Yellowstone
An interview with Al Nash, Yellowstone’s Chief of Public Affairs
Published
13 years agoon
As told to Emily Stifler
I first visited Yellowstone on family vacation. We came from Michigan. My folks had an International Scout with a canvas and wood pop-up camper. We’d have it hooked up and ready to go when Dad would come home from work on Friday afternoon. Mom would pack a picnic lunch and the two kids in the rig, and we’d head west. That was our vacation every summer, and Yellowstone was the destination several years. Some of my earliest memories are our trips to Yellowstone. It was overwhelming. There were bears. It was kind of smelly. Those were some of my impressions at age six.
I started my park service career as a seasonal worker here. I began doing interpretation at Fishing Bridge. How is the park different than when I visited as a young child? Well, now I don’t think the park smells! It’s not that the park has changed, but as an adult I’m better able to process and understand all the information my senses take in.
When I first moved out this way in 1986 (to Billings), I lived in one of the many communities around this area that just refers to it as “going to the park.” It’s comfortable and familiar to people who live and work in this region.
Many visitors come here and spend a limited amount of time. They’re attracted to Old Faithful, and have heard of bears, bison or wolves, and maybe the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Most first-time visitors don’t have any idea about the expanse of the place and the variety of things you can see and do here.
Repeat trips provides opportunity for greater exploration and a greater appreciation of this place. Even with the luxury of living and working here, I’ll never get to see everything in this park. It is not possible.
There are more people now, but there are still opportunities to enjoy Yellowstone and avoid the crowds.
Our road system has dramatically improved. We had a deserved reputation for poor roads. With a couple of exceptions that we’re working on, our road system is visitor friendly.
Our two new visitor education centers allow the Park Service to do a better job of engaging visitors and helping them understand the place they come to visit.
There are some things that haven’t changed, which is a good thing. In my family, it’s the fourth generation visiting Yellowstone. I can take that 1950 photo of my grandparents at Artist’s Point, and I can go there myself and it looks like that, more or less. To some degree, that ranger-led campfire program or hike continues to embody what people 30, 40, 70 years ago might have experienced.
Visitation is strong again. My best estimate is our new baseline for annual visitation is somewhere in the order of three million. We were well over that last year, but visitation has peaks and valleys. And most of those folks are here June 15 – Aug. 15. This place continues to reflect the quintessential American family vacation.
We see a lot of foreign visitors. In the middle of the day, in the middle of the summer, if you stand around to see Old Faithful erupt, you’ll hear more dialects than you can identify. This place is loved not just by its neighbors, and not just by people from the U.S. – but people the world around. It holds a place in people’s hearts as a physical destination and as an ideal. Yellowstone really does represent something great about our country.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Time
(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd