February 19, 2020 • 48 mins
On our Yellowstone first-parter, we talked about both of our individual first trips to America’s O.G. national park, along with info on thermal features and a supervolcano that you don’t really need to worry about. Now it’s time for the sequel episode, Yellowstone: Full Throttle. Because just like that insane sequel to Charlie's Angels, our part 2 episode of Yellowstone is filled with stunts and sights that defy logic and possibility. And subbing in for Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu, we have the two of us and Finn. And grizzly bears instead of an evil Demi Moore. Plus, we'll sit down with Parklandia's researcher, Jesslyn Shields, to talk about biodiversity! There’s a lot of ground for us to cover.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So on our Yellowstone first part or we talked about
both of our individual first trips to America's O G
National Park, along with info on thermal features and a
super volcanome that you don't really need to worry about.
Probably now it's time for the sequel episode, which I'm
calling Yellowstone Full Throttle. Is that a nod to Charlie's
Angels sequel moving? Yes, it absolutely is, because, just like
(00:23):
that insane sequel are part two episodes of Yellowstone is
filled with stunts and sites that defy logic and possibility,
and subbing in for Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy
Lou we have you Me and Finn and grizzly bears
instead of an evil de me More. I guess that's right.
This is our first time actually seeing a grizzly bear
in the wild. But don't worry. Everything worked out just fine,
(00:47):
seeing as we're alive and talking about it right now.
Few it was all my worst fears and wildest dreams
converged into one memorable, epic moment. But you'll have to
stay tuned because there's a lot of ground for us
to cover in this second part episode of Wyoming's Yellowstone
National Park. Hi, I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is
park Land, a production of I Heart Radio. We sold
(01:09):
our aloft in Chicago, moved into an RV. Now we're
traveling the country at full time with our dog Finn,
exploring American's national parks, and today we're returning to Yellowstone
National Park in northwestern Wyoming for part two. So in
part one we actually talked about things like the frontiersman
who first documented Yellowstone and how it became the first
(01:31):
national park in the world. That's right, the world. Yes.
We also talked about how Yellowstone got its name, about
the troops who protected the park for thirty two years
before the National Park Service took over, and about President
Chester A Arthur's glamping trip. But don't worry, there won't
be a quiz at the end of this episode, so
feel free to go back and listen to part one
if you haven't, it's a doozy. For this part, we
(01:53):
want to talk more about Matt and Ice trip here
together last summer. We had both visited separately at first,
so it was exciting to revisit this iconic park again
with our r V. I needless to say, it was
a totally different experience, especially since their view is so huge.
We saw completely new things completely. So let's cut right
(02:13):
to the chase and talk about the star of the park,
which are the thermal features. They're colorful, they're big, they're loud,
they're scorching hot, and they smell like that time our
r v's Black Tank exploded all over you. Like, that's
so true. Oh, the sophic smell of these features is
really intense, and you can just easily smell it through
your car or our V as you drive through Yellowstone.
(02:36):
It's actually nowhere near as bad as Black Tank, though,
I mean, yeah, yess, that's true. It is pretty impossible
to miss these things when you're here, no matter what
part of the park you're in, and that's because there
are more than ten thousand of these thermal features, including
about three guysers in particular. Most of these are categorized
and mapped into different guys are basins throughout Yellowstone, like
(02:56):
Monument guys are basin, Norris guys are basin in. My
favorite West Thumb guys are basin. This is a thermal
section that's right on the shores of Yellowstone Lake. So
it's got a really beautiful and peaceful backdrop. So good,
so good. The juxtaposition of these like technicolor almost neon
hot springs and steaming pools against the emerald blue lake
(03:18):
is just so striking and captivating. And there's this awesome
and easy boardwalk trail that winds through a bunch of
the guysers, so you can like meander through and see
these two like colorful, bright features right alongside each other.
It's amazing. It's cool and kind of creepy too, because
these pools have billowing steam pouring out of them and
(03:39):
out over the boardwalks, so a lot of the time
all you see is outlines of people in the midst
usually pushing for photos. I'm sure, yeah, I mean, Sam,
It's it's hauntingly pretty and the visuals are just off
the charts. Trails and for a whole another visual You
can also just cross the street and hike the trail
called Overlook Trail, which is pretty easy and only about
(04:03):
one and a half miles round trip. Yeah, you can
just park at the West Thumb geys Are Basin and
follow a clear trail across the main road, through the
woods and up a hill for a sweeping view of
the lake. Um, these little clouds of steam just rising
up next to it. I've actually done this trail a
couple of times. It's it is easy. I remember this
most recent time that I did it, I was seeing
(04:23):
these kind of scary warning signs for recent bear sightings
in the area, so I was on high alert, like
more so than usual. And I know you're supposed to
make noise while you're hiking in grizzly country, So what
I would do was I would occasionally cough really loud
as if that would be a defense. But um, I've
also been known to have really full blown loud conversations
(04:45):
with myself if and when I'm hiking alone in Yellowstone,
which is not recommended and I'm not endorsing that. And also,
please don't tell my parents that I was doing that.
Oh yeah, you're screwing you realize this is I know
I realized I had literally just told them. But so
when you're visiting a Yellowstone during peak season in July
like we were, you're rarely alone, which is nice. So
(05:08):
people are literally everywhere, for better or for worse. Yeah,
that's the thing. Like you're especially like we were here
in July, and it's unusual to have a trail to
yourself for more than a few minutes during this prime time.
And on the other side of that coin, that's also
potentially embarrassing for me, knowing that people more than likely
could easily overhear me talking loudly to myself and having
(05:29):
these like ongoing dialogues about me narrating my week or
talking about silly things like upcoming movies I can't wait
to see. I'm just like fully in conversation a mode
with myself. You are entertainment at its finest on these drills,
that's for sure. That's that's great. I hope people appreciated,
I guess and if need be, though I am armed
(05:50):
with bear spray at all times. I had a clipped
to my little fancy fanny pack as fanny packs are
coming back, the one that's like blue with the white
strap and a lemon on it. Yeah, and then there's
like bear spray on it, right, and it says spells
all the words sour, but I think the O is
a lemon. Yep, that's it. So good. So that's what
I That's what I clipped my bear spray too, So
a little mix of whimsy and like dead serious. Yeah,
(06:14):
and it's all gonna be okay in the end. We
just gotta get you out on the trail again for
you to relax. I'm ready, me and my Fannie pack already.
Now let's get back on the road, because navigating a
park as large as Yellowstone is an important piece, especially
for people driving an RV. The main drive in the
park is the Grand Loop Road, which is basically a
giant hundred and forty two mile figure eight that runs
(06:35):
through the middle of the park and it divides into
different sections. Yeah. I remember before I first came to Yellowstone,
I was definitely overwhelmed, as I'm sure most people are,
because it is huge. It's more than two million acres,
so you could easily be forgiven for assuming that it's
like a giant maze and really elaborate and complex, But
surprisingly that's not really the case. The way that it's
(06:56):
laid out and mapped, it's actually really straightforward and easy
to follow once you stick to the map and kind
of get your bearings driving through a little bit exactly.
The Grand Loop connects to all five parks main entrances
and exits, and it crosses the Continental divide twice, which
is pretty cool when you think of that. Yeah. Um,
it's well marked with huge signs on the side of
(07:18):
the road with pull out so you can get photos
with the signs. I mean it has it all, yes,
And speaking of pullouts, here's a little helpful p s A.
Please use them. We beg you. People are constantly holding
up traffic here by stopping in the middle of the
road to get photos of animals, and I totally get
that and understand it. It's really cool stuff and these
are you want to take photos of wildlife like this,
(07:40):
but it creates such a mass, especially in the summer
when this place is swarming with vehicles. Plus is dangerous
for both the animals and other drivers. So there's a
time and a place and stopping the thew street is
not it absolutely like at certain times, traffic a Yellowstone
is I think worse than traffic in Chicago. It's too much.
I remember we're getting road rage at one point while
(08:01):
we were driving back to our our v site from
Yellowstone Lake one day. Yeah, there's really only so much
I can take after a long day of driving and
hiking and exploring, which is also fun but exhausting, Like
you reach a certain point where you just want to
kind of get back, in our case, back to our
r V and like unwind. And when you're stuck for
like hours and hours behind slow moving people and like
(08:26):
stop traffic, it really really wears on you. So I remember,
there's this one time I was behind this slow driver
like just taking a sweet time on a joy ride
in front of me for like miles on end. And
the thing that aggravated me even more was he just
like had his arms sticking out his window and it
was like, you know, going through the Brie. I'm like,
(08:46):
this isn't what are you doing that. It's like this
little thing that just kind of drove me crazy. I mean,
I've never seen you get road rage like this either.
I mean it was really silly, but it was also
really saying something. I guess that's mostly because you rarely
drive though, true, but I usually enjoy driving through national
parks like this, analong scenic roads and granted, like nine
(09:08):
and nine percent at the time, it's relaxing and scenic
and lovely. But occasionally I I do get moments like
this where I start to like shoot steam out of
my ears, like I've got too many old faithful guysers
strapped to my head. We should also point out that
it's super important to start your day early and drive
into the park as soon as you can, because, like
we said, traffic can be a beast. Most parking areas
(09:32):
fill up super quickly, and you don't want to look
like Matt it was steam popping up. I'm sorry, you
guys are steam Yeah, Jatta singing out of my head.
I'm constantly shocked though, by how early these parking lots
fell up. It's it's really crazy, like, especially since many
of these parking lots are huge and they're filled to
capacity even when we get there early. Like are these
(09:52):
people nocturnal? Do they just sleep in the parking lots?
Are they? How are they here like before us? I
don't understand, Like do you hear the road range that? Like,
just even thinking about it, I'm like, it's all coming
back to me in a really unfortunate way. It's okay,
it's all gonna be okay, Right, we just gotta get
you out on the trail again so you relax. Yes, Well,
the trail for me, like hiking here is the best medicine.
(10:15):
It comets me down in between driving stints, that's for sure,
and for all these reasons, that's why we chose to
rent a car and not use o r V for
the entire time in Yellowstone. We drove through the park
once from the east side to the west um, so
that way we could park in West Yellowstone where we
manage the luck out and book a last minute r
V spot. Um. But this was over July four weekend,
(10:38):
so we are real lucky. This just really makes it
that much easier for parking and navigating because a lot
of the parking areas have super limited spaces for large vehicles. Anyway,
that's definitely true, and I can't really imagine like only
being in Yellowstone with an RV, especially in like July.
You'd have to get up like the night before. You'd
have to like Black Friday it and not leave the
(11:00):
park at all, just have your r V stay in
a parking lot and be ready to go at three
in the morning or something. It's ridiculous. Yeah, Fortunately, having
a rental car, we could wake up at a more
reasonable hour, get coffee in West Yellowstone and then head
into the park by seven am and be just fine.
Plus since we have Finn with us, of course, We
didn't want to like constantly be leaving him in the
(11:21):
r V while we went off hiking because for a
lot of reasons, this is not a very dog friendly park.
They're not allowed on any trails whatsoever or in thermal areas.
But all of which makes sense, and considering the immense
wildlife here, you do not want a feisty little dog
like Finn causing trouble with a wolf or a bear
or a bison or something. It would be a regular
(11:42):
brew ha ha. Yeah. Then, and you know all these
animals like dumping everywhere and people not like picking it up. Yeah,
it would be horrific because people are rude like that.
But I feel like we prepared for Yellowstone properly, uh
and did it right. Um. We were able to tackle
a lot of this park in just a few days
that we were here, which we're gonna talk a lot
(12:04):
more about after this quick break. Hi, I'm Matt and
I'm Brad. This is Park Glandia. In today's episode is
(12:27):
Yellowstone National Park? Part two? All right? First things first,
let's take it back to what brought us to Yellowstone
in the middle of prime time, Like we literally arrived
in the fourth of July, and I can't really think
of a better place to spend July four in America's
most iconic national park. All that was missing probably was
like apple pie and maybe baseball. We did have a
(12:48):
hot dog though his name is Finn. Oh my gosh,
that's right. Yeah, what a patriarchal little bunch we were.
Uh and right before Yellowstone we were at the rodeo
and Cody, Wyoming, which also feels like an Americana thing
really very much. So. Yeah, all the cowboy hats and
chili and beer and lassos and star spangled everything. This
(13:08):
was an experience. Yeah. I was working at the rodeo
selling maple syrup and we were in the area for that,
and you and I were able to attend the rodeo
one night just for fun. Yes, and you forced me
to sit on a huge cow, which was outrageous, like
a real cow, And I was I thought you were
joking for the first several minutes that you're suggesting it.
I'm like, I don't want to do that. Do people
(13:31):
do this like it's actually happening. That was a bowl
that was a ball, well it was it was like animals.
That was a bowl And uh, yeah, it was really
cold out that night, but it was that was epic.
I really loved that experience of sitting on that bowl. Um.
We got some chili from one of the food vendors
(13:53):
and went up into the bleachers to watch some of
that rodeo. Yes, it was intense, let's put it that way.
A lot of fast moving animals and dex as cowboys.
It was fun though. It was an experience and it
was super close to Yellowstone. So after the road here
was done, we went into the park for three or
four days to visit it together for the first time
together together. Right, yes, but but first before the rodeo
(14:14):
segment was over, because this was like a multi day
thing that you were working at. I remember taking the
rental car into the park on my own one day
driving and it took it was a while. It took
like two hours just to get in and go to
like one of the hiking trails I wanted to do
because this park is huge and we're staying kind of
a little ways away. And I did one of the
trails by the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Section, which
(14:36):
is this gorgeous segment of Yellowstone River with huge like
raging waterfalls and it's it's mes rising, amazing place. Highly recommend.
But this is where I did one of the most
grueling hikes I've ever done in my life. And that's
really saying something coming from you. I remember, you came
back fully exhausted, and that never happens. Yeah. I did
(14:57):
the seven mile Hole trail, which is ten mile round trip,
and it descends down to the bottom of the canyon
along the river, and it's the only trail in the
park in this section that descends to the bottom of
the canyon like this. But guess what, what goes down
must come back up or something like that. And I
apparently forgot about that before I started my hike, because
(15:17):
it really hurt, and I suffered immensely, and I've never
I don't think I've ever like huffed and puffed and
gasped for air like this before in my life on
any kind of hike. I remember, at a certain point
I just fully stopped caring about grizzly bears entirely, and
I had bear spray on me the whole time, of course,
but it reached a point where grizzly bears and my
(15:39):
bear spray were a complete afterthought. I didn't care, like
if a bear comes, I'm done, Like like I'm just
gonna just lay down, not even crawling to the feet
of position. Right. Yeah, And I probably just would have
been unfazed in comparison to the panous In. But at
one point I also I lapped this group of younger
hikers at one point too, was like a group of
(16:00):
six or seven, probably like twenty year olds or something,
and they were all really nice and the kind of
sharing mind. They're like, wow, good job, and I was
like thanks, and then like in my head like I'm
I'm dying, And then I tried to like quickly get
out of their lineup sight so I could literally lie
down on the side of the trail and let my
lungs like stop burning. That sounds crazy, but at least
(16:24):
the views are great. And it's really cool too, because
this is apparently the only trail that actually goes down
into the canyon like that. I learned that the hard way.
And let's not forget about the other trail we did together,
which is about twice as long as you did. Told
me it was, yeah, the Fairy Falls trail, which is
one of my favorites. He told me it was three
(16:45):
miles around trip. That was just a wild guess. For
some reason in my hat, I was like females. It
was definitely twice that at least, but it was really
pretty and you know, it was just so sunny. There
were a lot of like flies, um, which is not
really fun. But yeah, not my ideal kind of wildlife
for for hiking, I promised me. Bison, Yeah, I know,
(17:07):
but I mean it could have been worse. That could
have been like a treacherous canyon hike, could have been like,
you know, swarmed with grizzly banits or something. But so yeah,
the Fairy Falls Trail, I love it, and this I
had very fond memories of it from when I first
did this trail with my family a couple of years ago,
and that that's why I swear I remember it being shorter,
because in my head that's I thought it was shorter,
(17:28):
but I was probably disstracted by all the things we
saw that time that I did it, like grand prismatic
spring from the overlook at the beginning of the trail,
and then all the bison, like hundreds of bison, plus
the waterfall itself. Of course, I'll give you that, and
you know what, that's nature, right. Sometimes you see it,
sometimes you don't, and you just you can't. You can't
(17:48):
be bummed out when you don't see it. But I
mean I was a little bummed. But I mean they
don't show up on cue. This is like, no, this
is this is the real world. This is the real
wildlife of yellows Um. The waterfall was amazing and it
was totally worth it. It's just long, thin, ribbon like
waterfall that crashes down into a cloud of mist, makes
(18:09):
this stream that flows out into the meadows. I mean,
it's just this great place for lunch or trail beers. Yeah.
I was so nervous about that. Like I was excited
about it because I love the idea of trail beers
and I just have a built up at such a
taboo in my head, I guess. But I kept worrying
and thinking everyone around us was like a beer nark
(18:29):
or something. It really was happening. They're a beer narc
And I'm like, no, they're not. They're just people like
they're just wish that they had a beer too, like
they might happen them in their noble That one is
definitely a beer and beer narc Look, he has a camera.
I'm like, he's taking pictures of the waterfall. He doesn't
care about our beers. Um, but the waterfall was amazing
and totally worth it, So you're just ridiculous. Let's just
(18:54):
put it that way, clear as day. Yeah. The rest
of the trail was really awesome though. It takes you
by these steaming little rivers and mud pots, through small
patches of forest, and then out into this huge vast meadow. Uh.
We didn't see any bison, as I pointed out, any times, um,
or much wildlife at all really, aside for some horses
(19:15):
that people are riding on. And they had Cody rodeo
sweaters on. Um, yeah they did. Did I feel like
I was wearing mine too? Yeah? No. They even point out,
oh my gosh, they were at the rodeo too, Like,
but these people were probably actually like in the rodeo
because it was now officially over. Yeah, and I clearly
looked like I had nothing to do with the rodeo, right,
(19:35):
and not to rub it in, but the last time
I was here, I did see hundreds of bis something
like I said, and a fox So that was cool.
That was exciting fox that didn't even really care that
we're walking by it. So we'll call that one the
fantastic Mr Fox, Mr Fox. Yes, So that's why I
was hoping to see a little something extra or at least,
you know, something beyond like domesticated horses. But I would
(19:59):
say that definitely fair he falls, the waterfall itself and
Grand Prismatic Spring totally made up for that. Yeah. We
actually started the day early at Grand prism Springs, taking
the board walk out to the spring itself, but the
air was still croo cold. Yeah, and it was extra steaming.
Right when the air is too cold and you combine
that with scolding hot hot spring, then it gets way
(20:21):
too steaming and it's ob scared. You can't really see it,
just kind of sense it, and you're aware that it's
there and now that you shouldn't go wander into it. Yeah,
but it makes for great photos. Yeah, right, And even
though I was freezing when we went there in the morning,
and I was also worried about year well being because
you were in short sleeves, Yeah, I really was. Um,
but I bet you everyone is really wondering why it
(20:42):
took us all along to get old faithful, which is
not only the most iconic site here, but one of
the most iconic sites in the entire country. And that's
mostly because the Old Faithful Area feels too much like
a theme park. Yeah, it's it really is kind of
too much, to be honest, And don't get us wrong,
The Guys Are is really incredible to behold, and like
the name suggests, it's faithful and I applaud the reliability.
(21:07):
So there's that. But it's way too crowded and surrounded
by hotels and restaurants and stuff that make it feel
almost corporate, like it's owned by Disney or something. Not
that there's anything wrong with Disney. That's great, but yeah, no,
not at all. But Old People Inn is actually a
beautiful hotel. When you go into it and hang out
at it, you can maybe get some coffee and relax,
(21:27):
or go check out the gift shops. It's like a
huge lug cabin basically. But um, you can also watch
The Guys Are from here. Uh, there's like a porch
on the second floor as well. Yeah, is that where
you watched it from when you were first here. Yeah.
I watched it once or twice from there, and then um,
Benjamin and I we went down and went up to
the geyser itself and did that. Uh but yeah, yeah,
(21:50):
it's a I mean, it's a gorgeous hotel and I
would totally just hang out and lounge about here. I
love though, the way it's laid out, with these like
soaring ceilings and wooden rafters way up there. It's And
we got a couple of coffees from the second floor cafe.
They have like Huckleberry latte's. Yeah they were great, yeah,
(22:10):
really good. But instead of chilling here, we wind up
going up to the observation point trail, which I pretty
much dragged you to separently, and because I wanted to
watch All faithful from the top of a hill from
a different vantage point. I had seen it before from
ground level here, you know, in the midst of these
hordes of people. So I had heard that this was
(22:32):
a cool vista of the geyser, and it's an easy
trail to get there. It's only about one and a
half miles round trip, and it's honestly much less crowded
once you're up there. Um to see the guys are there.
There were a few people, but plenty of room for everybody.
There's like, I don't know, two dozen people max, so
plenty of space, not even a dozen people, right, Yeah,
(22:54):
but I mean I I can emit when I'm wrong.
And the views I thought were not the great. It
was further away than I would have liked seeing the
guys are it kind of just looked like a random
well yeah, because there's nothing like, um like seeing it
right up front, right up in it. But it's also
beautiful looking at nature in a different way. Uh. It
(23:17):
was really nice to get away from those crowds and
the noise. So I'm given that, Tom, And honestly, if
you're spending some time in the thermal area. It got
a head over to Mammoth Hot Springs on the north
side of the park. This was the first time to
this section for both of us, and it was really impressive.
A lot of a lot of a lot of history there,
oh a lot. This was a sleeper hit. I think
(23:38):
we had both heard of Mammoth Hot Springs, but we
didn't look into it too much. And I'm so glad
that we did because this is like my favorite day.
So much to explore in Yellowstone, right gosh, yeah, so
not only because of all the military history here, but
Mammoth Hot Springs is where the troops resided when they
were tasked with protecting the park. So this place has
(23:59):
all sorts of old cabins and great like exhibits at
the museum in busitors Center. But another fascinating aspect is
this place was teeming with elk. They were everywhere, like
I have never seen this machelic just like recently, wandering
around the streets like it's nothing. Like they were just pedestrians,
you know, like not even noticing the humans, which was
(24:21):
a little alarming that they're so used to crowds and
cars and stuff. They were right, so, I mean cool
to say they're beautiful, majesting animals, but still maybe not
this close. We also tried to go swimming up here
at this place called Boiling River, which sounds a lot
more horrific than it is. It's not, actually, it's not
actually boiling. You're not gonna die swimming it, obviously. It's
(24:43):
actually one of only a couple of places in Yellowstone
that is accessible for swimming because of the temperature is comfortable.
It's like a mixture of like thermal water and like
the cold natural like river water, so it's ideal for swimming. Actually,
but when we went up there. Up when we were
up there, it was closed for the season, like it
was scheduled to open soon like in any any moment,
(25:05):
but we probably by a couple of days to um.
But they're also at least gigantic colorful hot spring areas
called the Upper Terrence and Lower Terrence at the easy
boardwalk trails that run right through them. They Yeah, they
look like huge tiered wedding cakes, is how I describe them,
because they're mostly white, and they look really too perfect
(25:26):
to be real, Like a wedding cake that's like billowing
deadly steam. If you can admit envision that. It's like,
I don't know, thirty a thirty layer wedding cake that
could kill you. That's a good way to describe me.
With hot springs, like the terraces, I could really just
stand here all day and gawk at them. I think
they're so pretty. Yeah, and right by there, we had
breakfast at this beautiful restaurant inside of Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. Uh.
(25:49):
It's this historic property that kind of reminded me of
like the Stanley Hotel. New were like Rocky Mountain. Yeah,
it really looked like that. It have the same kind
of history and or innate design and even just right
down to the color palette. It was really interesting, but
minus any of the like psychosis and murder. I guess
our server was super friendly here. He was from either
(26:11):
from Chicago or like in Illinois, remember that, that's right. Yeah,
well I think his badge said Chicago, but he was
actually from the Burbs. You know that works. Yeah, I'm
just like yeah, but it was really nice to like
chill out here and watch elk what we eat almlets.
It was nice. It was also the perfect fuel for
the Beaver Pond Sloop trail, which we did right after. Um.
(26:33):
That was pretty moderate. It wasn't hard, it wasn't impossible.
It was about five miles round trip. UM. I wasn't
sure I was going to be able to do it
at first because I was feeling sore. Yeah, what was
going on? I forgot what the issue was. Maybe your feet,
I think, Um, I can't I Lord, I can't remember,
but it was I was in pain him and I
(26:54):
was like, I don't know if I'm gonna be able
to do this, like, and I just you know, I said,
screw it, let's just do it. It'll be fine, Well
you didn't just do that voluntarily. I fully guilted you
into it. I was like, oh, that's fine, i'll meet
you after. I'll just go hiking alone in dangerous grizzly
country and probably get mald but i'll meet you later. Yeah.
That worked like a charm. Yeah. It was a mixture
(27:16):
of like trying to guilt you into it and also
being well, your dad would never forgive me no, right,
so let's just and I do not blame you do
he would he would kill me if you died. Um. Yeah,
I would be dead right behind you. But it all
(27:38):
worked out. No bear sightings, and the trail is honestly
pretty easy, I think, and unadvent like totally uneventful regards
in regards to like dangerous wildlife. That's for sure. We
didn't see any bears, any bison. I think the only
animal we saw was towards the very end of the
hike we saw a small heart of healk in the meadow.
But at that point we were we had seen so
much of them that were like totally desensitized. They were
(27:59):
like score roles were like oh tomorrow right, Yeah, I
hate how we do that. We get like desensitized from
these beautiful animals and um, just you know it, but
you know it happens, and you know, maybe this is
a lesson that we'll learn from ourselves and just remember
to take that moment to watch, appreciate, appreciate them. But
(28:21):
the best part about it was all when we were
driving back to West Yellowstone from these hikes and uh,
we actually saw our very first grizzly bear in the
wild finally, and like right out the neck of time too,
because this is our last full day in the park
and I think I was getting to the point where
I was reconciling, like, Okay, I'm probably not going to
see a bear this time. Fine, But miraculously we did
(28:45):
see one, and we saw it the best way we
possibly could, from the safety of our car, Like it
was off on the side of the road and impossible
to miss because there was just a huge swarm of
cars and vehicles pulled over and people like milling about.
You say, hold over, but really they were zig zagged
every which way, like they basically forgot how to park
and they're like bear and they got so excited. So
(29:08):
it's like again, pull over because other people want to
go through. Yeah, I mean, we're obviously all stopping for this,
but still, like, what if there's an emergency people? True, yeah,
but I mean I'm glad that we saw it so
we were able to pull over and get off on
the side of the road enough to make way and
then see the bear from a safe vantage point. It
was like off in the meadow, like foraging for food
or something full grown, like full, very obviously bear and
(29:32):
just super exciting. And also it is comforting when you
see a griously bear to be surrounded by other people.
Worst case scenario, the bear goes ballistic, it would have
to mow down a lot of other people to get
to us, and I think we're pretty safe. Yeah. This
bear didn't even seem to notice the crowds of people
that were taking photos from a distance. It was just
foraging in the grass and slowly walking along and doing
(29:54):
its day. Yeah, it was. It was so exciting and
I'm really glad that we capped off our time in
yellow Stone with this grizzly bear siding like the most
epic animal here that everyone wants to see. Perfect and
you have to remember to pack it a pickting a
basket city And I know I'm thrilled to talk about
(30:21):
this next section, which is about West Yellowstone. It's so nostalgic.
I love it. It's such a cute, little, happy hamlet.
It's one of the main kind of entry areas to
the park. It's in actually Montana. It's in the sliver,
like the portion of Yellowstone that's in Montana, like far
northwestern Wyoming. And then West Yellowstone is bustling a little
(30:44):
tourist town in the summer. I'm sure it's completely quiet
in the winter, if anything's even open at all. But yeah,
so this was my second time in West Yellstone, your first,
and I was so stoked to be back here and
come back with you and revisit all my favorite places
that I went to with my family. It's so great. Yeah,
(31:04):
what's Yellowstone is really a beautiful place. Uh, there's so
many places that you can walk to. I remember that
we actually we actually walked over and saw Spider Man, Yes,
the new Spider Man in Imax. There's like an Imax
theater randomly in West Ailstone and that was great. What
a great setting to see Spider Man whatever. That far
(31:25):
from home. Um, that's because it's just really you know,
when we're going to national parks. We also have to
take like breaks from it and just get other entertainment
just too in the evenings. And this is like perfect,
Go see a movie, go eat at a restaurant, which
we had a couple of different restaurants. They have a
good variety of restaurants here considering how small the town
(31:46):
is and it's really only like a ten block radius
a plate of of a town. But we definitely made
the rounds. Some we liked better than others. I think
we'll just say that, like long story short, you probably
eat at French restaurants in West e Elistine No this one. Um.
I remember asking them, uh, suggesting for wine and they're
(32:07):
like red, I'm like, can you break it down a
little more please? Oh you don't even know I got it.
So if you're a friend's restaurant and you know nothing
about wines, you probably shouldn't be a restaurant friends restaurant,
Let's be honest, because it wasn't cheap. Like I got
like a butternut squash ravioli and that was like twenty
two bucks, and so like I'm spending a lot of money.
(32:30):
I want you to know what you're serving me. But
you could just see it was a disorganized mess. And
I'll tell you this from Matt, being the food writer
in the family and one that like goes out to
restaurants all the time, I think I'm more of the
food critic you actually are. I'll be honest, because I
think I've softened a little over the years now, Like
I unless it's that right awful, I'll like try to
(32:53):
find the slover lying in certain places and I'll be like, well,
this is good, or like this part is cute. Although
I don't remember finding many redeeming factors that this place.
I guess like the people were nice, they were polite. Yeah, no,
that was Yeah, that was difficult to say the least.
And it's weird because it's fortunly weekends, so you know
that it's going to be busy, so it's like, you know,
just up your game a little bit. Yeah, please please try.
(33:15):
We also tried to go to a Japanese restaurant because
per usual, we're constantly craving sushi and even in the
weirdest places, but we can't go too long without having sushi.
So we just looked up in desperation and found this
Japanese restaurant that looked promising, but like we walked in
and there was just like no one there at all.
There was a few like teenager looking people, but they
(33:39):
were standing waiting to be seated or something. So I
don't don't I don't know if we were just opening
or something. But I didn't want to um wait forever,
because we waited ten minutes really nothing, so you know,
move on. But then we walked over to bowl Winkle Saloon.
Now that it was perfect. That was their attentive. If
(33:59):
they're fantastic, they have like a saloon, a liquor store,
and a sit down restaurant. Yeah, and we went back
there multiple times because we felt welcome every single time. Yes,
and their food but they had a diverse mix of food,
some like a lot of regional specialties like Bison Burger's
and elk Ravioli and stuff like that, but then plenty
(34:19):
of surprises like welcome surprises, like they had a chicken
Wellington I had. This is my first experience with Zucchii
noodles a k a. Zoodles, And first of all, would
never expect to find that in West Yellastone and especially
not good like this was great it was delicious, Like, yeah,
you sat down and got prompt service, very friendly, which honestly,
(34:44):
the reason why I go out to a restaurant is service,
Like I want, I want good service. So you are
a service industry, so they know what they're doing and
we really appreciate that. So shout out to Bowl Winkles
And whenever you all go to West Yellastone and Elliston
National Park, you have to go, huh, check in with
them and grab a Huckleberry margarita or go gamble in
(35:06):
their casino. Treat your absolutely down restaurant, grab booze to go, like,
just frequent them because they're really good. And then, um,
you know there was that other place. A friend of ours,
Gary Miano from Montana, he actually told us to go
to a Firehole Barbecue because it has the best barbecue
in Yellowstone, really solid. Um. I remember we got in,
(35:30):
we ordered our barbecue and you know it's not like
um institution. It is a new place, but you can
definitely see that they know what they're doing. Um, and
we got our food and we sat down and we
sat next to two park rangers. Yeah basically I mean
in our mind their celebrities. So we were sitting next
(35:50):
to a couple of celebrities, like it's basically like the
Britt name Madonna celebrities, even though they are two guys.
So I guess may be Elton John and Freddie Mercury, right,
So I mean they're still celebrities, all right, So I
guess back into the park rangers. They were amazing. They
(36:11):
were really fun. I remember there was the younger one
and he was talking about how his friends are coming in.
He's going like Bank Cutch of camping with them, and
he was just as excited as we were. And that's
what I really love sees that our park rangers are
just as excited to explore these beautiful national parks out
there and all the time, like they're tourists. Oh my gosh. Yeah,
(36:32):
stars are just like us, thy geek out over just
like us, love it barbecue, just like us. What they're humans.
I mean, I'm as surprised as you are, I know, right,
I'm like, can we're gonna go party with park rangers?
Party with park rangers. Let's start this maybe once a
year event. I'm into it. And when we come back
(36:54):
from the short break, we'll talk with our researcher Jescelyn
Shields more about the ecology and wildlife. I get us
own national park. Hi, I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This
(37:28):
is park Landia in today's episode is on Gallowstone National
Park in Wyoming. Ecology, so, biological diversity is a benchmark
for measuring the health of an ecosystem, and today to
talk more about that, we're bringing on our show's researcher,
jes Lyn Shields. Hi, guys, I'm Jesslyn and i am
a freelance science writer and I'm also your show's researcher.
(37:50):
And we love it, Yes we do. I'm so excited
to be on today's show because we're talking about one
of my favorite things, which is biological diversity and how
it's used to measure the health of an ecosystem. Every
organism plays an important role in transferring energy, storing nutrients,
and breaking down pollutants. So basically, we're not talking about
the big animals like bears, bison, and wolves, who individually
(38:12):
play a big part of the Yellowstone ecosystem right, not entirely,
they are part of it, but um, we're talking about
something equally important, which are the little ones and the
big ones together lots of times people don't pay very
much attention to mushrooms and beetles and blue green algae
and microscopic worms. But if you're thinking about biodiversity, it
(38:32):
leads us to the concept of extinction. So wolves were
really important to the Yellowstone ecosystem for a few reasons.
But one big thing is they work together to take
down large ungulates. That's how they hunt. So a bear
is huge and powerful, but it will rarely go after
a moose or an elk on its own. Um. A
(38:53):
bear will scare a pack of wolves away from a
dead bison after um, the wolves have done all the
hardware to kill it, but the wolves. If wolves aren't
present in the ecosystem, the bears don't eat as well,
and neither do the scavengers. Yeah, like ravens, coyotes, bald eagles.
That's right, um, And this is just the tip of
the iceberg. Wolves made space in the ecosystem that didn't
(39:16):
exist during their seventy year absence for snakes and mice
and cottonwood trees and otters and aspen groves and songbirds
and all kinds of things. The presence of beavers making
dams and the increased bank stabilization on rivers even ended
up changing the hydrology and Yellowstone the way water moves around. Um.
These changes are fascinating and it definitely makes Yellowstone a
(39:37):
nicer place to visit. But it also shows us that
biodiversity is really important to preserve what we can. Yeah,
because we're losing individual species all over the world all
the time. It's really tough to know how many species
even exist on this planet right. The current estimates for
the number of species that live on Earth is somewhere
between five point three million to one trillion, which a
(40:01):
small number. It's kind of like saying I either have
thirty six dollars or one point two million dollars in
my bank account. Yes, that window. So how many organisms
are going extinct every year? Well, that's really tough to
tell to. About fifteen years ago, a United Nations Task
Force estimated that eight thousand, seven hundred species go extinct
(40:23):
every year, which seems like a ton, But a few
years later they concluded that it was more like fifty
five thousand year. No way, I mean, like, are there
that many here? Yeah, I mean that there might be
as many as a trillion. I thought it was an
expert new all things because they read a couple of
articles and then don't we all yea for those of
(40:44):
you who couldn't see, Brad just winked. Well, humans have
only recorded the passing of around eight hundred species in
the past four hundred years. So I mean that's like
somebody going out and being like, there was a dodo
bird here and now there are no more dodo birds. Um.
So it's tough to know exactly where we stand with
biodiversity on this planet. But the wolves and yells help
us understand that biodiversity works for the ecosystem. This is
(41:09):
sad and tricky problem to find solutions for. Yeah, well,
I think this situation provides a good case study and
why more biodiversity is good for an ecosystem. Without functioning ecosystems,
we don't have clean air or water. Our plants don't
get pollinated by bats and bees and stuff, which means
we don't eat. And then there's a tons of stuff
(41:31):
we don't know exists. Um, what if a cure for
cancers out there, like on the ocean floor in the forest. Yeah, honestly,
who wants to live in a planet with no wild
functioning ecosystems not me, UM, So biodiversity is important and
arguably the most complex feature of our planet. We need
our national parks partly for preserving spaces that protect it.
(41:51):
And just like with the wolves, which are still controversial
members of the Yellowstone ecosystem, we need to be boosting
biodiversity wherever we can. I know are part of understanding
our ecosystem is so important. We need to realize how
our decisions impact our world and planet. Yeah, bi diversity
is an engine that makes an ecosystem work. So each species,
(42:12):
whether it's a spider or a fungus or a lion,
has an important role to play. Greater species diversity ensures
natural sustainability for all it forms, even humans it does.
And that's why like digging deep into these topics UM
is going to be a whole podcast of its own,
but we just want to introduce these different aspects to
(42:32):
our listeners. And I'm really happy that we had you
on today to talk a little bit about like biological
diversity and how it all works together because it's important
we learn more. UM. The more we learn and we
get to share with everyone, it helps make a better
community of assets for our national parks. Yeah, well, it's
(42:53):
my pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me. My
favorite Well, with all of that, there's so many beautiful
things to explore in and around Yellowstone National Park, and
I think what we need to talk about is what
(43:14):
was our favorite part of Yellowstone on this trip? Matt,
what was yours? This is probably the hardest decision for
this segment I've had to date, because this park is
obviously huge. We did an so it's it's hard to
narrow it down. But I would say my favorite part,
(43:35):
even though at the time I was in absolute misery,
it was probably that Canyon trail that I did the
base of Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, because the scenery
was just unbelievable and in retrospect very worthwhile. I'm glad
I put myself through that and experienced it because I'm
proud of you. Thank you. Yes, I'm glad I did.
(43:58):
It would be nice too, I should have. It would
probably help if I slowed down. I'm constantly speed walking,
speed hiking, and this is not the trail for that,
because you will burn yourself way out before you're even
like halfway done with it, and then that's a mistake.
So but I loved it, and I would definitely recommend
that trail for especially if with a small group who
(44:19):
can keep you motivated and keep you safe. Yeah, my
favorite part would have probably had to have been Mammoth
Springs area. So many hot springs, so many geyser's so
much different like um ecology and wildlife, um just seeing
how they interact differently with the environment that they're in.
Like you're telling us about like the elk and how
(44:40):
they were just like in the middle of everything and
they're so used to it, and you know that's good
and bad. But I remember, like there's times I to
go to turn on the road and there's like an
elk crossing and I'm like, hey, look, this is the
perfect place to put an outcrossing sign. But there's that,
and then you know the Boiling River that I would
really love to do. So when we go back, we'll
have to make it's open. And then I know it's seasonal,
(45:02):
so it's not like it's an exact hard date every year.
It's not like October one every year, September one. It's
not like pumpkin spice season. You know that it's not right,
So we just had to be careful with that. Um,
we should talk about what things people should bring to
Yellowstone and let's assume that from experience, Like if you're
(45:24):
going to visit Yellowstone during primetime like we did, so
like July or August, you should bring well, for one thing,
a lot of patients, a lot of patients, and forgiveness,
willing willingness to overlook a lot of don't be like
Matt where there's road rage for a man sticking his
hand out the window. It's infuriating, like come on. So, um,
(45:45):
that's something that we learned and that we would bring. Yes,
and then we also I'm sure I've talked about this
plenty of times already with Yellstone, but bears right of course,
no matter whether alone or with a group, that's pivotal.
And you can get that really anywhere in the entire area.
You can get that from park stores in and around
the park for any kind of convenient store in West
(46:08):
Yellowstone or Jackson Hole is a hub to the south
and it brings them light layers because even though it's
um like in July, we went there really early in
the morning, it was cold. I remember I was mad
because I didn't bring a sweater or something. Um on
our first trail the day, right, Yeah, it does get cold,
it's not during the day. During the afternoon especially you
(46:29):
can get really warm or hot. But this is definitely
one of those places that at night and early morning
it's brisk. At least a windbreak would actually probably best
because then that way it's still light and it's breathable
in a way. UM, So you know, just bring another layer, yes, absolutely,
And then if you're doing something specifically water oriented, if
(46:50):
you're lucky enough to be here when Boiling River is open,
then bring a bathing So we bring a towel and
have a great time and we'll live and swim vicariously
through you and send us pictures tag us at park
Landia pod. Yes, well, it took us too full episodes,
but I think we've done justice for this incredible, most
(47:10):
iconic national park. There's a liar from epic history to
epic wildlife, and you've really got to go see it
for yourself. Just remember to bring your bear spray and
wake up early. You've been listening to park Landia, a
show about national parks. Parklandia is the production of My
Heart Radio, created by Matt Carouac, Brad Carouac, and Christopher
(47:30):
has the otis produced and edited by Mike John's. Our
executive producer is Christopher has the otis our researcher. It's
Jescelyn shield. A Special things goes out to Gabrielle Collins,
Christal Waters and the rest of the park Landia crew
and Hey listeners. If you're enjoying the show, leave us
a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps other people like
you find our show. You can keep up with us
on social media as well. Check out our photos from
(47:52):
our travels on Instagram at park Landia pod and join
in on the conversation and our Facebook group park Landia Rangers.
From our podcasts my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
and as always, thank you for listening.
So on our Yellowstone first part or we talked about
both of our individual first trips to America's O G
National Park, along with info on thermal features and a
super volcanome that you don't really need to worry about.
Probably now it's time for the sequel episode, which I'm
calling Yellowstone Full Throttle. Is that a nod to Charlie's
Angels sequel moving? Yes, it absolutely is, because, just like
(00:23):
that insane sequel are part two episodes of Yellowstone is
filled with stunts and sites that defy logic and possibility,
and subbing in for Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy
Lou we have you Me and Finn and grizzly bears
instead of an evil de me More. I guess that's right.
This is our first time actually seeing a grizzly bear
in the wild. But don't worry. Everything worked out just fine,
(00:47):
seeing as we're alive and talking about it right now.
Few it was all my worst fears and wildest dreams
converged into one memorable, epic moment. But you'll have to
stay tuned because there's a lot of ground for us
to cover in this second part episode of Wyoming's Yellowstone
National Park. Hi, I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is
park Land, a production of I Heart Radio. We sold
(01:09):
our aloft in Chicago, moved into an RV. Now we're
traveling the country at full time with our dog Finn,
exploring American's national parks, and today we're returning to Yellowstone
National Park in northwestern Wyoming for part two. So in
part one we actually talked about things like the frontiersman
who first documented Yellowstone and how it became the first
(01:31):
national park in the world. That's right, the world. Yes.
We also talked about how Yellowstone got its name, about
the troops who protected the park for thirty two years
before the National Park Service took over, and about President
Chester A Arthur's glamping trip. But don't worry, there won't
be a quiz at the end of this episode, so
feel free to go back and listen to part one
if you haven't, it's a doozy. For this part, we
(01:53):
want to talk more about Matt and Ice trip here
together last summer. We had both visited separately at first,
so it was exciting to revisit this iconic park again
with our r V. I needless to say, it was
a totally different experience, especially since their view is so huge.
We saw completely new things completely. So let's cut right
(02:13):
to the chase and talk about the star of the park,
which are the thermal features. They're colorful, they're big, they're loud,
they're scorching hot, and they smell like that time our
r v's Black Tank exploded all over you. Like, that's
so true. Oh, the sophic smell of these features is
really intense, and you can just easily smell it through
your car or our V as you drive through Yellowstone.
(02:36):
It's actually nowhere near as bad as Black Tank, though,
I mean, yeah, yess, that's true. It is pretty impossible
to miss these things when you're here, no matter what
part of the park you're in, and that's because there
are more than ten thousand of these thermal features, including
about three guysers in particular. Most of these are categorized
and mapped into different guys are basins throughout Yellowstone, like
(02:56):
Monument guys are basin, Norris guys are basin in. My
favorite West Thumb guys are basin. This is a thermal
section that's right on the shores of Yellowstone Lake. So
it's got a really beautiful and peaceful backdrop. So good,
so good. The juxtaposition of these like technicolor almost neon
hot springs and steaming pools against the emerald blue lake
(03:18):
is just so striking and captivating. And there's this awesome
and easy boardwalk trail that winds through a bunch of
the guysers, so you can like meander through and see
these two like colorful, bright features right alongside each other.
It's amazing. It's cool and kind of creepy too, because
these pools have billowing steam pouring out of them and
(03:39):
out over the boardwalks, so a lot of the time
all you see is outlines of people in the midst
usually pushing for photos. I'm sure, yeah, I mean, Sam,
It's it's hauntingly pretty and the visuals are just off
the charts. Trails and for a whole another visual You
can also just cross the street and hike the trail
called Overlook Trail, which is pretty easy and only about
(04:03):
one and a half miles round trip. Yeah, you can
just park at the West Thumb geys Are Basin and
follow a clear trail across the main road, through the
woods and up a hill for a sweeping view of
the lake. Um, these little clouds of steam just rising
up next to it. I've actually done this trail a
couple of times. It's it is easy. I remember this
most recent time that I did it, I was seeing
(04:23):
these kind of scary warning signs for recent bear sightings
in the area, so I was on high alert, like
more so than usual. And I know you're supposed to
make noise while you're hiking in grizzly country, So what
I would do was I would occasionally cough really loud
as if that would be a defense. But um, I've
also been known to have really full blown loud conversations
(04:45):
with myself if and when I'm hiking alone in Yellowstone,
which is not recommended and I'm not endorsing that. And also,
please don't tell my parents that I was doing that.
Oh yeah, you're screwing you realize this is I know
I realized I had literally just told them. But so
when you're visiting a Yellowstone during peak season in July
like we were, you're rarely alone, which is nice. So
(05:08):
people are literally everywhere, for better or for worse. Yeah,
that's the thing. Like you're especially like we were here
in July, and it's unusual to have a trail to
yourself for more than a few minutes during this prime time.
And on the other side of that coin, that's also
potentially embarrassing for me, knowing that people more than likely
could easily overhear me talking loudly to myself and having
(05:29):
these like ongoing dialogues about me narrating my week or
talking about silly things like upcoming movies I can't wait
to see. I'm just like fully in conversation a mode
with myself. You are entertainment at its finest on these drills,
that's for sure. That's that's great. I hope people appreciated,
I guess and if need be, though I am armed
(05:50):
with bear spray at all times. I had a clipped
to my little fancy fanny pack as fanny packs are
coming back, the one that's like blue with the white
strap and a lemon on it. Yeah, and then there's
like bear spray on it, right, and it says spells
all the words sour, but I think the O is
a lemon. Yep, that's it. So good. So that's what
I That's what I clipped my bear spray too, So
a little mix of whimsy and like dead serious. Yeah,
(06:14):
and it's all gonna be okay in the end. We
just gotta get you out on the trail again for
you to relax. I'm ready, me and my Fannie pack already.
Now let's get back on the road, because navigating a
park as large as Yellowstone is an important piece, especially
for people driving an RV. The main drive in the
park is the Grand Loop Road, which is basically a
giant hundred and forty two mile figure eight that runs
(06:35):
through the middle of the park and it divides into
different sections. Yeah. I remember before I first came to Yellowstone,
I was definitely overwhelmed, as I'm sure most people are,
because it is huge. It's more than two million acres,
so you could easily be forgiven for assuming that it's
like a giant maze and really elaborate and complex, But
surprisingly that's not really the case. The way that it's
(06:56):
laid out and mapped, it's actually really straightforward and easy
to follow once you stick to the map and kind
of get your bearings driving through a little bit exactly.
The Grand Loop connects to all five parks main entrances
and exits, and it crosses the Continental divide twice, which
is pretty cool when you think of that. Yeah. Um,
it's well marked with huge signs on the side of
(07:18):
the road with pull out so you can get photos
with the signs. I mean it has it all, yes,
And speaking of pullouts, here's a little helpful p s A.
Please use them. We beg you. People are constantly holding
up traffic here by stopping in the middle of the
road to get photos of animals, and I totally get
that and understand it. It's really cool stuff and these
are you want to take photos of wildlife like this,
(07:40):
but it creates such a mass, especially in the summer
when this place is swarming with vehicles. Plus is dangerous
for both the animals and other drivers. So there's a
time and a place and stopping the thew street is
not it absolutely like at certain times, traffic a Yellowstone
is I think worse than traffic in Chicago. It's too much.
I remember we're getting road rage at one point while
(08:01):
we were driving back to our our v site from
Yellowstone Lake one day. Yeah, there's really only so much
I can take after a long day of driving and
hiking and exploring, which is also fun but exhausting, Like
you reach a certain point where you just want to
kind of get back, in our case, back to our
r V and like unwind. And when you're stuck for
like hours and hours behind slow moving people and like
(08:26):
stop traffic, it really really wears on you. So I remember,
there's this one time I was behind this slow driver
like just taking a sweet time on a joy ride
in front of me for like miles on end. And
the thing that aggravated me even more was he just
like had his arms sticking out his window and it
was like, you know, going through the Brie. I'm like,
(08:46):
this isn't what are you doing that. It's like this
little thing that just kind of drove me crazy. I mean,
I've never seen you get road rage like this either.
I mean it was really silly, but it was also
really saying something. I guess that's mostly because you rarely
drive though, true, but I usually enjoy driving through national
parks like this, analong scenic roads and granted, like nine
(09:08):
and nine percent at the time, it's relaxing and scenic
and lovely. But occasionally I I do get moments like
this where I start to like shoot steam out of
my ears, like I've got too many old faithful guysers
strapped to my head. We should also point out that
it's super important to start your day early and drive
into the park as soon as you can, because, like
we said, traffic can be a beast. Most parking areas
(09:32):
fill up super quickly, and you don't want to look
like Matt it was steam popping up. I'm sorry, you
guys are steam Yeah, Jatta singing out of my head.
I'm constantly shocked though, by how early these parking lots
fell up. It's it's really crazy, like, especially since many
of these parking lots are huge and they're filled to
capacity even when we get there early. Like are these
(09:52):
people nocturnal? Do they just sleep in the parking lots?
Are they? How are they here like before us? I
don't understand, Like do you hear the road range that? Like,
just even thinking about it, I'm like, it's all coming
back to me in a really unfortunate way. It's okay,
it's all gonna be okay, Right, we just gotta get
you out on the trail again so you relax. Yes, Well,
the trail for me, like hiking here is the best medicine.
(10:15):
It comets me down in between driving stints, that's for sure,
and for all these reasons, that's why we chose to
rent a car and not use o r V for
the entire time in Yellowstone. We drove through the park
once from the east side to the west um, so
that way we could park in West Yellowstone where we
manage the luck out and book a last minute r
V spot. Um. But this was over July four weekend,
(10:38):
so we are real lucky. This just really makes it
that much easier for parking and navigating because a lot
of the parking areas have super limited spaces for large vehicles. Anyway,
that's definitely true, and I can't really imagine like only
being in Yellowstone with an RV, especially in like July.
You'd have to get up like the night before. You'd
have to like Black Friday it and not leave the
(11:00):
park at all, just have your r V stay in
a parking lot and be ready to go at three
in the morning or something. It's ridiculous. Yeah, Fortunately, having
a rental car, we could wake up at a more
reasonable hour, get coffee in West Yellowstone and then head
into the park by seven am and be just fine.
Plus since we have Finn with us, of course, We
didn't want to like constantly be leaving him in the
(11:21):
r V while we went off hiking because for a
lot of reasons, this is not a very dog friendly park.
They're not allowed on any trails whatsoever or in thermal areas.
But all of which makes sense, and considering the immense
wildlife here, you do not want a feisty little dog
like Finn causing trouble with a wolf or a bear
or a bison or something. It would be a regular
(11:42):
brew ha ha. Yeah. Then, and you know all these
animals like dumping everywhere and people not like picking it up. Yeah,
it would be horrific because people are rude like that.
But I feel like we prepared for Yellowstone properly, uh
and did it right. Um. We were able to tackle
a lot of this park in just a few days
that we were here, which we're gonna talk a lot
(12:04):
more about after this quick break. Hi, I'm Matt and
I'm Brad. This is Park Glandia. In today's episode is
(12:27):
Yellowstone National Park? Part two? All right? First things first,
let's take it back to what brought us to Yellowstone
in the middle of prime time, Like we literally arrived
in the fourth of July, and I can't really think
of a better place to spend July four in America's
most iconic national park. All that was missing probably was
like apple pie and maybe baseball. We did have a
(12:48):
hot dog though his name is Finn. Oh my gosh,
that's right. Yeah, what a patriarchal little bunch we were.
Uh and right before Yellowstone we were at the rodeo
and Cody, Wyoming, which also feels like an Americana thing
really very much. So. Yeah, all the cowboy hats and
chili and beer and lassos and star spangled everything. This
(13:08):
was an experience. Yeah. I was working at the rodeo
selling maple syrup and we were in the area for that,
and you and I were able to attend the rodeo
one night just for fun. Yes, and you forced me
to sit on a huge cow, which was outrageous, like
a real cow, And I was I thought you were
joking for the first several minutes that you're suggesting it.
I'm like, I don't want to do that. Do people
(13:31):
do this like it's actually happening. That was a bowl
that was a ball, well it was it was like animals.
That was a bowl And uh, yeah, it was really
cold out that night, but it was that was epic.
I really loved that experience of sitting on that bowl. Um.
We got some chili from one of the food vendors
(13:53):
and went up into the bleachers to watch some of
that rodeo. Yes, it was intense, let's put it that way.
A lot of fast moving animals and dex as cowboys.
It was fun though. It was an experience and it
was super close to Yellowstone. So after the road here
was done, we went into the park for three or
four days to visit it together for the first time
together together. Right, yes, but but first before the rodeo
(14:14):
segment was over, because this was like a multi day
thing that you were working at. I remember taking the
rental car into the park on my own one day
driving and it took it was a while. It took
like two hours just to get in and go to
like one of the hiking trails I wanted to do
because this park is huge and we're staying kind of
a little ways away. And I did one of the
trails by the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Section, which
(14:36):
is this gorgeous segment of Yellowstone River with huge like
raging waterfalls and it's it's mes rising, amazing place. Highly recommend.
But this is where I did one of the most
grueling hikes I've ever done in my life. And that's
really saying something coming from you. I remember, you came
back fully exhausted, and that never happens. Yeah. I did
(14:57):
the seven mile Hole trail, which is ten mile round trip,
and it descends down to the bottom of the canyon
along the river, and it's the only trail in the
park in this section that descends to the bottom of
the canyon like this. But guess what, what goes down
must come back up or something like that. And I
apparently forgot about that before I started my hike, because
(15:17):
it really hurt, and I suffered immensely, and I've never
I don't think I've ever like huffed and puffed and
gasped for air like this before in my life on
any kind of hike. I remember, at a certain point
I just fully stopped caring about grizzly bears entirely, and
I had bear spray on me the whole time, of course,
but it reached a point where grizzly bears and my
(15:39):
bear spray were a complete afterthought. I didn't care, like
if a bear comes, I'm done, Like like I'm just
gonna just lay down, not even crawling to the feet
of position. Right. Yeah, And I probably just would have
been unfazed in comparison to the panous In. But at
one point I also I lapped this group of younger
hikers at one point too, was like a group of
(16:00):
six or seven, probably like twenty year olds or something,
and they were all really nice and the kind of
sharing mind. They're like, wow, good job, and I was
like thanks, and then like in my head like I'm
I'm dying, And then I tried to like quickly get
out of their lineup sight so I could literally lie
down on the side of the trail and let my
lungs like stop burning. That sounds crazy, but at least
(16:24):
the views are great. And it's really cool too, because
this is apparently the only trail that actually goes down
into the canyon like that. I learned that the hard way.
And let's not forget about the other trail we did together,
which is about twice as long as you did. Told
me it was, yeah, the Fairy Falls trail, which is
one of my favorites. He told me it was three
(16:45):
miles around trip. That was just a wild guess. For
some reason in my hat, I was like females. It
was definitely twice that at least, but it was really
pretty and you know, it was just so sunny. There
were a lot of like flies, um, which is not
really fun. But yeah, not my ideal kind of wildlife
for for hiking, I promised me. Bison, Yeah, I know,
(17:07):
but I mean it could have been worse. That could
have been like a treacherous canyon hike, could have been like,
you know, swarmed with grizzly banits or something. But so yeah,
the Fairy Falls Trail, I love it, and this I
had very fond memories of it from when I first
did this trail with my family a couple of years ago,
and that that's why I swear I remember it being shorter,
because in my head that's I thought it was shorter,
(17:28):
but I was probably disstracted by all the things we
saw that time that I did it, like grand prismatic
spring from the overlook at the beginning of the trail,
and then all the bison, like hundreds of bison, plus
the waterfall itself. Of course, I'll give you that, and
you know what, that's nature, right. Sometimes you see it,
sometimes you don't, and you just you can't. You can't
(17:48):
be bummed out when you don't see it. But I
mean I was a little bummed. But I mean they
don't show up on cue. This is like, no, this
is this is the real world. This is the real
wildlife of yellows Um. The waterfall was amazing and it
was totally worth it. It's just long, thin, ribbon like
waterfall that crashes down into a cloud of mist, makes
(18:09):
this stream that flows out into the meadows. I mean,
it's just this great place for lunch or trail beers. Yeah.
I was so nervous about that. Like I was excited
about it because I love the idea of trail beers
and I just have a built up at such a
taboo in my head, I guess. But I kept worrying
and thinking everyone around us was like a beer nark
(18:29):
or something. It really was happening. They're a beer narc
And I'm like, no, they're not. They're just people like
they're just wish that they had a beer too, like
they might happen them in their noble That one is
definitely a beer and beer narc Look, he has a camera.
I'm like, he's taking pictures of the waterfall. He doesn't
care about our beers. Um, but the waterfall was amazing
and totally worth it, So you're just ridiculous. Let's just
(18:54):
put it that way, clear as day. Yeah. The rest
of the trail was really awesome though. It takes you
by these steaming little rivers and mud pots, through small
patches of forest, and then out into this huge vast meadow. Uh.
We didn't see any bison, as I pointed out, any times, um,
or much wildlife at all really, aside for some horses
(19:15):
that people are riding on. And they had Cody rodeo
sweaters on. Um, yeah they did. Did I feel like
I was wearing mine too? Yeah? No. They even point out,
oh my gosh, they were at the rodeo too, Like,
but these people were probably actually like in the rodeo
because it was now officially over. Yeah, and I clearly
looked like I had nothing to do with the rodeo, right,
(19:35):
and not to rub it in, but the last time
I was here, I did see hundreds of bis something
like I said, and a fox So that was cool.
That was exciting fox that didn't even really care that
we're walking by it. So we'll call that one the
fantastic Mr Fox, Mr Fox. Yes, So that's why I
was hoping to see a little something extra or at least,
you know, something beyond like domesticated horses. But I would
(19:59):
say that definitely fair he falls, the waterfall itself and
Grand Prismatic Spring totally made up for that. Yeah. We
actually started the day early at Grand prism Springs, taking
the board walk out to the spring itself, but the
air was still croo cold. Yeah, and it was extra steaming.
Right when the air is too cold and you combine
that with scolding hot hot spring, then it gets way
(20:21):
too steaming and it's ob scared. You can't really see it,
just kind of sense it, and you're aware that it's
there and now that you shouldn't go wander into it. Yeah,
but it makes for great photos. Yeah, right, And even
though I was freezing when we went there in the morning,
and I was also worried about year well being because
you were in short sleeves, Yeah, I really was. Um,
but I bet you everyone is really wondering why it
(20:42):
took us all along to get old faithful, which is
not only the most iconic site here, but one of
the most iconic sites in the entire country. And that's
mostly because the Old Faithful Area feels too much like
a theme park. Yeah, it's it really is kind of
too much, to be honest, And don't get us wrong,
The Guys Are is really incredible to behold, and like
the name suggests, it's faithful and I applaud the reliability.
(21:07):
So there's that. But it's way too crowded and surrounded
by hotels and restaurants and stuff that make it feel
almost corporate, like it's owned by Disney or something. Not
that there's anything wrong with Disney. That's great, but yeah, no,
not at all. But Old People Inn is actually a
beautiful hotel. When you go into it and hang out
at it, you can maybe get some coffee and relax,
(21:27):
or go check out the gift shops. It's like a
huge lug cabin basically. But um, you can also watch
The Guys Are from here. Uh, there's like a porch
on the second floor as well. Yeah, is that where
you watched it from when you were first here. Yeah.
I watched it once or twice from there, and then um,
Benjamin and I we went down and went up to
the geyser itself and did that. Uh but yeah, yeah,
(21:50):
it's a I mean, it's a gorgeous hotel and I
would totally just hang out and lounge about here. I
love though, the way it's laid out, with these like
soaring ceilings and wooden rafters way up there. It's And
we got a couple of coffees from the second floor cafe.
They have like Huckleberry latte's. Yeah they were great, yeah,
(22:10):
really good. But instead of chilling here, we wind up
going up to the observation point trail, which I pretty
much dragged you to separently, and because I wanted to
watch All faithful from the top of a hill from
a different vantage point. I had seen it before from
ground level here, you know, in the midst of these
hordes of people. So I had heard that this was
(22:32):
a cool vista of the geyser, and it's an easy
trail to get there. It's only about one and a
half miles round trip, and it's honestly much less crowded
once you're up there. Um to see the guys are there.
There were a few people, but plenty of room for everybody.
There's like, I don't know, two dozen people max, so
plenty of space, not even a dozen people, right, Yeah,
(22:54):
but I mean I I can emit when I'm wrong.
And the views I thought were not the great. It
was further away than I would have liked seeing the
guys are it kind of just looked like a random
well yeah, because there's nothing like, um like seeing it
right up front, right up in it. But it's also
beautiful looking at nature in a different way. Uh. It
(23:17):
was really nice to get away from those crowds and
the noise. So I'm given that, Tom, And honestly, if
you're spending some time in the thermal area. It got
a head over to Mammoth Hot Springs on the north
side of the park. This was the first time to
this section for both of us, and it was really impressive.
A lot of a lot of a lot of history there,
oh a lot. This was a sleeper hit. I think
(23:38):
we had both heard of Mammoth Hot Springs, but we
didn't look into it too much. And I'm so glad
that we did because this is like my favorite day.
So much to explore in Yellowstone, right gosh, yeah, so
not only because of all the military history here, but
Mammoth Hot Springs is where the troops resided when they
were tasked with protecting the park. So this place has
(23:59):
all sorts of old cabins and great like exhibits at
the museum in busitors Center. But another fascinating aspect is
this place was teeming with elk. They were everywhere, like
I have never seen this machelic just like recently, wandering
around the streets like it's nothing. Like they were just pedestrians,
you know, like not even noticing the humans, which was
(24:21):
a little alarming that they're so used to crowds and
cars and stuff. They were right, so, I mean cool
to say they're beautiful, majesting animals, but still maybe not
this close. We also tried to go swimming up here
at this place called Boiling River, which sounds a lot
more horrific than it is. It's not, actually, it's not
actually boiling. You're not gonna die swimming it, obviously. It's
(24:43):
actually one of only a couple of places in Yellowstone
that is accessible for swimming because of the temperature is comfortable.
It's like a mixture of like thermal water and like
the cold natural like river water, so it's ideal for swimming. Actually,
but when we went up there. Up when we were
up there, it was closed for the season, like it
was scheduled to open soon like in any any moment,
(25:05):
but we probably by a couple of days to um.
But they're also at least gigantic colorful hot spring areas
called the Upper Terrence and Lower Terrence at the easy
boardwalk trails that run right through them. They Yeah, they
look like huge tiered wedding cakes, is how I describe them,
because they're mostly white, and they look really too perfect
(25:26):
to be real, Like a wedding cake that's like billowing
deadly steam. If you can admit envision that. It's like,
I don't know, thirty a thirty layer wedding cake that
could kill you. That's a good way to describe me.
With hot springs, like the terraces, I could really just
stand here all day and gawk at them. I think
they're so pretty. Yeah, and right by there, we had
breakfast at this beautiful restaurant inside of Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. Uh.
(25:49):
It's this historic property that kind of reminded me of
like the Stanley Hotel. New were like Rocky Mountain. Yeah,
it really looked like that. It have the same kind
of history and or innate design and even just right
down to the color palette. It was really interesting, but
minus any of the like psychosis and murder. I guess
our server was super friendly here. He was from either
(26:11):
from Chicago or like in Illinois, remember that, that's right. Yeah,
well I think his badge said Chicago, but he was
actually from the Burbs. You know that works. Yeah, I'm
just like yeah, but it was really nice to like
chill out here and watch elk what we eat almlets.
It was nice. It was also the perfect fuel for
the Beaver Pond Sloop trail, which we did right after. Um.
(26:33):
That was pretty moderate. It wasn't hard, it wasn't impossible.
It was about five miles round trip. UM. I wasn't
sure I was going to be able to do it
at first because I was feeling sore. Yeah, what was
going on? I forgot what the issue was. Maybe your feet,
I think, Um, I can't I Lord, I can't remember,
but it was I was in pain him and I
(26:54):
was like, I don't know if I'm gonna be able
to do this, like, and I just you know, I said,
screw it, let's just do it. It'll be fine, Well
you didn't just do that voluntarily. I fully guilted you
into it. I was like, oh, that's fine, i'll meet
you after. I'll just go hiking alone in dangerous grizzly
country and probably get mald but i'll meet you later. Yeah.
That worked like a charm. Yeah. It was a mixture
(27:16):
of like trying to guilt you into it and also
being well, your dad would never forgive me no, right,
so let's just and I do not blame you do
he would he would kill me if you died. Um. Yeah,
I would be dead right behind you. But it all
(27:38):
worked out. No bear sightings, and the trail is honestly
pretty easy, I think, and unadvent like totally uneventful regards
in regards to like dangerous wildlife. That's for sure. We
didn't see any bears, any bison. I think the only
animal we saw was towards the very end of the
hike we saw a small heart of healk in the meadow.
But at that point we were we had seen so
much of them that were like totally desensitized. They were
(27:59):
like score roles were like oh tomorrow right, Yeah, I
hate how we do that. We get like desensitized from
these beautiful animals and um, just you know it, but
you know it happens, and you know, maybe this is
a lesson that we'll learn from ourselves and just remember
to take that moment to watch, appreciate, appreciate them. But
(28:21):
the best part about it was all when we were
driving back to West Yellowstone from these hikes and uh,
we actually saw our very first grizzly bear in the
wild finally, and like right out the neck of time too,
because this is our last full day in the park
and I think I was getting to the point where
I was reconciling, like, Okay, I'm probably not going to
see a bear this time. Fine, But miraculously we did
(28:45):
see one, and we saw it the best way we
possibly could, from the safety of our car, Like it
was off on the side of the road and impossible
to miss because there was just a huge swarm of
cars and vehicles pulled over and people like milling about.
You say, hold over, but really they were zig zagged
every which way, like they basically forgot how to park
and they're like bear and they got so excited. So
(29:08):
it's like again, pull over because other people want to
go through. Yeah, I mean, we're obviously all stopping for this,
but still, like, what if there's an emergency people? True, yeah,
but I mean I'm glad that we saw it so
we were able to pull over and get off on
the side of the road enough to make way and
then see the bear from a safe vantage point. It
was like off in the meadow, like foraging for food
or something full grown, like full, very obviously bear and
(29:32):
just super exciting. And also it is comforting when you
see a griously bear to be surrounded by other people.
Worst case scenario, the bear goes ballistic, it would have
to mow down a lot of other people to get
to us, and I think we're pretty safe. Yeah. This
bear didn't even seem to notice the crowds of people
that were taking photos from a distance. It was just
foraging in the grass and slowly walking along and doing
(29:54):
its day. Yeah, it was. It was so exciting and
I'm really glad that we capped off our time in
yellow Stone with this grizzly bear siding like the most
epic animal here that everyone wants to see. Perfect and
you have to remember to pack it a pickting a
basket city And I know I'm thrilled to talk about
(30:21):
this next section, which is about West Yellowstone. It's so nostalgic.
I love it. It's such a cute, little, happy hamlet.
It's one of the main kind of entry areas to
the park. It's in actually Montana. It's in the sliver,
like the portion of Yellowstone that's in Montana, like far
northwestern Wyoming. And then West Yellowstone is bustling a little
(30:44):
tourist town in the summer. I'm sure it's completely quiet
in the winter, if anything's even open at all. But yeah,
so this was my second time in West Yellstone, your first,
and I was so stoked to be back here and
come back with you and revisit all my favorite places
that I went to with my family. It's so great. Yeah,
(31:04):
what's Yellowstone is really a beautiful place. Uh, there's so
many places that you can walk to. I remember that
we actually we actually walked over and saw Spider Man, Yes,
the new Spider Man in Imax. There's like an Imax
theater randomly in West Ailstone and that was great. What
a great setting to see Spider Man whatever. That far
(31:25):
from home. Um, that's because it's just really you know,
when we're going to national parks. We also have to
take like breaks from it and just get other entertainment
just too in the evenings. And this is like perfect,
Go see a movie, go eat at a restaurant, which
we had a couple of different restaurants. They have a
good variety of restaurants here considering how small the town
(31:46):
is and it's really only like a ten block radius
a plate of of a town. But we definitely made
the rounds. Some we liked better than others. I think
we'll just say that, like long story short, you probably
eat at French restaurants in West e Elistine No this one. Um.
I remember asking them, uh, suggesting for wine and they're
(32:07):
like red, I'm like, can you break it down a
little more please? Oh you don't even know I got it.
So if you're a friend's restaurant and you know nothing
about wines, you probably shouldn't be a restaurant friends restaurant,
Let's be honest, because it wasn't cheap. Like I got
like a butternut squash ravioli and that was like twenty
two bucks, and so like I'm spending a lot of money.
(32:30):
I want you to know what you're serving me. But
you could just see it was a disorganized mess. And
I'll tell you this from Matt, being the food writer
in the family and one that like goes out to
restaurants all the time, I think I'm more of the
food critic you actually are. I'll be honest, because I
think I've softened a little over the years now, Like
I unless it's that right awful, I'll like try to
(32:53):
find the slover lying in certain places and I'll be like, well,
this is good, or like this part is cute. Although
I don't remember finding many redeeming factors that this place.
I guess like the people were nice, they were polite. Yeah, no,
that was Yeah, that was difficult to say the least.
And it's weird because it's fortunly weekends, so you know
that it's going to be busy, so it's like, you know,
just up your game a little bit. Yeah, please please try.
(33:15):
We also tried to go to a Japanese restaurant because
per usual, we're constantly craving sushi and even in the
weirdest places, but we can't go too long without having sushi.
So we just looked up in desperation and found this
Japanese restaurant that looked promising, but like we walked in
and there was just like no one there at all.
There was a few like teenager looking people, but they
(33:39):
were standing waiting to be seated or something. So I
don't don't I don't know if we were just opening
or something. But I didn't want to um wait forever,
because we waited ten minutes really nothing, so you know,
move on. But then we walked over to bowl Winkle Saloon.
Now that it was perfect. That was their attentive. If
(33:59):
they're fantastic, they have like a saloon, a liquor store,
and a sit down restaurant. Yeah, and we went back
there multiple times because we felt welcome every single time. Yes,
and their food but they had a diverse mix of food,
some like a lot of regional specialties like Bison Burger's
and elk Ravioli and stuff like that, but then plenty
(34:19):
of surprises like welcome surprises, like they had a chicken
Wellington I had. This is my first experience with Zucchii
noodles a k a. Zoodles, And first of all, would
never expect to find that in West Yellastone and especially
not good like this was great it was delicious, Like, yeah,
you sat down and got prompt service, very friendly, which honestly,
(34:44):
the reason why I go out to a restaurant is service,
Like I want, I want good service. So you are
a service industry, so they know what they're doing and
we really appreciate that. So shout out to Bowl Winkles
And whenever you all go to West Yellastone and Elliston
National Park, you have to go, huh, check in with
them and grab a Huckleberry margarita or go gamble in
(35:06):
their casino. Treat your absolutely down restaurant, grab booze to go, like,
just frequent them because they're really good. And then, um,
you know there was that other place. A friend of ours,
Gary Miano from Montana, he actually told us to go
to a Firehole Barbecue because it has the best barbecue
in Yellowstone, really solid. Um. I remember we got in,
(35:30):
we ordered our barbecue and you know it's not like
um institution. It is a new place, but you can
definitely see that they know what they're doing. Um, and
we got our food and we sat down and we
sat next to two park rangers. Yeah basically I mean
in our mind their celebrities. So we were sitting next
(35:50):
to a couple of celebrities, like it's basically like the
Britt name Madonna celebrities, even though they are two guys.
So I guess may be Elton John and Freddie Mercury, right,
So I mean they're still celebrities, all right, So I
guess back into the park rangers. They were amazing. They
(36:11):
were really fun. I remember there was the younger one
and he was talking about how his friends are coming in.
He's going like Bank Cutch of camping with them, and
he was just as excited as we were. And that's
what I really love sees that our park rangers are
just as excited to explore these beautiful national parks out
there and all the time, like they're tourists. Oh my gosh. Yeah,
(36:32):
stars are just like us, thy geek out over just
like us, love it barbecue, just like us. What they're humans.
I mean, I'm as surprised as you are, I know, right,
I'm like, can we're gonna go party with park rangers?
Party with park rangers. Let's start this maybe once a
year event. I'm into it. And when we come back
(36:54):
from the short break, we'll talk with our researcher Jescelyn
Shields more about the ecology and wildlife. I get us
own national park. Hi, I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This
(37:28):
is park Landia in today's episode is on Gallowstone National
Park in Wyoming. Ecology, so, biological diversity is a benchmark
for measuring the health of an ecosystem, and today to
talk more about that, we're bringing on our show's researcher,
jes Lyn Shields. Hi, guys, I'm Jesslyn and i am
a freelance science writer and I'm also your show's researcher.
(37:50):
And we love it, Yes we do. I'm so excited
to be on today's show because we're talking about one
of my favorite things, which is biological diversity and how
it's used to measure the health of an ecosystem. Every
organism plays an important role in transferring energy, storing nutrients,
and breaking down pollutants. So basically, we're not talking about
the big animals like bears, bison, and wolves, who individually
(38:12):
play a big part of the Yellowstone ecosystem right, not entirely,
they are part of it, but um, we're talking about
something equally important, which are the little ones and the
big ones together lots of times people don't pay very
much attention to mushrooms and beetles and blue green algae
and microscopic worms. But if you're thinking about biodiversity, it
(38:32):
leads us to the concept of extinction. So wolves were
really important to the Yellowstone ecosystem for a few reasons.
But one big thing is they work together to take
down large ungulates. That's how they hunt. So a bear
is huge and powerful, but it will rarely go after
a moose or an elk on its own. Um. A
(38:53):
bear will scare a pack of wolves away from a
dead bison after um, the wolves have done all the
hardware to kill it, but the wolves. If wolves aren't
present in the ecosystem, the bears don't eat as well,
and neither do the scavengers. Yeah, like ravens, coyotes, bald eagles.
That's right, um, And this is just the tip of
the iceberg. Wolves made space in the ecosystem that didn't
(39:16):
exist during their seventy year absence for snakes and mice
and cottonwood trees and otters and aspen groves and songbirds
and all kinds of things. The presence of beavers making
dams and the increased bank stabilization on rivers even ended
up changing the hydrology and Yellowstone the way water moves around. Um.
These changes are fascinating and it definitely makes Yellowstone a
(39:37):
nicer place to visit. But it also shows us that
biodiversity is really important to preserve what we can. Yeah,
because we're losing individual species all over the world all
the time. It's really tough to know how many species
even exist on this planet right. The current estimates for
the number of species that live on Earth is somewhere
between five point three million to one trillion, which a
(40:01):
small number. It's kind of like saying I either have
thirty six dollars or one point two million dollars in
my bank account. Yes, that window. So how many organisms
are going extinct every year? Well, that's really tough to
tell to. About fifteen years ago, a United Nations Task
Force estimated that eight thousand, seven hundred species go extinct
(40:23):
every year, which seems like a ton, But a few
years later they concluded that it was more like fifty
five thousand year. No way, I mean, like, are there
that many here? Yeah, I mean that there might be
as many as a trillion. I thought it was an
expert new all things because they read a couple of
articles and then don't we all yea for those of
(40:44):
you who couldn't see, Brad just winked. Well, humans have
only recorded the passing of around eight hundred species in
the past four hundred years. So I mean that's like
somebody going out and being like, there was a dodo
bird here and now there are no more dodo birds. Um.
So it's tough to know exactly where we stand with
biodiversity on this planet. But the wolves and yells help
us understand that biodiversity works for the ecosystem. This is
(41:09):
sad and tricky problem to find solutions for. Yeah, well,
I think this situation provides a good case study and
why more biodiversity is good for an ecosystem. Without functioning ecosystems,
we don't have clean air or water. Our plants don't
get pollinated by bats and bees and stuff, which means
we don't eat. And then there's a tons of stuff
(41:31):
we don't know exists. Um, what if a cure for
cancers out there, like on the ocean floor in the forest. Yeah, honestly,
who wants to live in a planet with no wild
functioning ecosystems not me, UM, So biodiversity is important and
arguably the most complex feature of our planet. We need
our national parks partly for preserving spaces that protect it.
(41:51):
And just like with the wolves, which are still controversial
members of the Yellowstone ecosystem, we need to be boosting
biodiversity wherever we can. I know are part of understanding
our ecosystem is so important. We need to realize how
our decisions impact our world and planet. Yeah, bi diversity
is an engine that makes an ecosystem work. So each species,
(42:12):
whether it's a spider or a fungus or a lion,
has an important role to play. Greater species diversity ensures
natural sustainability for all it forms, even humans it does.
And that's why like digging deep into these topics UM
is going to be a whole podcast of its own,
but we just want to introduce these different aspects to
(42:32):
our listeners. And I'm really happy that we had you
on today to talk a little bit about like biological
diversity and how it all works together because it's important
we learn more. UM. The more we learn and we
get to share with everyone, it helps make a better
community of assets for our national parks. Yeah, well, it's
(42:53):
my pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me. My
favorite Well, with all of that, there's so many beautiful
things to explore in and around Yellowstone National Park, and
I think what we need to talk about is what
(43:14):
was our favorite part of Yellowstone on this trip? Matt,
what was yours? This is probably the hardest decision for
this segment I've had to date, because this park is
obviously huge. We did an so it's it's hard to
narrow it down. But I would say my favorite part,
(43:35):
even though at the time I was in absolute misery,
it was probably that Canyon trail that I did the
base of Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, because the scenery
was just unbelievable and in retrospect very worthwhile. I'm glad
I put myself through that and experienced it because I'm
proud of you. Thank you. Yes, I'm glad I did.
(43:58):
It would be nice too, I should have. It would
probably help if I slowed down. I'm constantly speed walking,
speed hiking, and this is not the trail for that,
because you will burn yourself way out before you're even
like halfway done with it, and then that's a mistake.
So but I loved it, and I would definitely recommend
that trail for especially if with a small group who
(44:19):
can keep you motivated and keep you safe. Yeah, my
favorite part would have probably had to have been Mammoth
Springs area. So many hot springs, so many geyser's so
much different like um ecology and wildlife, um just seeing
how they interact differently with the environment that they're in.
Like you're telling us about like the elk and how
(44:40):
they were just like in the middle of everything and
they're so used to it, and you know that's good
and bad. But I remember, like there's times I to
go to turn on the road and there's like an
elk crossing and I'm like, hey, look, this is the
perfect place to put an outcrossing sign. But there's that,
and then you know the Boiling River that I would
really love to do. So when we go back, we'll
have to make it's open. And then I know it's seasonal,
(45:02):
so it's not like it's an exact hard date every year.
It's not like October one every year, September one. It's
not like pumpkin spice season. You know that it's not right,
So we just had to be careful with that. Um,
we should talk about what things people should bring to
Yellowstone and let's assume that from experience, Like if you're
(45:24):
going to visit Yellowstone during primetime like we did, so
like July or August, you should bring well, for one thing,
a lot of patients, a lot of patients, and forgiveness,
willing willingness to overlook a lot of don't be like
Matt where there's road rage for a man sticking his
hand out the window. It's infuriating, like come on. So, um,
(45:45):
that's something that we learned and that we would bring. Yes,
and then we also I'm sure I've talked about this
plenty of times already with Yellstone, but bears right of course,
no matter whether alone or with a group, that's pivotal.
And you can get that really anywhere in the entire area.
You can get that from park stores in and around
the park for any kind of convenient store in West
(46:08):
Yellowstone or Jackson Hole is a hub to the south
and it brings them light layers because even though it's
um like in July, we went there really early in
the morning, it was cold. I remember I was mad
because I didn't bring a sweater or something. Um on
our first trail the day, right, Yeah, it does get cold,
it's not during the day. During the afternoon especially you
(46:29):
can get really warm or hot. But this is definitely
one of those places that at night and early morning
it's brisk. At least a windbreak would actually probably best
because then that way it's still light and it's breathable
in a way. UM, So you know, just bring another layer, yes, absolutely,
And then if you're doing something specifically water oriented, if
(46:50):
you're lucky enough to be here when Boiling River is open,
then bring a bathing So we bring a towel and
have a great time and we'll live and swim vicariously
through you and send us pictures tag us at park
Landia pod. Yes, well, it took us too full episodes,
but I think we've done justice for this incredible, most
(47:10):
iconic national park. There's a liar from epic history to
epic wildlife, and you've really got to go see it
for yourself. Just remember to bring your bear spray and
wake up early. You've been listening to park Landia, a
show about national parks. Parklandia is the production of My
Heart Radio, created by Matt Carouac, Brad Carouac, and Christopher
(47:30):
has the otis produced and edited by Mike John's. Our
executive producer is Christopher has the otis our researcher. It's
Jescelyn shield. A Special things goes out to Gabrielle Collins,
Christal Waters and the rest of the park Landia crew
and Hey listeners. If you're enjoying the show, leave us
a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps other people like
you find our show. You can keep up with us
on social media as well. Check out our photos from
(47:52):
our travels on Instagram at park Landia pod and join
in on the conversation and our Facebook group park Landia Rangers.
From our podcasts my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
and as always, thank you for listening.
Parklandia News
Hosts And Creators
Brad Kirouac
Matt Kirouac
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