Click on the map to enlarge it. About This Site Planning Your Trip -- Detailed Expanations Old Faithful & the Geothermal Areas Yellowstone Lake Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Mammoth Hot Springs Wildlife Safari in the Lamar Valley Grand Teton National Park This travelogue is one family's experience in Yellowstone. To see a photo in a 1024 x 681 size, just click on it. We hope you enjoy the record of our journey, and that you get to experience your own. Note: Stock photos of these and many other images with reproduction rights are available in their original 3008 x 2000 size. We also have a screen saver. Click here for more information. As we left Old Faithful area early in the morning, we saw this little hot spring, which ilustrates how the heated ground and water is hazardous to the life of nearby trees. Note my shadow at the bottom of the shot. As you drive from the Old Faithful area to Yellowstone Lake, you pass the Continental Divide, which separates which way rivers flow. Yellowstone Lake is the largest high altitude lake in North America. It is about 7700 feet above sea level, 14 miles wide and 20 miles long, and and average of 139 feet deep. It has 141 miles of seashore and 125 tributary streams that flow into it. Despite some hot springs near its peripheries, Yellowstone's geothermal features have little impact on its temperature, which is about 55 degrees in the summer. In the winter, the lake is covered by about three feet of ice. This early morning shot is taken at its western end. The Lake Yellowstone hotel was built in the 1890s, and stands as a reminder of the giant resort hotels built throughout the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While today's giant hotels are high-rise monsters, the hotels of yesteryear were only a few stories high, but stretched out forever. This panorama photo of the hotel shows it at its full glory. This is a panorama shot of Yellowstone lake from just outside the Lake Yellowstone hotel. Our visit to the lake was limited in time. We went to the hotel for breakfast, but we did not spend any time on the lake itself because we only had five days in the area and planned to spend time in Grand Teton National Park in the Jackson Lake area. This shot is inside the lobby at the hotel. Incidentally, the breakfast was terrific. We highly recommend it. In fact, on our next trip, we'll definitely stay at the hotel. It's an absolute classic. As we were walking around outside the hotel, we were greeted with this pleasant surprise. Several elk wandered down just outside the hotel for their breakfast. Here's one shot of the elk. Here's a second shot of the elk near the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. Click here to tour the Canyon of the Yellowstone.>

© 2009 by Stephen Caswell. All Rights Reserved.