For years I have told anyone who would listen that I think every American should see Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon. Basically in opposite corners of the country, they are two amazing places you can experience in multiple ways.
The sight of the deep, wide and clear Niagara River plunging off the face of a cliff into a pool of water nearly 200 feet below is incredible. The sound of the crashing water and the feel of the spray if you take a boat ride to the base are unforgettable.
The Grand Canyon is not only a national treasure, it is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world, ranking alongside places like Mount Everest in Nepal, Victoria Falls in southern Africa and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
The vast views of the Grand Canyon’s time-chiseled stone appear to go on endlessly. A rim-to-rim, 24-mile hiking experience is a frequent bucket-list item for fitness fanatics and many others who want to challenge themselves. But even the more sedentary can absorb the amazement of the giant gash in the desert over 200 miles long and nearly 20 miles wide.
Then I went to Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park (1872) and as unique in nature as you can find in our solar system and maybe even the universe. In fact, there are places throughout the 2.2 million-acre park that look like something from a different planet.
The earth bubbles up in mud pots that randomly spurt and shoot globs into the air. The gurgling ground makes you think of a 1960s “Lost in Space” TV episode with its ridiculously cheesy special effects.
The park features dozens of geysers that spray showers of heated water skyward, many randomly launching their show and sometimes splashing down with tiny particles of sediment that have accumulated into mounded features over the eons. Then there is the famous and appropriately named Old Faithful geyser that performs like clockwork.
The Grand Prismatic Spring, meanwhile, makes the bubbling earth escapades seem mainstream. About 300 feet in diameter, the largest spring in the park is ringed by a rainbow of colors produced by different microorganisms that live in the gradient cooling water at the hot spring’s edges.
All of the exotic features don’t detract from the wildlife restoration that backs up traffic on the roads. Herds of hundreds of American bison hint at how the west once looked when millions of the massive creatures covered the plains like a black carpet.
The mind picture that is most vivid for me was the sight of a majestic Rocky Mountain bull elk monitoring his harem in the lush green valley of the Madison River. Tall, thick grass lined both sides of the swift and clear stream. He crossed the water to get to an island where three or four cows grazed on the grass.
In this space I usually stick to local events and outdoor issues, but I felt the pain in recent news reports of unprecedented flooding ravaging the Yellowstone landscape. The park was closed for several days as crews worked to restore roads and secure stream beds.
Yellowstone’s only detriment is the volume of tourists who are literally loving it to death. Stories of dangerous interactions between people and the wildlife in the park are almost always the result of someone not following appropriate safety measures and failing to give the wild animals their space. Encouraging more people to experience it for themselves seems counterproductive.
This year’s weather disaster will require limitations on Yellowstone visitors even more significant than regulated entry allotments. The crowds will still be immense and the recovery monumental, but Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls rely on the economic boost from tourists to help preserve these natural wonders. So I still say, all three are must-see. Just be sure to pack your patience.
John Winkelman is Marketing Director for Liguori Publications near Barnhart, Mo., and Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas to share for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.