Everyone has a different view, I suppose, of what symbolizes the greatness of America. To some it would be the skyline of New York City, while to others it might be the Golden Gate Bridge, or the rolling fields of corn of the midwest. To me, nothing is as iconic of the vastness, beauty and richness of our country as Yellowstone National Park, a section of our country that is unique in all the world for it's raw, unspoiled spectacular scenery, geysers and wild life. No greater complement could be paid to this place than that by a couple of visiting Austrians who were overheard by me to say, "This has got to be the most beautiful place on earth.", and that is no small complement from folks who also enjoy an abunance of natural beauty in their own country.

I never tire of going to Yellowstone, it is different in every season, and from year to year. This year (late June), I spent five days there with my son, Ron, who came all the way from Germany to accompany me on what may well be my one last trip into the backwoods of the Park.

There was still a lot of snow in the high country, but it was so green! There was a large variety of wild life to be seen, too. Buffalo, black bear, prong horn, coyote, marmot, elk, Grizzley (with cub!) and bald eagle, just to name a few. The only dissapointment was that our favorite fishing lake was still too wet around its parameter for us to access it. But it was a nice six mile round-trip hike! I hope you enjoy the photos.

I like the contrast here of the rain falling out of the dark cloud and the sunlit background reflected on the Yellowstone River.
Buffalo are about as common as dirt in Yellowstone Park, but they never fail to gather a crowd of people (mostly from back east). Never the less, the image of them says, "This is the West!".
It was lush and green in the valleys, and the animals all looked well fed after a strenous, cold and snowy winter. The higher elevations still had considerable snow, however. Very picturesque!