Fond – and Otherwise – Memories of My First Trip to Yellowstone

I’ll never forget my first trip to Yellowstone National Park. I had just moved to Wyoming from “back east” – Illinois – and seeing Yellowstone was at the very top of my to-do list. And so, with no planning whatsoever, before all of my belongings were even unpacked and out of boxes, I took off to Yellowstone.

I entered the park via the East Entrance, and one of the first things I noticed was how commercialized Cody was. I was surprised by what I found – there were all of the things you’d expect to see at a typical “tourist trap,” from mini-golf to t-shirt shops, with long lines everywhere. I guess I was expecting something more rustic and Wild West, so to speak, and I was a little disappointed. Everyone seemed to be having fun, though, and I was clearly in the minority.

The first thing I noticed prior to and after entering the park was the scorched landscape. It was 1989, the year after the largest wildlife in the park’s history, and I was stunned. I even saw animals still bearing evidence of the fires. On my numerous subsequent trips back to Yellowstone, I was amazed at how quickly the park bounced back.

The second thing I noticed was the traffic. Depending on when you go, there can be an amazing amount of traffic in the park, with cars and campers and RVs going this way and that, bustling and hurrying and scampering around to cram as much sightseeing in in as little time as possible. I also quickly learned that a congregation of cars stopped in the road, and pulled helter skelter off on both sides, meant there was something to look at, specifically, Yellowstone’s famous wildlife. I was used to traffic, but it’s something I didn’t expect in the nation’s oldest national park.

The thing I remember most, though, the thing that most captivated me, was the abundance of viewable wildlife. Wildlife was, after all, one of the things that brought me west from the endless cornfields of central Illinois. It was right there, close enough to touch, and it seemed like the animals, completely unconcerned with human presence, were posing. It didn’t take me long to realize that I too was guilty of slowing down to gawk, of pulling off the road with little regard for other travelers. I was amazed at all the wildlife I was getting to see up close and personal. There were bison everywhere, and I saw moose, bighorn sheep, deer and plenty more.

It wasn’t until later that I realized that I was also guilty of another cardinal Yellowstone sin: Getting close enough to wildlife to take photographs (albeit amazing photographs). Later, when I read about the occasional park visitor who had been gored by a bison or run down by an angry mamma moose, I realized how lucky I was and short-sighted I had been.

Now, more than 20 years later, I know that doing a little research and planning is an important aspect of any trip to Yellowstone National Park. It’s something I do with each and every visit, and it’s worth the time as it cuts down on frustration and enhances the overall experience, and I hope to be planning and making trips to Yellowstone for a long time to come.

Steve Merritt is a native flatlander who has officially adopted the west as home. He had made many trips to Yellowstone since that initial visit way back in 1989, and makes at least one trip to Yellowstone a year from his home in Helena, Montana.


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