Greater Jackson Hole, Wyoming resident here. Tourists here are far stupider and in greater number than you could ever imagine.
If you ever watch the show Yellowstone, there is a scene of a bus full of Chinese tourists taking pictures in front of a Grizzly eating a carcass. That scene is not hyperbolic.
At various parks, including in Wyoming, I have seen tourists:
approach a bison (within 15 ft or so) while holding a toddler. Multiple other people approaching bison. Bison can weigh over a ton and can be aggressive.
take a selfie with and then attempt to touch a male elk on its head. It was in a herd and actually charged them but didn’t fully commit and hurt them - just scared them (but not enough imo)
dozens of people taking severe risks when hiking in remote areas. In the desert, 10 miles out when it’s 90f+ wearing sandals with no water and no cover. Rushing by other hikers on a <2ft wide ledge with a 300ft sheer drop while wearing sandals and carrying their young child in a bulky carrier on their back, etc.
getting within 25ft or so of a male moose to get a picture, moose was visibly agitated. Moose weigh about a half ton and can be quite aggressive.
large group of people following black bear female with cubs, on foot, for pictures - like 50ft back but still too close for their safety and for the bear’s safety, especially when they’re following it.
Frighteningly many people have zero respect for nature, treat national parks like theme parks, and put themselves, animals, and their children at risk for no good reason in situations that are 100% avoidable.
PSA for those reading the above comment: Do not fuck with moose bulls, especially during the summer. They are very willing to fuck your shit up. Bears are a known danger, but people always underestimate moose aggression.
I just don’t understand that. I can see not getting that moose are dangerous from the safety of your home. But at the point you’re seeing one in real life the size alone should be a giant red flag.
One time I decided to take a day trip to the Valley of Fire, not far from there. It was August and 116 degrees. I had it all planned out. Figured out which stops along the way were short enough for me to walk safely in the heat. Brought lots of water and was never to far from the air conditioned car.
I’ll be damned if I didn’t run into people wearing polo shirts and khakis. Carrying no water or anything at all to drink.
It’s like they were writing an instruction manual on how to get heat stroke.
Lived in Arizona for a decade. Can confirm people are really fucking dumb with hiking in the heat. They close the trails around Phoenix every summer now and people go right past those signs and die anyways.
Arizona also has the dumb motorist law where if you need to be rescued from a flash flood you drove into, you’re paying for it. In general Arizona is one of those states where signs saying “this is dangerous, turn around” should really be heeded.
The last one is the I-17 going up to Flagstaff. They have signs for when chains are required and areas to put them on. So when you’re a hundred miles south of that point and the big electronic sign says “Chains or Turn Around”… Well you know where I’m going with that. There are sheer drops off the mountainside.
As another resident of Wyoming I will confirm this. Some years back I bumped into the portmanteau of “Touron” (Tourist + Moron). It’s a shockingly apt description.
A forest ranger once famously said “the difficulty in designing a good bear box is that there’s considerable overlap between the stupidest tourists and the smartest bears”.
I have homes in three states, and lived in Austin for twenty years. I finally switched my primary home from Texas to Wyoming (formerly winter and summer home) in 2018.
Oh, nice! I just moved from NYC to Florida and was introduced to Buc-ees on my ride down haha There aren’t any in the NE, although they did put up a sign recently on the NJ Turnpike that says “You just missed us!” With a uturn arrow and “450 miles”.
Greater Jackson Hole, Wyoming resident here. Tourists here are far stupider and in greater number than you could ever imagine.
If you ever watch the show Yellowstone, there is a scene of a bus full of Chinese tourists taking pictures in front of a Grizzly eating a carcass. That scene is not hyperbolic.
At various parks, including in Wyoming, I have seen tourists:
approach a bison (within 15 ft or so) while holding a toddler. Multiple other people approaching bison. Bison can weigh over a ton and can be aggressive.
take a selfie with and then attempt to touch a male elk on its head. It was in a herd and actually charged them but didn’t fully commit and hurt them - just scared them (but not enough imo)
dozens of people taking severe risks when hiking in remote areas. In the desert, 10 miles out when it’s 90f+ wearing sandals with no water and no cover. Rushing by other hikers on a <2ft wide ledge with a 300ft sheer drop while wearing sandals and carrying their young child in a bulky carrier on their back, etc.
getting within 25ft or so of a male moose to get a picture, moose was visibly agitated. Moose weigh about a half ton and can be quite aggressive.
large group of people following black bear female with cubs, on foot, for pictures - like 50ft back but still too close for their safety and for the bear’s safety, especially when they’re following it.
Frighteningly many people have zero respect for nature, treat national parks like theme parks, and put themselves, animals, and their children at risk for no good reason in situations that are 100% avoidable.
PSA for those reading the above comment: Do not fuck with moose bulls, especially during the summer. They are very willing to fuck your shit up. Bears are a known danger, but people always underestimate moose aggression.
I just don’t understand that. I can see not getting that moose are dangerous from the safety of your home. But at the point you’re seeing one in real life the size alone should be a giant red flag.
Canadian goose vs moose.
Guava juice- giant snake, birthday cake, large fries, chocolate shake!
man, i hate you.
Here is a family with small children thinking it’s a good idea to have a picnic between the cheetahs. The cheetahs were loving the idea. Luckily the family figured out in time it wasn’t their brightest moment.
I saw several people try to go hiking like that at Red Rocks outside of Las Vegas when I was there.
It was summer. The temperature was 113F that day.
One time I decided to take a day trip to the Valley of Fire, not far from there. It was August and 116 degrees. I had it all planned out. Figured out which stops along the way were short enough for me to walk safely in the heat. Brought lots of water and was never to far from the air conditioned car.
I’ll be damned if I didn’t run into people wearing polo shirts and khakis. Carrying no water or anything at all to drink.
It’s like they were writing an instruction manual on how to get heat stroke.
Lived in Arizona for a decade. Can confirm people are really fucking dumb with hiking in the heat. They close the trails around Phoenix every summer now and people go right past those signs and die anyways.
Arizona also has the dumb motorist law where if you need to be rescued from a flash flood you drove into, you’re paying for it. In general Arizona is one of those states where signs saying “this is dangerous, turn around” should really be heeded.
The last one is the I-17 going up to Flagstaff. They have signs for when chains are required and areas to put them on. So when you’re a hundred miles south of that point and the big electronic sign says “Chains or Turn Around”… Well you know where I’m going with that. There are sheer drops off the mountainside.
So, the policy is to put an animal down if it attacks a human. Maybe we should put the human down if it provokes the attack. That would only be fair.
As another resident of Wyoming I will confirm this. Some years back I bumped into the portmanteau of “Touron” (Tourist + Moron). It’s a shockingly apt description.
Man that’s hilarious, if I saw that scene I would have assumed it was a play Banff National parks problems.
It’s a hot spot for Asian tourists too.
A forest ranger once famously said “the difficulty in designing a good bear box is that there’s considerable overlap between the stupidest tourists and the smartest bears”.
They have Buc-ees in Wyoming?
I have homes in three states, and lived in Austin for twenty years. I finally switched my primary home from Texas to Wyoming (formerly winter and summer home) in 2018.
Oh, nice! I just moved from NYC to Florida and was introduced to Buc-ees on my ride down haha There aren’t any in the NE, although they did put up a sign recently on the NJ Turnpike that says “You just missed us!” With a uturn arrow and “450 miles”.
Wall Drug did that dumb stuff 80 years ago. Not much original thought to it by Buc-ees. Can you get Free Ice Watertm there also?
IDK about the ice water, I’ve only been there a few times and it was never to get ice water lol