Yellowstone is a heavily traveled place by tourists. It has many things to do, like hikes, hot springs, and wildlife. Driving there can also be an experience. One of the most interesting drives is from Los Angeles to Yellowstone National Park. The drive is from the deserts of Southern California, to the grasslands of Utah and Idaho, and then the coniferous forest of the national park.
The first part of the drive is the popular route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. This is not a very exciting drive for many people, and has dry desert brush scattered along the dry soil. Further up north of Barstow, CA, small Joshua trees start sprouting up from the ground. The landscape will start to become more and more grassy after passing Las Vegas, and the elevation will slowly start increasing from here.
After entering Utah, mountains will arise on both sides of the freeway, and the shrubs will start to change shape. Eventually, the desert brush will become small coniferous bushes surrounded by dry golden grass. In the winter, there might be snow on both sides of the freeway. Horse ranches will emerge, and so will rolling hills and mountains
The scenery will be somewhat the same until passing through Salt Lake City. After that, the Rocky Mountains emerge as the elevation continues to rise. In the summer, this area is very green and thriving with lush grass. A little patch of farmland will be covered before entering Idaho Falls. Here there are many restaurants near the Snake River, and might be a great stopping point to get gas and gather up food for the next leg of the journey.
After Idaho Falls, Interstate 15 is left and a mountain road crosses the border into the national park. This is by far the most beautiful part of the Journey. In the summer, green grass will surround beautiful coniferous trees. One great place to drive through is Lamar Valley where many Bison and Elk like to graze peacefully. A bear might be spotted in mountains and along roads.
This is truly an extraordinary journey and a great way to see the country. It’s an interesting sight to see the scenery change so gradually. From the deserts of Southern California to the coniferous and grassy landscape of Yellowstone National Park. It’s hard to notice how different each landscape is from each other until you really think and remember.