Eclectic would be the only simple way to describe my life in Yellowstone. From the very beginning, 20 years old, in a minimum wage seasonal job, and away from home for the first time, to now, 28 years old, with a full time job and still not technically away from home(how can you be when your Dad follows you everywhere?), there have been many sights to behold. None, though, get to me as much as this area in the winter.
As the cold settles in(sometimes down to -40 degrees fahrenheit), the crowds disappear. The snow eventually sticks to the ground and the trees and it turns into a veritable winter wonderland. There is a real feeling of being in a different world.
This other-worldly feeling only increases as you visit different areas of the park. I have the pleasure of spending my days in the Mammoth Hot Springs area, in a 2nd floor office of a restored 1930s art-deco hotel. The windows look out the giant travertine terraces and the early 1900s Fort Yellowstone, a testiment to some of the rich human history of the park. And just a short drive away, is the Little Serengeti of of America, the Lamar Valley.
Aptly nicknamed, the Lamar valley is home to some of the best wildliife watching there is. Wolves were reintroduced here in 1995, and thrived in their natural habitat. THe lower elevations here bring the elk, bison, coyotes and moose as well, searching for food in the cold winter months.
My favorite of all winter locales within Yellowstone though, will always be the Old Faithful area. If you have ever visited this area in the summer, where 97% of the parks 3 million per year average visitors make a stop, the boarded up windows of the 105 year-old Old Faithful Inn remind you how drastically different it is in the winter. A ski up a trail that is used mostly by employees(due to its extreme close proximity to their rooms!) gives vistas of the geyser basin and great down hill to test your ski skills. A walk through the geyser basin brings peace, serenity and amazement.
I had the pleasure of taking a friend to this area for her first visit last weekend. On our late morning walk through the geyser basin, we passed only 2 skiers and 2 walkers(who also happened to be friends who were also down for a visit). It was a crystal clear, blue bird day with ne'er a cloud in sight. The sun twinkled perfectly through the frost covered trees, and the wind didn't dare to blow and disrupt our perfect morning.
A great thing to think about as you get even a bit older is the changes in your world-view as you age. Back to the beginning, 20 years old, this is in only a very small way I saw this place I lived. Winter was about shots at the pub, skiing afterwards, cursing yourself when the alarm went off for that 5:45am breakfast shift(that involved a 1/2 mile ski to work in -30 degree temps), coming up with the craziest costumes for the dances, and practicing your beer chugging for when the Snow Lodge Olympics rolled around. Now please don't get me wrong, these are still wonderful activities to enjoy....they are just fewer and farther between, allowing for much more time to appreciate what has always been there: a beautiful place that is far healthier for the mind and body than those things overindulged upon at a younger age.....
