A "Local's" Perspective on Tourists

I know I've only been here a couple of months myself, and I still do plenty of sight-seeing on my days off, but I consider myself a temporary local of West Yellowstone...NOT a tourist.

However, I actually feel that I've come to know the tourist scene pretty well. Afterall, I work at a campground full of tourists and frequently visit the park where I am surrounded by hundreds of tourists.

I've come to notice several patterns and behaviors exhibited by nearly every family that vacations here. Some of these are obvious, I know, but I still don't understand why almost all tourists share these same traits.

First of all, the appearances of all tourists are nearly the same. The "dad" type where flat-billed hats, sunglasses, khaki shorts, black socks half-way up their calves, and some variation of a striped polo shirt. Mom's are decked out in some sort of visor/wide-brimmed hat, "mom jeans", a satchel slung across her body, and occasionally the infamous fanny pack (actually, a fanny pack can be worn by sexes, either way they're totally awesome). And, of course, every tourist must always have a camera hanging from their neck or firmly held in hand. The hard-core tourists walk around with tripods...I always stare at them and think, "really?" I don't understand why tourists always look so out-of-the-ordinary. I'm sure these people typically look perfectly fashionable back home, but the second they go on vacation everybody turns into a giant nerd. Nobody ever looks "cool" while traveling.

When traveling, people always try to dress comfortably...I've come to this one conclusion: YOU ARE NEVER COMFORTABLE WHILE TRAVELING. A combination of heat, crowds, continuous walking, repeatedly getting in and out of the car, and grouchy travel companions can quickly make one VERY uncomfortable. One thing that personally always makes me uncomfortable is when my pockets become full of "essential" stuff such as: my wallet, sunglasses, keys, camera, coins, pamphlets, and anything else I might pick up along the way. It makes walking very uncomfortable when the camera in my side pocket keeps banging against my kneecap. I'd rather just leave everything back in the car.

It's also interesting to eves-drop on family's conversations. Outwardly, the family may look perfectly happy, but it seems like there is always tension while traveling. Someone's always complaining about something: someone's always hungry, someone always has to pee, someone's always pouting, and someone's always tired of walking. I always think, "Well, what did you expect to do? Of course you have to walk on vacation!" It seems like the "happy family vacation" is usually anything but. I've witnessed so many stressed out family's I can't imagine any of them are having a good time.

I believe that when people go on vacation they're always looking for something...and I don't mean the next bathroom or a place to get lunch. Especially here in Yellowstone, people are looking to be inspired. People expect to "become one with nature" here. It seems like people get their hopes up so high that they are just setting themselves up for disappointment when the perfect get-away turns into a family cat-fight. They have an idealized image of what Yellowstone should be like, but for many that image never really comes true. I think that to truly enjoy what Yellowstone and every tourist destination has to offer people need to talk less and just take it all in. They should sit down silently and observe the beauty all around them without worrying about the trivial things of life.

When on vacation: we need to quit complaining, stop worrying, look around, and thank God for all the wonderful things we have been surrounded with. I believe these are the ingredients for a great vacation and a more fulfilling life in general. Oh yeah, and one more important ingredient: please don't dress like a nerd, unfortunately this means leaving the fanny pack at home.