"For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People"

National Park #5: Yellowstone National Park.

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Yellowstone? Geyers, waterfalls, mud pots, animals, Yogi Bear?

Well it turns out Yogi lives in Jellystone, not Yellowstone.

The fact that Yellowstone is so far away is a good and bad thing. It took the best part of two days to both drive there from Arches National Park and also to drive to Yosemite afterwards. The good thing is that it doesn't feel too crowded like Yosemite sometimes can. The distance would certainly keep some people away but there's also some great big open areas which you can easily escape to.

The drive was definitely worth it though and you really need to spend a few days in the park to be able to see everything at a reasonable pace. I can't say we've really done anything at a reasonable pace this holiday but we've certainly seen a lot of amazing things in a short amount of time. It wouldn't be rare to fit in three things into a day. Someone told me once that you really should put the camera down, forget what you are doing next and savour the moment, so I've tried to relax and soak in as much as I can.

The photo on this post is of the Roosevelt Arch opened by Teddy Roosevelt in 1903 at the north entrance to the park. The inscription at the top of the arch typifies what the national parks are about: "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People". This is the notion that the National Parks are built on. Yellowstone was the first National Park created in 1872. Interestingly, the Royal National Park in Sydney's south is the second oldest, established in 1879.

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