# We Just Got Back from Yellowstone **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522 "2017-07-17T18:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/21 "2017-07-18T15:15:02Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I first saw Yellowstone when I was four years old, not quite five, in 1959. That year we took our first vacation/roadtrip, which was the form most of our vacations took. That one is still referred to as “the Big Trip” > > In Yellowstone we counted nineteen bears. I remember Old Faithful, and Morning Glory Pool. > > On the same trip, at Yosemite, I remember the giant pinecones. > > It was fun. We took a cooler and ate breakfast and most lunches out of that. My parents brought those assorted small boxes of cereal, which I thought were _much_ better than the big boxes.😃 Or we might have store baked sweet rolls. For dinner we might eat in a restaurant. Hey, we might have been there at the same time. We did a family trip that year from Alaska, driving down the Alcan to Montana to visit relatives. I was about eleven at the time. Tons of bears begging on the park road back then and everyone fed them from their cars. Saw a lot of elk, also, and took a lot of bad photos with my Brownie Hawkeye. I’ve been back a few times since then, but that first trip was wonderful. Since then, I’ve been to 29 other national parks and loved them all. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/22 "2017-07-18T15:38:59Z")
FYI, if you are a disabled veteran, you get free entry into ALL the national parks FOR LIFE! So Ivylad is going to be in high demand for road trips. He’s retired, so sign up now to add him to your group! ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/23 "2017-07-18T17:45:46Z")
Speaking of lifetime NPS passes–the cost of the Golden Age/Senior Lifetime pass is going up to $80 at the end of August. If you’re over 62, get yours now while they’re still only $10! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/24 "2017-07-18T23:02:56Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Speaking of lifetime NPS passes–the cost of the Golden Age/Senior Lifetime pass is going up to $80 at the end of August. If you’re over 62, get yours now while they’re still only $10! Best deal the government has offered since free cheese. Even at $80, it’s a hell of a deal, as it also gives you free access to government facilities like visitor centers that charge a fee (the one at Mount Saint Helens comes to mind), and reduced rates at Forest Service campgrounds. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/25 "2017-07-19T02:13:09Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I first saw Yellowstone when I was four years old, not quite five, in 1959. > [@samclem](#): > > Saw it first in 1959 … That was the year of the big Hebgen Lake earthquake, which killed 28 people and caused a landslide that dammed the Madison River to create Earthquake Lake. It happened shortly before midnight on Aug 17. This was ~15 mi west of the park, but I’ve been told that many of the park’s thermal features (including Old Faithful?) were affected. ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/26 "2017-07-19T02:24:33Z")
Thanks blondebear\*\*\*\* for reminding me! I need to get one. Was going to order online, but found 3 lakes in my area where I can go and get a pass in person. Save the $10.00 online/mail in charge. On my bucket list is to visit Yellowstone in the winter. I saw it in the summer of 1999 (The “If the world as we know it is coming to an end with Y2K, I want to see. . . Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Great Salt Lake, Grand Canyon, Biosphere 2, Kitt Peak National Observatory, Carlsbad Caverns.” ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/27 "2017-07-19T02:40:01Z")
I’d never heard of Earthquake Lake before, thanks for the tip! I’ll add it to the list for the next time I get out there. I \*have \*been to another major landslide in the area though, [Gros Ventre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gros_Ventre_landslide), east of Grand Tetons. It’s worth a visit if you’re in the area and have an hour to spare. There’s a nice campground nearby if you’re looking for a spot to spend the night. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/28 "2017-07-19T12:59:22Z")
Quake Lake, as it’s known locally, was quite the experience. I was thinking an earthquake hit millions of years ago and made a lake, how mildly interesting. It happened on Aug 17, 1959. The campgrounds were full, so about 250 people were camping near the Madison River. Around midnight, an earthquake hit, then 80 million tons of rocks and dirt came cascading down the mountain, damming the river and flooding the valley. One side (I think the north side) of Hebgen Lake, which was created by the Hebgen Dam, dropped twenty feet. You know what happens to water when you carry a pail? It sloshes. Imagine an entire lake doing that. :eek: There were fears the dam was breached but it was just the lake sloshing over it. 28 people died and 19 bodies were never recovered. There are picnic tables and toys at the bottom of Quake Lake. Rescuers couldn’t get in until daybreak and they had to use helicopters because the earthquake destroyed the road. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/29 "2017-07-19T14:17:40Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I’ve always told people that everyone should visit Alaska once and Hawaii once. > > Add Yellowstone National Park to that. I’ve been to Hawaii. No desire to go to Alaska. But Yellowstone is definitely on my list of places to go. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/30 "2017-07-20T06:16:09Z")
Yellowstone! I haven’t been there since I was a kid. Will have to add it to my list, it’s only 975 miles from home. Road trip!!! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/31 "2017-07-20T15:44:32Z")
I think I was only nine or so when we went to Yellowstone. I still remember Old Faithful, though; I staked it out and watched it erupt for a full five minutes (timed it), which they said is as long as it can go for. It was so cold and rainy that only my dad and I were willing to get out of the car to see the mud pots. We were planning to go to Yosemite a couple years ago, but right as we were going the [King fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Fire) happened, covering the area in smoke. Parts of the park were being evacuated, and we probably wouldn’t have been able to see anything anyway. The plane tickets, rental car, and a hotel at Lake Tahoe for the latter half of the trip were already paid for. So, we cashed in my wife’s credit card points and went to San Francisco instead, which turned out to be hella-awesome. I really want to go to Yosemite, though, especially now that I’m in better shape for hiking some of those gorgeous trails. It looks so beautiful I want to cry. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/32 "2017-07-20T18:41:09Z")
They’re opening up [an overlook to Grand Prismatic](http://yellowstoneinsider.com/2017/07/19/grand-prismatic-spring-overlook-trail-open-visitors/). Sigh. Missed it by a week. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522/33 "2017-07-20T18:52:58Z")
Another cool thing about Yellowstone is the “Down and Dead” firewood policy. Nice campfires every night! But, Damn, those rangers are absolutely anal about them. And with good reason. But, Geez! I’m sitting in a chair 3 feet from the fire, ax and shovel, and a 5 gallon can of water, and they still are all crawling up my butt! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-got-back-from-yellowstone/791522.md?page=1)