Memorial Day Trip: Yellowstone National Park

It has been a few years since we were last able to visit Yellowstone National Park. We used to go a few times a year, however, life has been busy and this trip has been pushed to the back burner (I guess that means we will have to try to get up there at the end of the summer this year). 🙂

When my family and I visit Yellowstone we always go at the change of seasons (i.e. end of May/early June or at the end of September/early October). Why do we only go at these times of the year, you ask? Well, we like to go to the Park to see the animals and if you go in the middle of summer it is too hot and the animals are not out and roaming about–we learned this lesson the hard way one year.

The last time we were up in Yellowstone it was for Memorial Day weekend in 2009. This trip was a special trip for me, because in all of my travels up to Yellowstone I never had the opportunity to witness the one creature that I wanted to see the most: the bear! I guess I had been unlucky on my previous trips (or maybe just blind), because on this trip, we saw close to 8 bears! (Count it with me: E.I.G.H.T!) We even saw a mama bear and her three cubs!

Seeing a bear within Yellowstone is an exciting time for any lucky visitor. The term “bear jam” was created because of the massive traffic jams that occur when a bear is spotted. Unfortunately, there is limited space to park on the small two lane roads within the park, and some people throw all caution to the wind when they get wrapped up in a bear sighting.

Sometimes it’s just as interesting to watch the visitors as it is to watch the bears. 😉 Here are a few photos of the bear sightings that day.

P.S. I have to apologize about my absence these last few days. Life is a little crazy right now, but I promise I’ll be back soon (right after my amazing–and much-needed–vacation next week)! Thank you for continuing to read my sporadic posts, I appreciate each and every one of you. 😀