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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: The easiest way to make friends in a national park is to take pictures.
“1, 2, 3, keep smiling!” Alex Cabrero of KSL-TV told families at the west entrance sign to Yellowstone National Park. “Here, thumbs up, an amazing picture.”
It was the least I could do, as many of them came from far away just to see Yellowstone.
Due to the damage caused by the floods in the park, they cannot enter.
“We’ve come from Indiana, 1,700 miles, so far. And we got to Bozeman and found out the park was closed,” Scott and Laurie Taylor said.
That flood was enough to dampen even the best plans.
The park’s northern loop is unlikely to reopen this season. Most of the damage to the road is in this section of the park. However, the Southern Loop is likely to open next week.
However, it is too late for most people, because this is the week they are on vacation.
“Totally unexpected. Disappointing, but we did our best,” Scott Carrera said.
Carrera, his wife, and two of his friends made the trip to Yellowstone from North Carolina.
Although they could not enter the park, their laughter and smiles were proof that they would still make the best of their trip.
“You still have to have fun,” Carrera said. “We’ve taken advantage of some of the surroundings here in West Yellowstone. In fact, we’ve seen some wildlife on Highway 20 near Lake Henry, so it’s still been a great trip.”
Although no one could enter Yellowstone, any national park fan will tell you: if you take a picture with an entrance sign, they will still tell you that they were there.
“That’s right. We were here,” the Taylorers said with a laugh.
“Exactly,” Carrera said. “Show that we’ve been here.”
They’re not the memories they hoped to have, but they’re still memories of a trip that everyone who came to Yellowstone this week will never forget.
“Having that picture of the Yellowstone sign, everyone had it, but this year, you have to have the whole story with pictures of the flood and why you can’t do that,” Roy Mills said. “Every time someone talks about this trip, you’ll say, ‘Oh, yes, it was the year they had the flood and it was amazing.'”
The Mills family was visiting from Pennsylvania, and for them, it’s just a change in vacation plans.
They say their hearts are with those who are not here on vacation.
“We feel bad for all the people who have suffered all this debacle with Yellowstone: the people who live here, the people who have suffered the damage,” Christie Mills said. “We’re still having a great time, but when we leave, they’re still here to pick up the pieces.”
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Alex Cabrero