Wild Conservation – A Houston Zoo Blog

We just returned from a early Fall trip to Yellowstone and the weather, wildlife and scenery could not have been better.

Black Bear, Elk, Coyote, Pronghorn, Bison, Otter, Mule Deer, Eagles, Ducks, geysers, thermal hot springs, swans, and Moose – when was the last time you sat for an hour with a Moose? Well that is too long – it really is time for you get to Yellowstone. Ok, maybe I sat for 2 hours with a Moose, you only need to sit for one hour though.

Yellowstone is our nations first National Park. It is one of the few places in the lower 48 states where wildlife is concentrated and accessible for viewing. When there is not wildlife, the views are simply stunning. Geysers, thermal springs, mountain peaks, valleys full of Pines, Aspen groves, rivers and basins. Yellowstone is simply a wonderland.

Low stress travelling: Yellowstone if gited with pullouts along the roads – what that means is that you do not need to hike to have excellent views of eveverything. But if you would like to hike 3,5,7, or 10 miles – trails are well marked and easy to follow.

We also decided to spend an extra day exploring the Grand Teton National Park which sits just below Yellowstone and found equal amounts of wildlife and views along the simple to follow trails and road system. I will warn you – summer vacation is not the time to go to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. The rest of the world visits then, you need to visit in May or late September and October when the park is relatively quiet and the weather is near perfect (from a Houston perspective – anything between 40f and 80f is near perfect).

The Houston Zoo will be leading our next trip into Yellowstone May 17-21 -  for more information: http://www.houstonzoo.org/yellowstone/