On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
I promised flowers on my Twitter feed, and I am a day late. Alain is still trying to make FYWP work.
I took a great many wildflower photos on my trip. The reason I went to Yellowstone at this heavily populated time of year was to see the flowers. They were wonderful. Here are a few photos from the Upper Geyser Basin, where Old Faithful is located. The book I’m using to identify the flowers is Flora Of The Yellowstone, by Whitney Tilt.
Blue-eyed grass, Sisyrinchium montanum (1-2 cm)
Panicled bulrush, Scirpus microcarpus
Fringed gentian, Gentianopsis thermalis
More fringed gentians, with yellow dandelion-like (but not dandelion) unidentifiable flowers
White bog-orchid, Platanthera dilatata (the columnar white ones). I also see paintbrush, geranium, and a couple of kinds of grass.
Elk thistle, Cirsium scariosum
And of course a wealth of algae, bacteria, eukaryota, viruses, and whatever in a hot pool.
That’s all I’ve got time for right now.
Major Major Major Major
Lovely pictures, thanks. Never been to Yellowstone…
mattH
@Major Major Major Major: You really need to go once. It’s insanely crowded anymore, and you almost have to book a year in advance if you want to stay in the park (which you really do), but it’s the crown jewel and impetus for our park system for a reason. More fauna and flora in one place, combined with the most varried geologic features in the world.
Quinerly
??❤?
MomSense
I’m desperate to get to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons.
rikyrah
The pictures are great.
rikyrah
@MomSense:
Me too :)
AliceBlue
“Blue-eyed Grass”–I love these names.
A Ghost To Most
Yellowstone in the winter is also beautiful, and a shit ton less crowded.
MomSense
@rikyrah:
Let’s go together!! You bring Peanut and I’ll bring my youngest.
rikyrah
There should be no confusion what happens if the ACA is repealed as Trump and the Senate are proposing now.
Circulate. pic.twitter.com/d40d0NyQ6m
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) July 18, 2017
Major Major Major Major
@rikyrah: @MomSense: can I come??
ThresherK
Is there a “population density map” for where people go in Yellowstone in the summer? I’ve vaguely read things about much of it being near the northwest entrance.
debbie
@MomSense:
I have a FB friend who posts amazing photos from Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, etc. if it wasn’t for the people who live there…
MomSense
@Major Major Major Major:
Of course!
Amir Khalid
Flowers is purty.
pamelabrown53
@rikyrah: @6.
Me 3. I’ve been fortunate enough to see much of the world but I’m an absolute neophyte when it comes to exploring the grandeur that is our National Parks system.
Thanks cheryl for the beautiful posie pics. Despite the crowds, you seem to have had a meaningful trip.
MomSense
@debbie:
My son has taken some great photos from his trips to the national parks. We have so much to be grateful for in our country. Definitely worth fighting for.
Gin & Tonic
@ThresherK: Here’s an interesting article about the opposite. Yes, the northwest entrance is most crowded at every time of year.
Ian G.
@ThresherK:
Yellowstone can give you solitude, you just need to get away from the major attractions. I mean, by all means, see Old Faithful and Mammoth Hot Springs and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, but expect big crowds. But then do an off-the-beaten-path hike. My wife and I did a day hike at Bunsen Peak near Mammoth. We saw maybe 3 other people on the hike and had some amazing summit views all to ourselves.
Also, do Grand Teton if you do Yellowstone. For all of its amazing features, Yellowstone doesn’t have a lot of majestic mountains, whereas the Tetons are as breathtaking as any mountain range in this country.
Spanky
Mrs. Spanky and I are heading to Nebraska for the eclipse (less people, hopefully), then head north through the Badlands and over several days migrate west to YS & GT, followed by a bat-outta-hell drive to DEN for a flight. Shitty way to end a vacation, but we worked with the dates we had.
Really looking forward to the parks, but not the inevitable crowds still there from the eclipse. A probable dearth of people is why I decided on Nebraska in the first place.
Mnemosyne
This year was amazing for California’s wildflowers. They were literally visible from space.
Unfortunately, we’ll be paying for that beauty in wildfires this fall. ?
rikyrah
@pamelabrown53:
I fell in love with the Grand Tetons the first time I saw pictures by Ansel Adams. I knew I had to go wherever those pictures were taken. It’s definitely on my bucket list.
satby
About 35 years ago I and some friends did a driving tour that hit a lot of great places to see: Crazy Horse Mountain, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, part of the Grand Tetons, Bryce and Zion. We were on the road for 3 weeks camping and sightseeing by the time I had to split off and fly back home to my job. It was a fantastic trip, highly recommend!
sharl
@ThresherK: I haven’t seen such a map, and it might be something of some value. I’ve seen more information on park attendance as a function of time-of-year, though I have no links handy.
When I was there with family early last month, there were certain parking lots that had long lines waiting for spaces to open up, but I don’t know if those are regularly popular locations, or if we just happened on them when they were crowded. Specific features that are regularly popular would most likely show up in park information sites or websites/logs posted online by visitors, I would assume.
We ran into a lot of congestion by the sides of roads which were almost always the result of interesting wildlife viewable from the road. We stopped at a number of those – finding a non-precarious parking location along the “berm” could be something of a challenge – and were occasionally rewarded with something interesting, even though maybe only observable in the distance with binoculars. In one case we saw three bears up a tree, which – according to roadside speculative chatter – was probably a cub at the very top, momma bear in the middle, and a horny male grizzly at the bottom who wanted to kill the cub and bring the female into estrus (nature ain’t always adorable, unfortunately).
Another time there was a wolf den waaaay off in the distance. Our own binoculars weren’t quite enough, but there were several regulars there with more powerful scopes on tripods, and they were very nice allowing all us newbies to take a look, while explaining what we were seeing, as well as offering some history on which packs “owned” the territory, past and present.
The bison seem largely to have become acclimated to cars, so we found ourselves in lines sometimes having to wait for them to clear the road, or driving slowly and warily while waiting to see if they were going to amble onto the road.
We covered a great deal of the park I think, though mostly in the western part; we mostly accessed the park via the western entrance (West Yellowstone, MT). I’ve been looking forward to Cheryl’s report, especially since she came in via the eastern approach; she got some great pics!
Ian G.
I don’t know why I’m bringing this up (psst, it’s because you’re an OCD weirdo, Ian), but the mountain range is the “Teton Range”. “Grand” only refers to one mountain, the high centerpiece of the range, “The Grand Teton”. The park is named after than single mountain.
Anyway, if you go there and are in good hiking shape, I recommend a hike to Surprise and Amphitheatre Lakes, or if the trail is open (it wasn’t when I was there in 2013), Delta Lake. You won’t necessarily get solitude on those hikes, but the scenic payoffs are unmatched.
debbie
@rikyrah:
I must have almost 15 years’ worth of Ansel Adams calendars in a drawer! Love even the repeats!
Mnemosyne
@Ian G.:
If you really want to get OCD, according to Wikipedia the French called the range les trois tétons (“the three nipples”), so it’s gone back and forth between being plural and singular.
ETA: Yes, “Grand Teton” translates as “Big Nipple.” Stop snickering, you 10-year-olds! ?
Dmbeaster
A hint on taking close ups of wildflowers in bright sunlight is to use your own body to shade the entire picture. The reduction in contrast and the elimination of overly bright spots really enhances the flower pic. Fill the frame. Nice pictures and Yellowstone puts on a show in wildflowers. Hope you got to see monk’s hood and fireweed (a clarkia), and the varieties of everlasting which they call pussy paws up there.
Cheryl Rofer
@ThresherK: My experience was that most of the traffic was in the geyser basins on the west side of the park, particularly those on the main roads. If you stay in the park and leave around 7 am or earlier, you can have most places to yourself and maybe a few others.
Dmbeaster
@Mnemosyne: I was there with my son and two cousins when they were 10ish, and told them it meant “big t!ts.” Gor more than a snicker.
Mnemosyne
@Dmbeaster:
When you look at a lot of these names, you realize how lonely the French and Spanish explorers were being stuck with all-male company. Half the names are things a horny 12-year-old would come up with.
Wag
Went hiking in American Basin in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Phenomenal wild flowers. Acres and acres of columbines.
Origuy
If you’re making a road trip to Yellowstone through Idaho, think about stopping at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Lava fields, lava tube caves, lots of wildlife, and not a lot of people.
Jeffro
Based on all the feedback yesterday, me and the Mrs. are going to shorten up our initial plan and just take the kids to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Zion, and the north rim of the Grand Canyon next summer. Why rush through such amazing sights, right? Thanks again everyone!
Currants
@cherylrofer: Yellow flowers: prob not colts foot, based on the leaves I can see, but maybe a variety of Indian paintbrush?
Cheryl Rofer
@Currants: Definitely not coltsfoot. Flower is dandelion-like. I think I’ve seen it in the book but didn’t have time to peruse all the possibilities.
Yarrow
Thanks for the photos, Cheryl. I love wildflowerrs. And yes, everyone should get to Yellowstone. It’s amazing.
frosty
Might be that no one reads this but I was struck by the response to this post and Cheryl’s one yesterday. The Western National Parks really strike a chord in everyone — the ones who’ve gone and the ones who can’t wait to get there. They really are a national treasure.
stinger
@frosty: I read it! Oftentimes I can’t get to BJ during work hours and have to catch up at the end of the day, which is why I seldom comment. But I agree with your comment!
Kristine
Thanks for posting these–I love wildflowers. ?