Yellowstone Country The Enduring Wonder

Yellowstone Country. Vast forests, two national parks, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, thundering waterfalls, gurgling hot springs, and more than two-thirds of the world’s active geysers lie within its millions of acres. The oldest national park in the world, Yellowstone, makes up its core. No legal boundaries define the region; it is one of the most intact ecosystems in the lower 48. Here, whooping cranes summer in marshes; elk and bison roam meadows; and elegant trumpeter swans winger in ice-free waters warmed by thermal spring.

“I had to get closer, to the Yellowstone witchery, to the Teton majesty, to the forests and sanctuaries, to Summer’s freedom, author Sy Fishbein after an aerial loop in the newness of spring. With photographer Raymond Gehman he seeks out loggers, hunters, miners, and hikers. The team touches on Yellowston’’s fabled past, roams idyllic backcountry on foot, on horseback-and on skis-and completes a challenging ascent of 13,770 foot Grand Teton.