Yellowstone Net Forums

I make our reservation for our annual trip at least ten months in advance because this is the trip my wife comes along and I want everything to go super smooth. She has a very demanding job and I truly want this to be a vacation. I pack the trailer with our favorite meals and always plan on eating at the Canyon grill a couple of times (our favorite). We have been coming to the park together at least once a year since we were married 46 years ago. Yes, we honeymooned here. Romantic right, nothing like sitting in a meadow looking at a sky full of stars huddled in a blanket. Well, time, three kids, jobs, and years have changed a few things. We still love the stars but my wife will no longer sleep in a tent so we have a trailer and yes, a big truck to pull it with. This year we saw 36 different bears, moose, elk, coyotes, mountain goats, big horn sheep, golden and bald eagles, but no pika (my wife says they are mythical creatures). We both love Yellowstone and will always be there the first week of June. The weather was great and all the roads are open.

We always stay at the Canyon Campground so as we pulled in and got our site I was excited because I had never had a pull through. My excitement was soon doused when it took nearly an hour to get my not oversized trailer through the site. No problem I thought there are over 10 open sites available in this loop we will just switch.

I can not tell you all the details here but if you would like to read the rest of our experience and see some of my images you can go to my blog.

http://www.oballenimagery.com/blog

Thanks for looking,
Brad

Great shots. Sorry about your experience with the campground.

When I read the line from your wife about pikas being mythical creatures, I couldn't help but laugh. My wife said the same thing for years. Finally we saw one two years ago at the Hellroaring Trail parking lot. We have seen several since.

Some great pictures. That one of the wolf is a classic. Thanks for sharing.

I'm sorry about your experience at the campground. I'm concerned that there has been a shift in attitude by park employees since the new superintendent has taken over (see some of my other posts).

--Bill

I suspect that might be the case. All I know is we were not the only ones left without a place to stay. There were others and many tears were shed by several campers. It was very sad and a big public relations nightmare for the park service.

Thanks for your compliments on the photos.

Sorry about the problems with your campsite. Great photos! I hope to someday be able to see YNP in the late spring or fall. Better wildlife opportunities. For now I go when the kids are on summer vacation. Leave this Friday!

Oh have fun, our daughter is just getting home today. They saw 16 different bears and a wide variety of wildlife. You will have a great time, we did. You can’t let someone else spoil your vacation, just make the best of your time there. After all it is Yellowstone!

Brad, thanks for your trip report and pix. Loved your photos, including the ones on your blog!

I'm sorry and truly empathize with your disappointing campground experience. We've had more than our share of negative Park experiences over the years not only with campground hosts but also with rangers. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I haven't seen things this bad in the Park since 2004 when there was a Park management mindset that viewed visitors as either stupid, ignorant or as enemies of the Park, who weren't to be trusted. After what we experienced in the Park this summer, it looks like the mindset of the old Yellowstone management regime has returned. If it wasn't for the fact that I have observed and photographed specific wildlife families over the past 4 decades and have thoroughly enjoyed watching and photographing each new generation, I probably wouldn't go back to Yellowstone and would, likely, just stay home, where I can observe and photograph most of the same exact wildlife without any ranger interference or having to deal with inexperienced, 'know-it-all" campground hosts. I have written more letters to the Park management than I could ever recount that offered viable solutions to some of the more blatant Park problems (ie: camp site shortages) But what did I ever get in return for all my letters of concern that included deas and viable solutions to problems that I thought the Park might want to consider. Well, I never even got a response...just years of personal retaliation and surveillance of our vehicle and camp site by rangers. I'm a senior now and I'm also retired. Hopeflly, in a few years, I'll be able to show my grand kids the magesty and magic of Yellowstone but somehow I don't see that happening if the Park doesn't make some badly needed changes. I did my best over the years to help make Yellowstone a better and safer place for visitors and wildlife. But I'm done trying. Yellowstone is on its own! Besides, I've got more important things to do....like catching the northern rocky mountain pocket gophers that are destroying my yard!

Thank you for your kind words and taking the time to read my blog and view my photos. It means a lot.

Brad these are fantastic photos. My first trip is coming soon and I'll be taking pictures but none will compare with yours. I''l give it my best shot though. Hopefully I'll have a few that are worthy of posting.

Tom

Thanks for looking. Your pictures will be great because you took them. The best thing is your in Yellowstone and its fun. If you mess up a photo, we all do, oh well, it is still a blast. How often do you get to come to such a beautiful place and document your experience.