Day 14

Traffic in Yellowstone is terrible. The National Parks do need to do something to limit the volume of cars entering the parks. We sat in traffic for over an hour this morning entering the park and then driving the first 14 miles. The parking lots and turn out spots are also overflowing. Trying to find a place to park is as challenging as finding a place to park in Manhattan. Only if you go into NYC you have the option of public transportation. The Parks are supposed to be about conservation and all that car exhaust being released into the environment is further harming the environment.

One of the things G3 loves most on vacation is visiting gift shops. Before heading into the park G3 and I stopped into a gift shop in West Yellowstone. Outside was a statue of a bald eagles. Bald eagles remind G3 of his grandfather. On one of their many outing together, Dad bought G3 an eagle stuffed animal.

Our first stop in the park today was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We took a short hike to see the waterfalls. No matter how many falls you see, they are always pretty.

Have you ever been stuck in such horribly dense traffic that you muttered in frustration or anger, “I could walk faster than this.” Well, traffic got so miserable on our way to the Midway Geyser Field that Kati kicked me and G3 out of the car and told us to walk. We did. We walked roughly two miles to the geyser basin and Kati never caught up. We had brief conversations with people in cars as we passed them and we even met a family from NYC.

I had wanted to go back to the geyser fields because G3 enjoyed them so much and we ran out of time to do them all last night. Midway was gorgeous. The blue water in the hot springs was incredibly vibrant. We could feel the heat rising off them.

As G3 and I completed a lap of the geyser field and returned to the parking lot we saw Kati finally pull into a parking spot. We asked her if she wanted to see the geysers. We would have walked the loop again but she wanted no part of the geysers. She was done with the park. She just wanted to leave. I can’t blame her. Traffic always leaves me in a bad mood. On the way out of the park we did stop at the Fountain Paint Pot where we got to see the mud boiling. That was cool.

I had wanted to do another hike today but I totally understand Kati’s frustration and desire to leave behind the traffic. At least G3 and I got in a brief hike along side the road. It was neither the most enjoyable hike nor the most scenic we’ve ever taken in a National Park. However, it was definitely the most interesting and probably the one G3 will always remember best.

We spent much of the day in the park but between all the traffic and the great distance between points of interest we only got to enjoy two places. We spent nearly all our time in the car. I am glad I got to see Yellowstone. I’m happy we were able to give G3 this experience, but I have no desire to ever go back. If I ever miss the crowds or get a hankering for traffic I’ll just take a trip home. At least both traffic and crowds belong in big cities — not in nature.

G3 saw many signs in West Yellowstone for huckleberry ice cream. Neither of us had ever heard of it before. Since huckleberry is native to this area G3 decided he had to have some. I did too. It was good. We both liked it.