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trailer hitch, and drove our station wagon into the Park. We didn’t realize that the popular Park comprised hundreds of acres.
    We spent three glorious days of delightful discovery in
Yellowstone National Park
coming out at night to our little travel trailer. The multitude of twinkling stars at night in the clearest sky we ever saw, were outstanding and made up for the lack of nature at the stark parking lot campsite.
    During the day, we drove all around in Yellowstone National Park, stopped the car to hike, and took lots of pictures. We saw huge moose, wide-eyed elk, and a large herd of woolly bison. Andy got too close to one moose who tried to eat his red sweatshirt. The vast fields of brilliant blooming flowers were stunning. We found many interesting and beautiful natural formations of forests, grasslands, rocks, and unique species of plants. We discovered pools of steaming water and witnessed geysers shooting hundreds of feet into the air. Yellowstone National Park is a treasure to behold. We left there in awe of the beauty and intrigue of it, vowing to return one day…but not to the parking lot campsite.
    Continuing our trip south, we stopped along the way to admire the prestigious
Grand Teton Mountains
in Wyoming and drove through the beautiful little town of
Jackson Hole
,
Wyoming
just ten miles south of Yellowstone National Park.

    Y
ellowstone National Park is located primarily in the state of Wyoming extending into Montana and Idaho. It was the first National Park in the world when established in 1872, known for its wildlife and many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser. The Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles with pristine lakes, canyons, rivers, and mountain ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America, centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest active super-volcano on the continent. Half of the world’s geothermal features are in Yellowstone. The Park is located at the headwaters of the Yellowstone River, from which it takes its historical name, commonly believed that the river was named for the yellow rocks seen in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
.
    T
he 310,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming established in 1929, includes the 40 mile long Teton Mountain Range and most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton National Park is an almost pristine ecosystem. The same species of flora and fauna that have existed since prehistoric times can still be found there
.
    J
ackson is the largest town in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming and is the county seat with a population of 10,000. Jackson is a major gateway for millions of tourists visiting nearby Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. The large arches of shed elk antlers at the four entrances to the town square are popular attractions
.

    Salt Lake City, Utah
was the next point on our map. We wanted to see
Temple Square
and the
Great Salt Lake
that we had heard so much about. Neither of us had ever been to Salt Lake City before, but we had friends who always visited the area.
    Temple Square was the focal point of the downtown area comprising one entire huge city block. We were surpised to find a parking space on the street large enough for our station wagon and little travel trailer. It was just a short walk to the visitor’s entrance.
    We took the general tours of the beautiful church buildings, enjoyed the pretty landscaping and large shade trees, and spent some time walking the immaculate grounds.
    We didn’t take as much time as we would have liked to investigate the area or even Salt Lake City itself, wanting to travel closer to Reno, Nevada that day…but what we did experience was pleasant and very inspirational.
    We headed out of town, stopping briefly along Interstate 80 at a viewing point for the Great Salt Lake. It was hot and windy that day as we stood outside viewing the enormous lake that was much