[LFLee]

Will be visiting that yellowstone NP... and going from Salt Lake City.

Personally I like all those quirky things that roadside America offer... like driving all the way to see Salton Sea and Slap City. Drive all the way to see the "black box" from LV, Area 51 near Death Valley NP.. you get the picture.

I found that "Atomic City" at the west of the park is pretty cool to visit, would like to know if there is any other interesting sites I should check out?

Thanks in advance!

[gaweidert]

In Cody is the Buffalo Bill Museum. Plenty of stuff from his Wild West Show. There are three wings. One devoted to Buffalo Bill. One of the Plains Indians and the Firearms Collection that was originally the Winchester Collection. There is even one of the air guns that was used on the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

The park itself is very quirky. You don't go an "Do" Yellowstone you have to experience it. I have been there 5 times and still haven't managed to find the time to drive out the road ot the northeast entrance. You can easily spend several hours in the Norris and Porcelain Geyser Basins area.

Get UV or haze filters for all you lenses. The minerals in the steam coming from all the thermal features will destroy lens coatings.

If you approach the park from the south from Jackson Hole, there is a roadside pullout right where Ansel Adams took his famous photo of the Grand Tetons with the Snake River in the foreground. Here is my take on it when I drove by in 2013:

[LFLee]

In Cody is the Buffalo Bill Museum. Plenty of stuff from his Wild West Show. There are three wings. One devoted to Buffalo Bill. One of the Plains Indians and the Firearms Collection that was originally the Winchester Collection. There is even one of the air guns that was used on the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Get UV or haze filters for all you lenses. The minerals in the steam coming from all the thermal features will destroy lens coatings.

If you approach the park from the south from Jackson Hole, there is a roadside pullout right where Ansel Adams took his famous photo of the Grand Tetons with the Snake River in the foreground. Here is my take on it when I drove by in 2013:

Thanks! we indeed go from Jackson Hole, spend some time in Teton, then only go yellowstone... not sure if we have time to go to the east side (Buffalo Bill).
and thanks for the info. would be cool to imagine Ansel Adam shooting over there..

There are so much things to see.

We plan to at least do a 1 day backpacking trip to "go deep" in yellowstone, still searching for the trail.

[csa]

Don't forget bear spray, if you're hiking! Also wear bells, as bears love the taste of them! Actually they are used to make noise so you don't "surprise" a bear; they don't like being surprised!

[gaweidert]

BTW, I forgot to mention the most quirky thing you will see. They are called tourons. A combination of the words tourists and morons. Like the guy I saw who was standing 6 feet form a bison taking flash pictures of it. Another time we came across a cow moose in a stream and her calf was standing on the far bank surrounded by people. Al that little critter had to do was bleat and momma would have come charging taking no prisoners. I was taking to a ranger once and he said that about 10% of the people who go to the park have put their brains on vacation too. So if you find some of these people keep an eye on them. You just may get some awesome shots.

Some years ago I was at Acadia National Park watching whole families climbing up this steep rock wall. A ranger was there watching too. I asked him what would happen if someone falls. His reply was priceless. "All part of the wilderness experience."

When hiking keep on scanning and as mentioned above make lots of noise. You cannot let your guard down out there. Unless you are carrying firearms, you are nowhere near the top of the food chain.

For your viewing pleasure:

You Tube

You Tube

[RGlasel]

Like the guy I saw who was standing 6 feet form a bison taking flash pictures of it

On my first trip to Yellowstone, a woman was gored by a bison (she left her car to walk up to it, when the bull advanced towards her she ran behind a tree and got caught trying to run back to her car) and a park employee was killed by a bear while hiking on her days off. Also watched a carload of tourists go running down the roadbank after two bear cubs.

[csa]

Sadly there's always people that use such poor judgement around these animals! The animals in Yellowstone are used to people, so they come closer than in the "wild"; however, one must never forget they ARE wild animals that are very unpredictable, especially those with young!

[LFLee]

BTW, I forgot to mention the most quirky thing you will see. They are called tourons. A combination of the words tourists and morons. Like the guy I saw who was standing 6 feet form a bison taking flash pictures of it. Another time we came across a cow moose in a stream and her calf was standing on the far bank surrounded by people. Al that little critter had to do was bleat and momma would have come charging taking no prisoners. I was taking to a ranger once and he said that about 10% of the people who go to the park have put their brains on vacation too. So if you find some of these people keep an eye on them. You just may get some awesome shots.

On my first trip to Yellowstone, a woman was gored by a bison (she left her car to walk up to it, when the bull advanced towards her she ran behind a tree and got caught trying to run back to her car) and a park employee was killed by a bear while hiking on her days off. Also watched a carload of tourists go running down the roadbank after two bear cubs.

Sadly there's always people that use such poor judgement around these animals! The animals in Yellowstone are used to people, so they come closer than in the "wild"; however, one must never forget they ARE wild animals that are very unpredictable, especially those with young!

Don't forget bear spray, if you're hiking! Also wear bells, as bears love the taste of them! Actually they are used to make noise so you don't "surprise" a bear; they don't like being surprised!

Thanks guys! bought bear spray. We plan to do at least a backpacking night to avoid the crowd, we understand one cannot see everything in a week trip, so will try to enjoy the place rather than rush through things. We usually get up before dark and on the trail at first light... but we might not able to do that this time as we realize we might need to try to secure a campsite early morning as they are first come first serve...

as for backpacking, we slowly realize (i.e. online search) that backpacking trails in Grand Teton seem to be more beautiful and dramatic than Yellowstone, so we might spend more time in Grand Teton.

I wish I can carry my 67 ...