Date:         Mon, 23 Jul 2007 07:21:59 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject:      Camping in Yellowstone..Gummint Monopoly..NVC
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"

Yellowstone Park...Ahh, don't get me started on the National Park
system..Wait, too late!

 I lived a long time in Jackson, Wyoming adjacent to Teton and Yellowstone
national parks.  Had to pass through one or both to head north or east from
town, so I have a history there.
  Each  NP has it's own supervisor, so each has it's own weirdness.  A
couple of Yellowstone's?
  In the late 80s, there was a freaky storm in the Absorka(sp?) range, which
is the South East corner of Yellowstone. During the storm,  there were some
isolated and rare weather phenoms called 'Micro-bursts' where large swaths
of timber gets blown over.  That part of the Rockies is mainly lodgepole
pine forest.  During this storm at Bridge Bay  campground on Yellowstone
Lake, a tree was toppled onto a Winnebago...A person was killed.  So, the
survivors sued.  The park superintendent decided to 'remove the hazard's and
had all the trees cut off the Bridge Bay campground...Bald!  We began
calling Bridge Bay 'Ground Zero" and no longer found it an appealing site
for camping...
  They also did a road project around that time, widening a 20-30 mile
stretch of the park road from the South entrance to Bridge bay, though the
lodgepole pine forest..Hundreds of thousands of perfect logs were cut and
stacked.  More than enough to build every trophy McMansion "log cabin in the
mountains" or heat the town of Jackson for 15 years.  Many many inquired
about buying the trees, being allowed to cut fire wood, etc etc...but of
course...Verbooten!  They were burned by the Parkies..
  And in Teton National Park, a new road was planned for the Jenny Lake
area, probably the most beautiful area in the US.  All kinds of input was
solicited from the public, we had meetings, forums, discussions, etc.  The
Public wanted to widen and repave the existing road, while the Gummint
wanted a whole new one, more, better..The public, knowing the reality of
dealing with the Park, also wanted to keep the old road in place as a bike
path...
  Well, of course, the road was moved about 100 meters off the existing
road, which was 'removed' and trucked away.  The new road, it wanders all
over, meandering for no reason other than to give spectacular views to
drivers and passengers of vehicles ON the road..Heaven forbid  they should
have to stop and get out and actually turn their heads!..
  Bizarre!  At least Bush and Cheney haven't drilled there, yet.
  Don Hanson