A Picturesque Gem: Childhood Memories of Yellowstone NP

For as long as I can remember, my family and I have gone on road trips together. My earliest memories are of visiting Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Charleston, the Grand Canyon, and many other places. Even before my sister and I were born, my parents had a love for travel and often made their way throughout the west coast. A lot of the family photos from my childhood are ones of our travels leading up to some great, fun memories. 

The most memorable road trip experiences I had with my family were our several journeys to Yellowstone National Park.  In 1872 President Ulysses Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Act, which created America’s first ever National Park. Today, there are 63 parks throughout the country under National Parks Service’s (NPS) leadership.

The Yellowstone area is still as breathtaking as ever at the ripe age of 150 years old. Known for its unique natural landscape, bountiful wildlife, and colorful history, the park stretches into Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. I live in the arid desert of Nevada, so it was always quite an incredible sight to see the lush environment of Yellowstone. Star Wars has always been a big part of my life, and exploring the park was akin to visiting the forest moon of Endor.

My dad had family that lived in both Elko, NV and Twin Falls, ID that we would usually see on the way to Yellowstone. A good memory I have is helping out at my uncle’s family-owned restaurant in Elko and playing video games with my cousins afterward. For a while, my parents had a big van we would pack the whole family and cousins into on the way to Wyoming. Those packed car rides brought plenty of levity to the sometimes monotonous drive through the barren desert of Nevada. It was a long ten-hour drive and it was such a big relief when we finally made it. 

There was so much that I enjoyed throughout the great National Park. Anyone would get a worthwhile experience with the immense wilderness. Wolves, moose, bears, eagles, squirrels, elk, beavers, and of course the beloved buffalo, all call the immense area of Yellowstone home. This area is very well known for the many buffalo and wolves that have roamed throughout for many generations. What might be the most revered aspect of the National Park is the mystifying Old Faithful. This geyser may not be the largest or tallest eruption out there, but it has been the most predictable, erupting 20 times each day. Old Faithful is the highest trafficked geyser, with people of all ages and cultures gathering throughout the day to watch the hot water push its way up through the earth. 

Some other things I enjoyed were riding a horse, staying in a cabin, going around Yellowstone Lake, and enjoying the vastness of the landscape throughout the park. Each time you visit it will feel different from the last time and leave you wanting to see more. Red Rock and Mt. Charleston, near where I am in Las Vegas, certainly have plenty of natural beauty to enjoy when visited, but Yellowstone really inspired me to enjoy being outdoors. The experiences out there would compel many to explore other outdoor wonders in this vast country.

I have been to Zion National Park, Sequoia National Forest, Yosemite National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Grand Canyon National Park ever since those road trips from my childhood. I have many more places that I want to see and outdoor excursions I hope to experience—all because of my fun road trips back when I was young. 

AUTHOR:

Austin Carlos

Outsiders, Together Member