I am awed by the challenge. How can I humbly describe what Earl and I saw on our guided tour today through Yellowstone’s magnificent features when there have been books and films and videos that have recorded the park’s glory? We’ve seen it in movies that were filmed here, in Ken Burns’ homage to our national parks, and in – sorry to report – commercials.
Briefly, over an eight hour day we saw lodges and geysers and springs and waterfalls and canyons, each one different from the one before. I can’t add anything to what has already been said, so I turn to various tidbits to make memories. For instance, the tour guide (named Peachy) said that the best chicken wings he’d ever eaten were at Old Faithful Inn, where we are staying. Later on, we ordered some for dinner; and he was right.
Peachy was most knowledgeable about Yellowstone, and any efforts to “Stump the Tour Guide” were unsuccessful.
I was also struck with how many restroom facilities there are throughout this wilderness park. I guess with over three million tourists each year, management figured out long ago what’s really important.
There was a couple on the tour who was enamored of everything. His name was Joey; I didn’t catch her name. But each was armed with a camera, and together they asked more questions and took more photos than the rest of us did collectively. At first, I found this annoying; but as time passed Joey’s curiosity about everything was rather refreshing. He was as excited about the last bison we saw as he was about the first one several hours earlier. How he will ever distinguish which one is which I don’t know.
Since we missed our dinner reservation in the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room last night, we made sure we were on time tonight. With no air conditioning, we thought the room might be stuffy; but large, old-fashioned windows opened to allow the evening air. While the ambience transports one back into the early half of the 1900s, the appetizers and entrees are quite contemporary. We passed on the all-you-can-eat beef buffet (although many diners didn’t), and settled for the aforementioned chicken wings and chicken-cashew lettuce wraps with ponzu sauce.
One last impression: Everywhere we went we saw signs warning visitors to keep their distance from any wildlife. The standard distance for bears and wolves is 100 yards; it’s 25 yards for all other animals. Additionally, on more than one occasion, we were handed instructions on what to do if we saw a bear or a bison in particular. Unfortunately, we saw many tourists within a much closer range, all trying for that perfect shot. I hope their day ended as well as ours.
Leave a Reply