All I can think of right now is how different my experience has been in the last ten days, definitely different than what I had expected. I am writing this blog sitting in a Denver city Starbuck on the intersection of Blake and 16th street. My summer vacation with family this year brought me out west, to Yellowstone. On the way we decided to have a stay in Denver each way, as it avoided the long layovers at the airport. I have to say Denver has pleasantly surprised me. The Mile-high city has the charm of a university town and conveniences of a big metropolitan. The dining neighborhoods of Denver highlight a roster of restaurants representing global cuisines. I was super impressed by bicycling infrastructure of Denver something I wish Philadelphia and its suburbs should follow suit on. I truly enjoyed riding the city B-cycles down the cherry creek trail. At night the larimar square and 16th street light up to bring this historic area of the town to life.

Once we were done getting astonished by the big city scene of Denver we headed to the small town of Jackson hole. As soon as I stepped down from my airplane, the view of the majestic mountains of Grand Tetons blew me away. I knew I wanted to see this beauty in a special way so after doing some search on the internet, I came across the website of Teton mountain bike tours, which I booked for my family for next morning. It was my first time mountain biking but it was an adventure of a lifetime, that I will not forget. Our tour guide David took us through antelope flats and was very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and history of the area. We learnt about early Mormon settlements in the region and admired the wildlife up-close, AKA saw the Pronghorn and Bison.

Our next stop was the town of West Yellowstone where we started off with a Creekside horseback ride through the woods. We enjoyed the serenity of the woods and the range of yesteryear. The ride made me feel like a real Cowgirl. Next, we rented the mountain bikes at old faithful inn and rode through the trails of the big volcano also known as Yellowstone park, we marveled at the parks 10,000 hydrothermal features—steamy vents, sulfurous mud pots, hot springs and the canyons. The biggest hot spring also called the grand prismatic was picturesque. I learnt that the beautiful color of these hot springs is due to the microscopic creatures that dwell in these springs and the ecosystem supports a broad diversity of microbes. The different rings of colors in the hot springs, are the rings of different bacteria, each group adapted to the conditions, such as temperature and pH of the spring. The next day we hiked through the Lamar valley where we discovered the safari of the west U.S and came within 25 feet of elks, bald eagles and bison. At night we experienced the cowboy culture first hand by watching the rodeo in west Yellowstone Montana.

I felt so lucky to vacation in the pristine natural beauty of Grand Teton mountains and Yellowstone country. Although I struggled to grasp the enormity of the landscape, I still got lost in the tranquility and serenity of this space. I never knew mountains could be so placid and calming. I had not imagined that this place would be a bucket list item for myself but it was definitely bucket list worthy. I had read before going once you go there you are hooked, I have to say that saying is true. I am looking forward to a lot more National park and National forest vacations, I can’t wait to saddle up on the horses to ride through the back country and mountain bike through the gravel of western mountains again. I think the environmentalist philosopher John Muir described the beauty of this place the best, “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”