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Early Tourism in Yellowstone National Park Caught on Camera

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 21, 2009 - 2:57am

The fishing was good back in the day, as evidenced from this Yellowstone photo from 1923 clearly shows. NPS photo.

Early visitors to Yellowstone National Park didn't travel lightly, as this video shows. They seemed to cram everything they could into their trailers and head off, ever-hopeful that their rigs could stand the demands of the uphills and downhills.

While this 7-minute video certainly is grainy and dark, the narration by Wilfred Lucas alone is worth watching/listening to it. If you pay close attention, you'll be able to spot the cameraman's shadow in one of the scenes, his hand cranking the reel.

While some bears get cameos in this production, it's somewhat surprising that no other animals, other than trout on a stringer, show up. Unfortunately, the video seems to end abruptly, indicating that the original ran longer.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 21, 2009 - 8:53am.

Wow, what a trip that takes you back in time with slow travel...and at leisurely pace. A pace of life that we all need in this hectic world where fast living is the mode and should not be the norm. Thanks for sharing Kurt.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 21, 2009 - 12:46pm.

Yellowstone is amazing. If you hike back country, you can still get up close and personal with the geothermal features. Yellowstone National Park is one of the MUST SEE places. Go before you die. It is incredible.

Submitted by barefootindonna on March 23, 2009 - 3:54pm.

I loved this park the first time I was in it, back in the '70's. Then again 30 years later, not much had changed, it's still amazing. Of course we didn't have the bear come right up to our car. What a lovely video, wouldn't it be way cool to see if other parks have these pieces of history in their archives and would share. I've been to few that have and do. It's truly amazing what you can see and where you can go. thnx for sharing

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 23, 2009 - 3:59pm.

Donna, keep your eye on the Traveler for similar videos from elsewhere in the park system.