Last night of stargazing in Yellowstone...

Grand Teton National Park - has a range of mountains with 6 different summits topping 12,000 feet. The Tetons are the youngest mountains in the Rockies, less than 10 million years old (versus 60 million yrs for the nearby Wind River Mountains).

Scenic Yellowstone - on our last day, we left the car, brought our cameras and lugged the tripod to take a hike up the hills and across vast meadows. Though our excitement was overshadowed by fears of encountering a bear along the way and the impending thunderstorm, the beauty of the land before us was breathtaking and pictures did not do it all justice.

WILDLIFE - VIEWING. Yellowstone provided a marvelous natural setting in which to view bison elk, moose, wolves, coyotes, antelopes, bears and other wild animals. We found the easiest way view wild life was to watch for the brake lights of the cars in front, the cars pulled half off the road and cameras, binoculars and fingers all pointed in one direction. Inevitably, we found one animal after another munching away trying to remain oblivious to the chaos surrounding it.

Because of the constant parade of visitors and the lack of hunting, many of Yellowstone's animals appear to almost ignore the presence of people. But there are signs put up everywhere to warn one and all that though the animals appear tame, they really are wild and are dangerous. It is recommended that we should stay at least 25 yards away fm bison and elks and at least 100yards away from bears.

These were the animals that we were lucky enough to see. Here is a brief description of what they are:

Bears: Grizzly weighs about 200-700 pounds whereas the Black bear about 135-315 pounds. They are agile animals and can run up to 45miles per hr.

Bison: is also called a buffalo are animals of the grasslands. They feed primarily on grasses and sedges. Males can weigh as much as 2000 pounds. They can be aggressive and can run faster than humans.

Elk: are members of the deer family. The Male weighs about 700 pounds and stand abt 5 ft at the shoulder.

Moose: At 900 pounds and 7 feet tall, a bull moose is the largest member of the deer family in Yellowstone. Both sexes have a long muzzle, beard-like bell and dark brown colour that distinguishes moose fm deer and elk. Male moose have antlers which are flat and shaped like a hand and can grow to be 5 feet fm tip to tip. They are very shy animals and like to be in places where they can easily camouflage themselves. It was really hard to get a good picture of them.

Yellowstone is famous for Geysers, the 300 in the park makes up at least 60% of the world's geysers. This easily makes it the largest and most diverse collection in existence. This is one of the hottest places on the planet with heat flows more than 60 times the global average.

As we walked around the boiling hot springs and geysers, we could feel the heat coming fm them in the hot summer day. If you think it all sounds dangerous, it is, there were many signs put up to warn all visitors that the surface around many of the hot springs and geysers are very thin and people have been killed or seriously injured by falling through into the boiling water. We had to make sure we stayed on the designated boardwalk areas and obeyed all the "keep off" signs.

You will notice that the hot springs pictured here are particularly colourful. The colours fm the hot springs in Yellowstone come from algae and bacteria thriving in the heat of the water. They are highly temperature-specific and help create the distinct bands of colours around many of the hot springs. Of particular interest is a bacterium dwelling in the hot spring, from which, an enzyme, Taq, was extracted and ultimately revolutionized molecular biology.

However, above 88C, even these hot water bacteria and algae cannot survive, so the hottest springs appear a deep blue. The deep blue indicates the hottest spot of the spring.



Old Faithful Geyser is easily the most visited geyser in the world. Its not the tallest nor the most frequently erupting geyser in Yellowstone but it provides a great show. This famous geyser erupts once every 92 minutes.



Sawmill Geyser, check out the violent eruptions of boiling water, everyone got wet walking past it.

If ever a place deserved the term "Wonderland", it would have to be the northwest corner of Wyoming. In this spectacularly scenic region lies the world's oldest and perhaps its best-loved national park.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, established in 1872, it is America's first national park. Located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, it is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs. The terrain is a mix of open sagebrush-covered valleys, plateaus, deep canyons, alpine meadows and rocky summits. Yellowstone river is the largest high-elevation lake in North America.

Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, and the 33rd largest lake on Earth. Great Salt Lake has no outlet besides evaporation so the depth depends on precipitation. It has very high salinity, far saltier than sea water. Because of its unusually high salt concentration, most people can easily float in the lake as a result of the higher density of the water, particularly in the saltier north arm of the lake.

Antelope Island is the largest of 10 islands in the Great Salt Lake.

We took a week off from work before summer ends to visit the West side of the US. We decided on Salt Lake city and Yellowstone National Park. It was a vacation that we will never forget. Though the sun and heat was unbearably scorching even for me born and bred in tropical Singapore, the scenery and experience was unlike anything we had ever come across. Its someplace we would love to go back to again....

distance - Boston to Salt Lake City : 2,361 miles

distance -Salt Lake City - Yellowstone National Park : 358 miles

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake, or its initials, S.L.C. It was originally known as Great Salt Lake City. Spectacularly set at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains at an elevation of 4330 ft, it is the headquarters of the Mormon Church and was the host of the 2002 Winter Olympics. The Great Salt Lake and the impressive architecture and culture of the Mormon Temple are the 2 most famous attractions.

Mormon Temple and views from University of Utah

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