ice melt). The foil blanket, winter cap, ice scraper, and ice melt doesn't take up much room at all. Just spend the extra couple of bucks and get the ice melt spray with the cap that doubles as a scraper.

Now if you are going somewhere hot and desolate, or you are camping, or out on the ocean/gulf, or traveling in a bad winter storm, then in addition to food, water, toilet paper, and warmth, you need to have a way to communicate if things are looking bad after a day or so (if on the water and the boat sinks and your in the life boat, things are bad right then!). I highly suggest a personal locator beacon. ACR electronics makes two models. The cheaper one will cost you around $425 shipped. While it is a lot of money, the battery will last at least six years, and has a storage life of 11. They also give you the ability to test the unit about ten times. To me, such an item is a must have for anyone traveling in a remote area. For anyone who makes decent money, this is a no brainier. Had those four guys on a boat (two of them NFL players making at least $250K/year) had these PLBs, no one would have died. Had that guy from CNET had a PLB, he wouldn't have died after he had to go and try to walk for help after they got stuck on a road after a snow storm. If you just absolutely don't want to buy one of these, at least consider getting OnStar installed in your vehicle. In fact, OnStar has the benefit of calling for help if you are in a crash and knocked out as long as one of your airbags deploy. For me, I would rather skip a $2,000 HDTV and instead put that money towards a PLB and OnStar subscription.
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