Soaring above Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks sure gives you a different perspective from the way most people see it. My first trip to Yellowstone in 1986 started by a quick preview of Yellowstone National Park with a scenic flight over Yellowstone I chartered in West Yellowstone Montana. In a couple of hours, I had a quick overview of the lay of the land and what was in it. I saw thousands of bison, dozens of geyser basins, beautiful giant hot pools, and a plethora of gorgeous waterfalls. I then proceed by car to check out by land what I found so quickly by air.
In Jackson Hole Wyoming I chartered a helicopter to photograph the Grand Tetons and what a ride it was. The Pilot, Roger Keirstead, removed the door so I could shoot in an unobstructed manor that added to the thrill. To see giant peaks like that up close and personal was something I will remember to my dying day.
 |
caption |
From high above Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks you see more than just the amenities of the Parks, you also see majestic mountain ranges in every direction. To the Northeast, you see the massive escarpment which is the Absaroka Mountains. To the north, you can see the spires of the Beartooth Range. West of Yellowstone and Grand Tetons you can see the centennial Range of southern Montana and Island Park Idaho and Teton Valley’s Big Hole Range as well as the potato land of eastern Idaho. To the south you see the Snake River Range, the Wyoming Range, The Salt River Range. To the East, you see The Gros Ventre Range and off in the distance you see the Wind River Range the tallest range in Wyoming.
While flying here you are looking down on the crown of the continent and its continental divide. The water of the southwest part of Yellowstone goes to the Pacific Ocean, and the waters to the north and northwest go to the Atlantic.
Some say you miss a lot when you travel so high and so fast, I disagree. You see much, much it just isn’t in great detail that is why I return time and again to Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks, it is my job as publisher of the Greater Yellowstone Resource Guide and no matter how often I go, I will never complete the job because there is so dang much there I will never see it all. By air, by land, by lake, and river, the Greater Yellowstone Eco-system is truly a sight to behold. |