| A Weekend Road Trip to an American Treasure |
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| author: | | | last post: | 2008-06-30 13:14:55 |
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| Reflectance 2008-06-30 13:14:55 (41 views) (5 comments) |
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| subject: | Reflectance |
| post date: | 2008-06-30 13:14:55 |
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This weekend’s last minute road trip was well worth the 1,600 miles of driving over 3 days, the ungodly gas bills, the crowds of tourists and their insane moments driven by euphoria possibly, and Disneyland prices to eat. Many would scoff, but I’m sure their disenchantment would turn to a deep joy when they watched Old Faithful spew 180 feet into the air, giving one the same feeling as watching fabulous fireworks on the 4th of July.
What did I receive in return? Incredible value to my soul and spirit at being awestruck once again by the magnificence of creation. I rushed to capture pictures, had a few choice words to utter to some tourists as they braked to a halt because they thought the person 10 cars ahead may have seen some new wild animal, yet overall had my eyes opened again to a National Treasure, no, make that a World Treasure. I finally witnessed the little tiny outlines of a pack of wolves, a bison and bear with some unwritten form of detante`, waterfalls, geysers, mud pots, moose, elk, bald eagles, osprey and so much more. I also watched humans treat wildlife like pets, as a man from Chicago, repeatedly warned about being stupid, felt he could sneak up on a bear for a better picture. In my heart of hearts, I really wanted to yell to the bear when he got close. I was smartly 10’ from my car. I watched the Bear Police hold back tourists as a young grizzly crossed the street. Once again, I opted to take the picture through my open window of the car. One would think all the mother’s with small children were at the circus or the mall. I have the stories Sports Illustrated ran long ago about the Grizzly killing spree in Yellowstone on sleeping campers. That rates right up with some of the best hack n’ slash ever seen on the silver screen. On Friday a 12 year old boy and his family decide the quiet bull bison would look cool in their family Yellowstone portrait, and even though many warned them about keeping distance, decided 1-2 feet away was good. Well, after flying 10 feet up and landing 12 feet away, the boy had some scrapes bruises and possibly some internal problems. He was eventually flown to an Idaho hospital for better observation. The buffalo, barely moved but sent a strong message that it was wild, needed some space in his territory, and possibly was tired of pictures like I get so often.
Then there are the hundreds that drove thousands of miles to camp out hours with huge lenses to catch a fleeting glimpse of wolves, those mystical and still controversial creatures. All the people with watermelon wedge smiles, or jaws dropping down to the ground. Teddy Roosevelt’s gift to the world has that effect.
The Park has no TV, A/C, cell towers to keep it rustic and less obtrusive. WiFi was just approved after studies showed no adverse effect on the Park and it’s inhabitants, but is kept to several small pockets. It is obvious that the 92 year old Park is in need of major renovations and repair, which means dollars. Out buildings, signs, retaining walls, paths, roads and many other features have endured the fires, floods, blizzards and millions of tourists for almost a century. I’m not huge on Federal spending, but this is truly a place where the buzzword, infrastructure, is appropriate, and major funding is needed. At this point, I would love to see the lobbying dollars of groups like The Sierra Club and Earth First be rerouted into a tangible asset everyone can share in. I’d love to see Corporate America, make huge commitments to help with no strings attached. Of course, the ultimate deep pockets, the Federal government.
Yellowstone holds more surface thermal geological features than the rest of the world combined. People that have never been there have no idea how abundant the wildlife is to view and experience. Most have no idea how big Yellowstone is. It is 3,472 square miles. That’s bigger than Rhode island and getting close to Connecticut.
Overall, I suggest making Yellowstone a trip of a lifetime. I’ve been here a couple of times before, and knew somewhat of what I wanted to see this trip. Take 5 - 7 days to explore here. Don’t rush, but let Yellowstone happen around you. If you camp, tents and pop-up trailers are restricted to some nice sites away from bears. Hard-side trailers have some amazing spots right next to nightly bear fishing excursions. The Old Faithful Inn is grand and rustic, with Old Faithful right out the back door. There are good accommodations in and outside the Park in Jackson, Wyoming, West Yellowstone, Idaho, and Bozeman, Montana to mention a few. Do not forget, Grand Tetons National Park basically starts outside the South Entrance heading towards Jackson. It’s a bonus spectacular. All this is a precious treasure Americans may experience.
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