Yellowstone National Park: As seen by Jenny Elsner

Jenny's Yellowstone Page

Welcome! Whether you have been to Yellowstone before or are planning your first trip, I hope this page will be of use to you! Here I will explain a little about the hikes I have taken, the geysers I've seen, as well as tell you where I've had the best luck watching wildlife in the park. Enjoy!

EXPLORING YELLOWSTONE

HIKING IN YELLOWSTONE

GEYSERS OF YELLOWSTONE

(not operational yet)

WILDLIFE OF YELLOWSTONE

(not operational yet)

ABOUT MYSELF

First, let me start by telling you a little about myself. I am currently a second year graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in American history. I have lived in the beautiful city of Milwaukee all my life but have been lucky enough to travel all across the country. I have visited each of the lower forty-eight states at least once, as well as many provinces in Canada. While each area has wonderful characteristics of its own, my preference has been for the western United States, and it was my extensive travels in this area that made me fall in love with Yellowstone National Park.

My travels started out as family vacations where my parents and I would set out on a two to four week trek across the country, trying to pack in as many scenic drives, National Monuments and National Parks as was humanly possible. We have been to so many, almost too many to count. We've seen Glacier, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, the Great Basin, Death Valley, Olympic, Sequoia, the Grand Canyon, and the list goes on and on. Yet there was something about Yellowstone that kept us coming back. Maybe it had to do with Yellowstone's magestic geysers, beautiful landscape, and abundant wildlife. It probably had a lot to do with all three of these reasons as well as many more.

My fascination with Yellowstone culminated in the summer of '95 when I spent three months working for TW Recreational Services within the park. This was the most amazing experience of my life. I was located in Grant Village, the southern-most village of the park. Other than beautiful Yellowstone Lake, there were no real attractions in the area. This made Grant a quiet alternative to the very crowded Old Faithful area. I worked as a maid; a very difficult, back-breaking job. While work was nothing to write home about, the weekends were! They were incredible to say the least! Most of them were spent with my best friend, Amber, viewing geysers, hiking, and watching wildlife. We saw many geysers erupt, hiked over 100 miles of trails and saw 24 bears; 17 grizzlies and 7 black bears. Not a bad summer!

I spent the summer of 1996 again in the wonderland of Yellowstone. Again at Grant Village, this year I moved up TW's ranks and became an inspector. Still the job was nothing to brag about but I it got me into the park again and that is all that mattered. This summer Amber and I hiked over 150 miles and saw an amazing 48 bears. Equipped with a spotting scope, we spent many nights scoping in Hayden Valley. The high point of the summer was the view of the Druid Peak pack of wolves in the Lamar Valley near Slough Creek. Taking our first backpacking trip with my visiting family, we got a taste of what Yellowstone's backcountry is really like. The summer of 1996 was another amazing experience filled with countless memories.

I realize that most people aren't lucky enough to spend three whole months in the park, let alone three full days. That is where I hope this page will be useful. Yellowstone is a huge park with so much to do and so much to see. Yet no matter how much time you have, your Yellowstone experience can be just as enjoyable as mine. I have created this page in the hopes of sharing what I know for others to enjoy!