YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Activity: Day Hike
Date: August 10 & 12, 2019
Distance: .5 mile, 50’ elevation change, 15 minutes duration, rated Easy
This is more of a view point stop then a hike. Gibbon Falls is near the West Entrance of Yellowstone. It is certainly worth the stop as it is a beautiful falls, and it is fun to walk the whole area so that you can see the falls from different angles.
When I first arrived at Yellowstone I entered through the West Entrance just before dusk and Gibbon Falls was one of the first features I saw, besides an Elk I spied that was a ways off in a field.
My daughter Marina did not arrive for another day, but on the last day of our adventure at Yellowstone I made sure to share the Falls with her.
It has power to beguile… to bewitch.. to enchant… to enthrall. Which made me wonder as we stopped to look… what is it about a waterfall?
Many people we did not know joined us to dawdle in this place. What is it about a waterfall that brings a smile to every face?
The colors surrounding a waterfall are vibrant, alive and bright. But the waterfall retains it’s beauty… when viewed in black and white.
Perhaps it is the power… the force… the energy… the sound… or how something so impressive can fall so effortlessly to the ground.
Perhaps it’s how the mist floats upward or how the water seems to glisten. Perhaps it’s part of nature’s symphony… if we take the time to listen.
Perhaps what we’re hearing are the sounds of time… we listen… then they’re gone… Reminding us how nothing is permanent… how everything flows on.
Reminding us to enjoy this moment… this minute… this hour… this day. Before it reaches the edge of the waterfall… and gently cascades away.
-Jim Yerman
National Parks Hiking 