Yellowstone : The World’s Best Meets the World’s Worst
June 25, 2025, 8:10 a.m.
On a summer day, my spouse and I set out for adventure and wonder. The location: Yellowstone National Park. The drive was long, the supplies were many, and I saw the best encounter the worst. Here is my report.
As my portfolio site suggests, I studied earth sciences. Unfortunately, my job prospects in the field were dim, so I pivoted to something else: this. The environment and related topics are still a great interest of mine, I still continue to practice what I learned, and I have a deeper appreciation of the forces and time scales at play. Is it a touchy subject? I can’t say for sure. I wish I could be employed in a capacity and at a pay rate to my liking, but one thing still remains, the environment is of the utmost importance for many reasons. Due to my love of natural sciences, Yellowstone was on a bucket list to visit. This time I describe my reality at the park.
This story starts with shit, or entitled people for the uninitiated. The day and temperature were pleasant, the sun was hot, and we were thirsty. No mind, we came prepared for this eventuality with a vast supply of water, sun protection, cooling apparatuses, the works. But nothing would prepare me for this ripe piece of ugly and entitled behavior. The park is littered with signage saying “Don’t touch”. Easy enough. Well, not for some. As we strolled along the park, we randomly encountered individuals touching the park features. This happened on more than one occasion. I was shocked. Among my thoughts were, “Is the signage not sufficient?” They were already out of sight by the time another park ranger came into view; something like 4 million people visit the park annually. These features take millions, if not billions, of years to get created, and then get damaged by dipshits touching them.
There was a touching story about a feature in the park: a geyser that once erupted regularly, however people have thrown rocks into the geyser, diminishing the eruptions. The rocks thrown calcified and to remove them would damage the feature further. Can’t help but feel as though it’s an experience lost, as If somebody took something from you. So yeah, that’s incredibly disappointing that you can’t get that back. I’d argue the lost feature probably translates to lost knowledge and park income, on top of the damage. I’m speculating here, but I could probably write a paper relating those subjects. A different instance of this infuriating behavior was when a very unpleasant person spat on my vehicle.
I saw the whole aggression happen twice. I was inside the vehicle when I saw his spit land on my vehicle’s rear window and then his stupid ass face came into view. I saw him contort his face only for spit to come out and spread all over the side of my vehicle, again. I sprung out of my vehicle and confronted this thing. I squawked “Hey! Why’d you spit on my car?!”, to which he replied “The parking lot is full!” So this Muppet believes spitting on other peoples cars will somehow give his vehicle more space? I respond ”So what?, spitting on my car is gonna give you more room?!” I had half a mind to test his theory and see if spitting on his car magically gave me more room. I guess he thought better of it or sanity washed over him : he then proceeded to wipe away the mucous slobber, badly. He then drove off, seemingly almost running over his ol’ lady. That part was fast, heated and staggering. What was I seeing?!
“What am I seeing?!” I inner monologued, as I overlooked the calcified springs with glistening water against the sunlight. Suddenly, an interestingly patterned bird grabbed onto a half-calcified tree’s branches and sang with the prettiest bird call. A random photographer and I marveled at the sights and sounds. The geothermal features spewed boiling water meters into the air. The different-colored water features were simply unique and other-worldly. The mountain views, crispy clean vistas with meandering waterways, and the scattered bison rummaging about were an orchestra of color, smells, and views coming together and washing over my senses. This is something you don’t see in a parking lot or down the straw of a coffee-branded milkshake.
During my visit here, the wildlife told a captivating story. The wolves had just downed large game and were defending it from a hungry coyote and other hungry critters. Yeah, they had caught smaller game earlier and the blood on their faces was gnarly, but this was special. The local coyote paced and tested for an opening at the kill, but dared not get too close to the protective wolves and their meal. Suddenly, a spectacle: a wolf crossed the nearby stream of water, which must have been freezing. In a herculean act, this wolf headed to what seemed to be their den, which was barely visible on the other side of the range using a scope. The distances were far, but this wolf covered ground quickly. The scope magnified what would otherwise have been hidden by distance, and tiny wolf pups were occasionally visible; the tiny pup ears were the cutest. The nearby group of people came together for a single purpose: to catch a glimpse of the wolves.
Like many of these critters trying to survive, we all form part of this story with our individual struggles, yet it compounds inter-species and inter-generationally. Apex or not, self inflicted or not, it affects you, me, and us. Day by day, we carry these burdens. But, I reiterate, it compounds; I leave as a thought experiment: what if it compounded the other way? The good way, by small acts of kindness, small acts of effort to the benefit of those other than oneself, a small imperceivable act of good will to the community. In a software developers mantra: leave it better than you left it; for this story may have started with shit. But we don’t have to be engulfed in it. Support your local parks and libraries. Be involved in your community. Pick up a wrapper from the floor, one you didn’t put there, one left by someone else, if not you who? Shit, game-ify it or do something; litter is fucking nasty!