This summer, I went on a once-in-a-lifetime road trip across the southern states of Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. On this once-in-a-lifetime trip, we went to three different National Parks/Preserves: the ever-famous Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and Craters of the Moon National Preserve. Each of these places was, as we like to say it here, unique and unrepeatable.
On the trip, our first stop was Yellowstone! Yellowstone National Park is the second largest park in the whole of America and maybe even the world! Along with being a dormant super volcano, Yellowstone is home to some of the best scenic views and photography spots. Due to there still being magma underneath the very land you stand on when you visit, there are some spectacular geothermal features. Some of the geothermal features include steam vents, which are holes in the ground that have steam pouring out of them, mud pots, which are mud baths that bubble up due to the intense heat radiating from the magma below, hot springs, which are well known as nature’s hot tubs in which the magma heats up the the water, making it explode past boiling point, and the most popular by far, is the Geysers. Geysers come in two different types: fountain geysers, which are underwater geysers, and cone geysers, which are above water geysers. People from all over the world flock to Yellowstone to take a look at these four geothermal features! While waiting for the highest predictable Geyser, ‘Grand Geyser,’ we actually got hit by a hailstorm! The view of the geyser eruption though was worth it. We were also lucky to see three rainbows, one single and two doubles!
Geothermal features are, however, only half of what Yellowstone has to offer. Your trip to Yellowstone will not be complete without checking out the wildlife. The best wildlife can be spotted through a trip down Lamar Valley. It is an excellent place to check out all of the bison that Yellowstone has to offer. When we hiked and drove for miles and miles, the only thing you could see was a herd of bison peacefully grazing on the grass. If you get lucky, like we did, maybe you get to see part of a bear. On our trip, we actually got to see three bears! One of them was also eating a dead bison, which is, according to the rangers, a very rare sight to spot. You can also attend ranger-led programs to learn more about the wildlife and geothermal features. During one of these programs, I learned that bison can run thirty-five miles per hour and jump up to six feet high!
Leaving Yellowstone, we headed over to Grand Teton National Park. In Grand Teton, the better part of the views are mostly mountains and hills. There are other things to go and visit like the town of Jackson Hole, hot springs, and the Mormon farmhouses. On our visit, we went to all of these places and went on a good amount of hiking trails. Grand Teton National Park is highly recognized because of its majestic peaks — hence the park’s name. You’re sure to know when you arrive in Grand Teton because when you look around, the only thing you can see is splendid mountains and tall grassy hills. The main mountains are (in the following order): South Teton, Middle Teton, Grand Teton (which is the largest peak!), Mt. Owen, and last but not least, Mt. Teewinot. Not only do the mountains provide you with excellent photo spots, but they also provide amazing trails that you can hike on.
After long hours of hiking, we headed to the town of Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole is a great place to go and hang out with family and friends. With many food and souvenir shops, Jackson Hole is the place to be when the sun goes down. There are so many things that you can find and do that you will need to dedicate one whole day to exploring the town. On the last day, before heading to Salt Lake City, we went to the hot springs near Grand Teton. The hot spring water was at least 106 degrees. There was also an ice bath without the ice; it was freezing. Along with that, there was also a normal pool and a sitting area. To sum it up, it was great that after a long day of splashing around in the pool, we headed to our next destinations: the Salt Flats and the Craters of the Moon National Preserve!
On our way to see the Craters of the Moon National Preserve, we stopped by to see the salt flats of Salt Lake City. The salt flats are what they sound like, flats of salt. These salt flats, however, were not thin; you could do many things on them! You could walk on them, you could drive your cars on them, and you could eat the salt, that is, if you really wanted to. I didn’t eat the salt, but a couple of my friends did. They said it was “some of the best salt I’ve had in my life!” The salt flats were really bright, so you had to make sure to wear your sunglasses. There were also amazing patterns on the salt flats. These patterns were caused by the lake that was once in place of the salt flats because the lake had dried up, and the salt flats were formed! After leaving, we headed into town and then on to the Craters of the Moon National Preserve. Craters of the Moon was actually created by a huge volcanic eruption less than 2,000 years ago, making it a place with some of the youngest volcanic ash in all of America. There were amazing hikes that you could take on top of mountains where you would see breathtaking views of the vast volcanic landscape! The reason this place is called Craters of the Moon is because it represents the texture of the moon and its craters. There was this one place we went to where at the bottom of a volcanically carved hole, there was snow. We were all amazed because outside, we were sweating buckets, and at the bottom of the hole, we saw snow! We soon found out the reason why the snow could survive down there: it was so cold, and even if we stuck our arm out near the snow, we would get hit by jets of cool, crisp air. We then journeyed through the Indian Tunnel. The journey through the Indian Tunnel was fairly easy with only a couple of tight squeezes and a little bit of climbing. There, we saw lots of pigeons, and just when we thought we were out of luck, we saw the thing we were all looking for: a bat!
The ten-day journey that we made through the southern states was very eventful and intriguing! Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, the Salt Flats, and Craters of the Moon National Preserve are all places that I recommend visiting. Even though we had to sit through a hail storm, survive unbearable heat, and beat the early morning traffic to all the places, it was 100% worth all the sweat!
By Tvesha Patel ‘27 , Photography Editor
