A Trip of a Lifetime: Yellowstone National Park

Growing up I always knew I wanted to travel. I wanted to see everything and go everywhere. I dreamt of walking along the Great Wall of China and of skiing down the Alps. I could almost taste the salty air of the Mediterranean beaches and feel the hot sun from an African safari.

People far wiser than me continuously told me that before I went out and traveled the world, I should first experience and explore my own country. Whenever I thought about all the amazing places I wanted to travel to, I always pictured far away exotic destinations. I never really thought about exploring the United States. I never thought about exploring Yellowstone National Park.

But I'm so glad that I did.

There are so many incredible sites to take in right here. No international travelling or passport necessary. How cool is that?

When the opportunity arose to travel to Yellowstone National Park and spend a few weeks exploring all that it had to offer, I jumped at the chance. Two weeks in Yellowstone with some of my closest friends, how could I say no to that?

Yellowstone was breathtaking in every way possible. From the moment we got there to the second we left, there wasn't a time that I wasn't blown away by the beauty. I remember getting off the plane in Bozeman, Montana and just being awestruck by the mountains. I thought I knew what mountains were but I was wrong. Completely wrong. I only knew what rolling hills were apparently...

As a biology person, I loved all of the animals and the wildlife. We saw some pretty cool things during our two weeks there. From being stuck in the middle of a bison jam in Hayden Valley to watching wolves through a spotting scope in Lamar Valley, there was never a dull moment.

My favorite night of the whole trip, by far, was the night we stayed out spotting animals in Hayden Valley. We were out there for hours and we froze beyond belief, but I wouldn't have traded that night for anything. We didn't see anything all that impressive that night, but that didn't matter to us. What mattered was that we were out there just taking everything in and enjoying the night. We were present in the moment. That was enough. Plus the sunset was pretty amazing.

A piece of advice for anyone travelling to Yellowstone: Enjoy a Sunrise. I repeat: wake up and Enjoy a Sunrise! I'm not kidding, you won't regret it. Especially if you're staying at or near Yellowstone Lake, wake up early one morning and walk out to the lake and just sit in awe. It'll be the most unbelievable sunrise you've ever seen. Chances are it's going to be freezing in the morning and you won't want to get out of your cozy warm bed, but trust me on this one, just do it. You'll thank me later.

Yellowstone was truly a trip of a lifetime. I was in awe of the natural beauty of the park the entire trip. I didn't want to leave. I really truly didn't want to go. However, I knew I would be back someday.

So while I'm still itching to travel and to see the world, I'm glad I've started to explore more of what's offered a little closer to home. So here's to more trips and to more adventures. Who knows where I'll end up next.

Have you ever been to Yellowstone? Did you absolutely fall in love with it too? I'd love to hear about your experiences!

-Nell