Yellowstone's Spiritual Essence

It would be possible to go to Yellowstone, drive the roads from one beautiful scenery location to another, see the buffalo (grizzly or moose if possible), eat at the lodges, and miss totally the spiritual heart of the land.

It is possible but would mostly happen if you got lost in the crowds, if you didn't find quiet places, if you didn't sit on the ground or commune with an antelope, if you didn't quiet your own voice to listen to the wind.

You will feel the spirit of Yellowstone through its elements by holding a rock, walking a trail, wading its creeks and rivers (other than the hot pools), and feeling Yellowstone against your skin.

You could miss its spirit if you didn't look up at the unbelievable, almost supernatural appearing skies.

The sky after a storm the night before, in Lamar Valley had a purity and power that swept me away. I kept thinking this is like an enhanced photo, like something unreal. How can it be so perfect? Photographs don't do it justice but they are closest when one cannot be there.

If someone gives Yellowstone time, it will creep into their soul. They will want to be on that bluff watching the wolves in the distance and feeling a oneness with their free but also risky life. Yellowstone talks to our hearts through its beautiful hills and skies, through its animals.

There are some great human (one animal) spirit stories in a little book I purchased at Old Faithful Inn called Yellowstone Ghost Stories by Shellie Larios.

I almost didn't buy it, thought it'd be silly, but then remembered my regrets in the past when I didn't yield to that kind of impulse. Besides, what ghosts? How would I ever know if I didn't buy it?

The book is full of small vignettes and many documented ghost stories. The author approaches it from experiences others have described of possible encounters with the other side but more importantly trying to decide who might that spirit have been when living?

Some of the people she writes about helped make Yellowstone into what it is; they were heroes or scoundrels, sometimes plain, ordinary people drawn to live or visit there and leaving part of themselves behind.
Their ghosts might be ones who didn't want to leave and still knock around the old buildings or land, now and then making their presence known.

The wonder of the book is in the little historic vignettes. There are the victories, the tragedies, but also stories of love for someone and the land. Whether you believe in ghosts, the imprint of those people's energies can still be felt-- if you open yourself.

When I drove past Nez Perce Picnic Area, I wish I had already read the book. The book says there are eight individual graves scattered around the park, but Mattie's would be the headstone I'd have looked for and taken a moment to visit. She died young of tuberculosis, leaving behind a grieving husband, a child, and her own life of love and tragedy.

They say her spirit, along with her husband's (he was not permitted to have his body buried beside hers because of park rules) can be seen walking along the Firehole River, or some have heard her humming to birds in the trees. They say no one, who visits her grave, doesn't feel her strong spirit beckoning their return.

I don't need that to want to return. It's my own spirit that pulls me back to Yellowstone. Each time it enriches me for my time there, no matter how long or short.