Yellowstone National Park
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features, photos, tips
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Yellowstone National Park is one of those
famously popular
destinations that exceeds expectations; no wonder so many people flock
to it.
Yellowstone National Park
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Natural wonders
The
Old Faithful geyser, right, has become the emblem of this famous Park, and seeing it
blow its stack at a predictable time is definitely a high point; yet other
natural wonders are more beautiful. The Mammoth Terraces and the
Grand Canyon of
the Yellowstone get votes in the Visual Splendors category.
Lodgings
This Park has man-made
beauties, too, with three unique historic inns: the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel;
the magnificently rustic Old Faithful Inn; and the classy Lake Yellowstone
Hotel.
Wildlife
More elusive, but thrilling when spotted, are the Park's living creatures. With luck, you'll
glimpse a wolf or grizzly bear. Certainly, you'll see elk and herds of
bison.
But perhaps the real emblem
of the world's first national park should be its massive
gate, engraved with the words "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the
People."
 Yellowstone
National Park's
creation by President Ulysses Grant in 1872 marked a turning point in how
nature was viewed by people. Those words, "Benefit and
Enjoyment of the People" were weighty ones: before 1872, an expanse of
land like Yellowstone would have benefited only the few guys who discovered and got rich
from it. Dedicating a huge park for "the People" was a true breakthrough.
This giant gate, leading
into the National Park's 2.2 million acres, is a kind of Statue of Liberty for the
environment.
All Images (c)
by Teresa
Plowright.
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