Raise the “Cone of Silence”
Yes, it’s been a couple of weeks since my last post. This period of silence certainly wasn’t because we weren’t going, doing, seeing and taking photos. Those weeks were spent just outside of Yellowstone National Park at the beautiful, but mostly off the Internet/phone grid, Redrocks RV and Camping Park, Island Park, Idaho. Below are a few light-bulb moments from the last couple of weeks.
First, the scenery in and around Yellowstone is breath-taking and I don’t want what I have to say next to diminish that fact in any way. But over the last several months we’ve been astounded by such incredible natural beauty in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah that we’ve grown somewhat accustomed to it. When you’ve said “WOW” so many times it doesn’t carry the significance it first did.
Second, nature doesn’t care about national park boundaries but a lot of tourists do. We’ve found interesting and beautiful things to see and do which didn’t fall within the well known western national parks. In a few cases these things rivaled the attractions of the parks themselves and in almost all cases were less crowded. As you can no doubt tell, Bonnie and I aren’t delighted by big crowds and we’ve tried to time our travels to avoid major tourist seasons.
Lastly, a word about crowds. After visiting a few of the big parks it’s apparent the National Park Service has their hands full with managing crowd control and they may be fighting a loosing battle. In those major parks you can still drive through we experienced stop-n-go traffic to circle a parking lot for half an hour to get into a hour long queue for a shoulder-to- shoulder glimpse of some park feature. And sadly this is becoming both the in-n-off-season norm. In other parks you can only drive to the park edge and then board mass transit to experience the park’s major interest points. I fear the future for national parks may be more like a Disney attraction where you purchase a ticket and ride an aerial observation tram through the park. Sadly, I don’t see an alternative as these major parks have become so popular with both the U.S. and foreign tourist. But maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps there’s a natural culling process in place with so many tourists trying to get up-close selfies with the park’s wild animals. Today I’m pulling for the four-legged animals!
I’m behind on processing my photos and will be trying to catch up with places, events and photos posted here in the next few weeks. We are currently in beautiful Deer Lodge, Montana.
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You’re definitely right about the crowds, Brooks. And this being the centennial year the number of tourists will only get higher. The NPS is trying to do something about it, though. Like raising entrance fees. In October, the entrance fee at both Arches and Cannyonlands will go from $10 to $25 per car. (Zion is already at $25.) But the biggest proposed change might be the “timed entry” idea. In essence, you’d need to make a “reservation” to get into a high volume park. If the quota has been reached for a certain day you wouldn’t be able to get in. A ranger I know (at Canyonlands) says this will likely happen at Arches fairly soon. We’ll see. But something needs to be done. Or the parks simply won’t survive.
I like your comment about the “culling process”. I just saw this morning that some guy got off the boardwalk at the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone and actually fell into the geyser. So far no body has been found. The Norris geyser is the hottest in Yellowstone – it can reach 200 degrees F. Not a smart thing to do…….
Hi Paul. Raising the fees may discourage a few locals from visiting the park as often but I doubt it will have any effect on the majority of park visitors. I’d suspect increasing the fees is more about park revenue with little hope of having any noticeable effect on attendance — and I’m okay with that. Certainly, IMO, the $25 fee doesn’t seem to have made a huge difference in visitation at Zion. As far as quotas, they have to do something as many parks may be approaching gridlock during peak periods. I’d be okay with making a reservation if it would provide a more enjoyable experience in the park.
There’s no cure for stupid is there! Getting off the boardwalks in these thermal areas, approaching wild animals with their cameras/cell phones and the “ever-loving” selfies in dangerous situations — unbelievable. Are you guys making plans to head back to the southwest this fall?
“Does a bear poop in the woods?”
Absolutely! I had our reservations made over a month ago. Just can’t stay away. Our first stop will be at Moab, Utah (Arches and Canyonlands) on Sept. 28th. I wanted to get there during a new moon for night photography. I’ve never done that at Arches. And (hopefully) by then the crowds may have diminished a bit. Not that they’re much of a problem when it’s dark…….Most tourists like mid-day apparently.
No, there’s no cure for stupid. I also read about a woman a few weeks back who got too close to an elk at Yellowstone. The animal charged her and knocked her down. Fortunately she wasn’t hurt. And then of course the idiots at Yellowstone who kidnapped the juvenile bison because they thought it “might get too cold”. The rangers had to euthanize the poor animal because the herd wouldn’t take it back. When will people learn that national parks aren’t petting zoos?
As much as I want to see a lot of the parks out west one day, the crowds are a really big turn off for me. Now the more I read about people trespassing, going where they shouldn’t, harassing wildlife – the more I feel a mandatory respect for nature test should be given before issuing any park pass.
Mark, I certainly understand and share your feelings about crowds and the increasing amount of disregard and disrespect for our parks and it’s wildlife. We didn’t spend as much time inside Yellowstone NP proper as I’d allotted in planning for just those reasons. Even Bonnie at one point said, “I’ve had enough of this.” I’m sure we missed seeing some sights but it just wasn’t worth the hassle and stress for us. And, seeing these sights while standing shoulder to shoulder in a crowd isn’t my idea of enjoyable. While I’m glad we’re visiting these parks, I’d certainly think and plan carefully before deciding to go back.
I thin the wildlife also would like a reprieve from all the smartphone and tablet images taken of them. They can’t even poop in private. :-) The last time I was at the Grand Canyon I found early mornings to be the least crowded, which suited me just fine. Edward Abbie was right, we need to leave the roads dirt and rough. No fancy restaurants and souvenir shops.
It’s amazing that more people aren’t hurt by the animals. If everyone would used common sense and show respect for the park and animals most of the problems could be avoided…yeah right…common sense and respect! There’s a shortage of that in today’s society.