Posted on 06/21/2005 7:21:01 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Yellowstone is a world wide draw
By Cara Eastwood outdoors@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
I scoured Yellowstone National Park during the first week of June, surrounded by European and Asian tourists.
At each turn in the road, I found another tour bus squeezed onto the side of the road as its passengers pressed their faces to the windows to ogle an elk, a herd of deer or in one case, a dead bison.
Other tourists I saw drove expensive SUV rental cars to explore the park. They all must have gotten the memo that American schools weren't out yet, and early spring was the time to visit the park.
But instead of feeling annoyed by the throngs of them, I admit that I felt proud.
Proud to be an American and proud of the riches that our state offers to the world.
Every ``ooh'' and ``ahh'' made me grin, since I felt a bit of ownership of the place after spending a few days there.
It had been years since I last visited Yellowstone, and I had never before done it alone.
The first day I dutifully drove the loop, stopping off at the big attractions while looking for the smaller, overlooked ones too.
I had forgotten the eerie feeling of standing on top of an active volcano as signs of its activity boil, burp, steam and sputter nearby.
After a day of doing the typical tiring mega-drive through the park, I realized that instead of trying to see it all, it's probably better to focus on a corner of the park and leave the car locked for a few days.
Now I have a folder of ideas for my future trips to the park, including a backpacking trek through the Hoodoo Basin and a hunt for the hot tubs and waterfalls near Belcher in the southwest corner of the park.
Since I was alone, I kept this trip pretty tame, sticking to developed campsites and hikes that were sure to have other folks on them. I didn't buy bear spray before entering the park, and there were moments when I regretted that choice.
I didn't see any bears, but the imagined ones my mind created were really scary. A can of bear spray on my hip would've calmed my nerves, I think.
Spending time in Yellowstone alone was more satisfying than being with a group - I saw exactly what I wanted to see, hiked where I wanted to hike and sped past attractions that didn't interest me.
But at night, the dark seemed darker without any company, and outside the glow of my campfire I was sure there were bears watching me read.
When I finally was ready to sleep the night I spent at a campground near Mammoth, I crawled into my tent hoping there weren't any food odors or particles sticking to my tent from the week I'd spent there.
I stared at my tent ceiling for a while, sweating any outside noise. I was certain that a grizzly would crash through my thin tent wall at any moment.
My campground neighbors, an eastern European group, lulled me to sleep with what I guessed were folk songs sung in their native tongue around the campfire.
In the morning, I was still in one piece and laughed at my nighttime nerves.
I fished several rivers in the park during my stay and even crossed over into Montana one evening to try my luck in the Boiling River.
Unfortunately, the park's waterways suffer the same fate as those near us at this time of year - the water heavy with sediment means slow fishing.While I fished, several cars of tourists stopped to take my photograph. I guess fly-fisherwomen are as interesting to them as bears, elk and bison.
Or maybe they wanted a photo of someone silly enough to try fishing during the muddy spring runoff.
But standing in the river, I certainly felt like a part of the landscape.And again, I felt proud that although I, too, was a visitor to this incredible place, as an American, part of it belongs to me.
Cara Eastwood is Outdoors editor at the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. She can be reached at 633-3186, by mail at 702 W. Lincolnway, Cheyenne, WY 82001, or by e-mail at outdoors@wyoming news.com.
Even more difficult for many city-bred tourists than the camping itself is finding an available campsite during the peak summer season.
One of the best pieces of advice I received before going to Yellowstone was "ignore the CAMPGROUND FULL signs."
Been there. Done that. The RV is reserved in Billings for Aug 6.
Someday I hope to visit Yellowstone. What an awesome place.
I was just there two weeks ago and the one interesting thing I noticed was that many of the geysers and mud pots were not as active as they were two years ago. The park has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Been there. Loved it. Going back before it goes volcanic. ;)
I worked at Yellowstone as a 17 year old (waitress) for nearly 3 months in 1968......we hitchhiked everywhere on days off....longest trip was when 4 of us girls hitchiked TOGETHER to Grand Teton......went skinny dipping in the West Yellowstone River at night, swimming by day....and this was when there were more bears around. Celebrated Christmas in July there......Went back a few years ago...and now it's mostly older folks who work there.
Yellowstone...too bad we gave it to the UN(UNESCO) as a Biosphere.
Hmmm... Ogling elks... Is that even legal in a national park?
How can one ignore the "Campground Full" signs? Please explain.
I was there in 1999 and 2001; I did not find the charred areas to be an obstacle. There were so many areas untouched by fire to see anyway. But one must get off the main road to see what is there.
If you're ever in Yellowstone and the ground starts to shake and eruptions start pouring forth from the entire caldera, get in your car and floor it.
On second thought, don't bother.
Isn't it illegal to sleep in a car in Yellowstone unless you are parked in a designated campground? Where may I ask did you park your car, perhaps in the parking lots of one of the resorts? Some vans and SUVs are perfect for sleeping in Yellowstone, but the authorities make it very hard to find parking overnight.
I parked my car at one of the out-of-the-way campsites by the Lamar Valley - not actually in a designated camping spot, but in a little dirt parking lot that was at the entrance to the campground (I think there was also a trialhead there). I don't know if that was against park rules or not, but it was after dark by the time I parked there and soon after, I was joined by two other cars who did the same thing. I was up with the dawn and drove out onto the main road just in time to see a herd of bison crossing the road in front of me. Very impressive.
Campgrounds have a slight turnover everyday so the "No Vacancy" sign, in theory, could go up and down all day long. Solution: leave it up all the time. We'd go in, get on a waiting list, sit around for an hour or two, and we'd eventually get a spot.
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