The Grand Tetons

I stopped at a roadside parking area and joined fellow travelers waiting for the sun to set behind the mountains. We discussed our travels, the majesty and beauty of the mountains, and the ever present wild fires that summer. There had been fires and fire danger warnings in every state I had traveled, starting in Michigan. Everywhere I went, I was surrounded by the beauty of the natural world, but that beauty was tempered by the ever present smoke and danger of wild fires, some naturally occurring, but more often a result of human carelessness.

On Top Of The World

I left Yellowstone and headed out on a narrow, winding road that seemed to climb forever. I drove on and on, stopping several times to admire the view, until I reached a small campground that seemed to float among the clouds on top of the world. 

My campsite was near a beautiful alpine lake and like all campsites it came with grizzly bear warnings. I sat on a boulder near the lake watching the evening sky change the tall grass to golden amber, as a young family hiked up a hillside trail for a weekend backpacking trip.

 

Not Following The Crowd

Being the anti-social person that I am, when I see a crowd. I go the opposite direction.  That was my game plan for visiting Yellowstone National Park, last September, and it served me well on a memorable hike. Even in the fall, Yellowstone is crowded, so instead of visiting the most common sites, I took a nature hike along a long boardwalk, in a quiet area of the park. I had the  walk to myself, with the exception of a curious badger who lived next to the trail.