50+ thread

camping was....interesting. lets just say i may never camp in yellowstone again. i can't handle being around hundreds of people that have no exerience camping.

nope. back now.

 

yes. but in a good way

 

where to begin....

got to the park campground about 1030, got a spot. pulled in and checked it out, left a few things behind to lighten my load. took some pics of my things just in case someone decided to F with it while i was gone - this has been my habit for a while now, never had an issue but i'm getting more paranoid.
left to explore for a while and came back by camp about 4pm. stopped for a quick bathroom break. i noticed a minivan pulled into the site across from me. doors were open and two people were in the front seats sleeping, dude had the window down and his feet wedged on the sill.
left again and came back a couple hours later. van is gone but there is a pile of crap on the picnic table - plastic totes and stuff. since its bear country you're not supposed to leave anything out in the open. and there was a bear box not 50' from the table. so i took some pics of it and went to the camp office to let them know. camp employee comes down a few minutes later, puts the stuff in the bear box and writes a citiation for it. thanks me again and continues to patrol the rest of the camp.
i set off for a walk to the river and come back about 30 minutes later. she's clearing out an offroad type trailer in the next loop over. dometic fridge, two action packers, a couple ammo cans, trasheroo, a partner steel stove and some other stuff. all of this is too big to fit in the bear boxes so she's putting it in the back of her truck. just as she gets everything loaded up and starts writing the citiation two 4runners pull in and the owners start to freak out. they're close enough that i can hear little bits of the conversation. they seemed confused about they they couldn't leave food and cooking stuff out in bear country even though everyone gets lectured about the bear rules when you register at camp. they thought it was OK to leave it because it was in the trailer. but the trailer had no lid so therefore not safe. they continued to get angry and she called for back up. another camp employee arrived and settled them down. they took their stuff back and were told that they needed to put everything in the vehicles for the night. she drove back by my camp and I went up to talk to her, told her i'd keep an eye on them and let someone know if they put the fridge or anything back in the trailer. i also informed her that 4runners are equipped with an outlet in the back and that they could easily run the fridge overnight in the rig with no long term effects on the car battery. she seemed glad to know that info. she asked about the mini van folks and i told her no sign of them.
get my fire going, sit down to read and a sprinter van pulls into the minivan spot. interesting. i make my smores, clean up camp and settle back in by the fire. minivan people come back. they're chinese and dontspeak a word of english. they have some translator app on their phone and proceed to argue with sprinter people about the campsite. sprinter people registered with the camp office and have the window decal to prove it. minivan people drive away. i approach sprinter people and ask it that was their stuff on the table earlier. they ask "what stuff?" I explained that there was a pile of stuff on the table and that the camp staff had written a citation for it. i told them that if it wasn't their stuff they should let the campground people know since the vitation would be in their name and not chinese minivan people's names. they thanked me and headed for the camp office. i left out the part about me alerting the staff to the mess in the first place.
sprinter people return, camp employee comes back and collects the stuff from the bear box since no one knows who it actually belongs to. camp employee drives away. minivan people return and another cell phone voice translator battle begins as they realize their stuff is gone. it is now just before 9pm, camp office closes at 9pm. sprinter people tell minivan people that the rangers took their stuff. minivan people leave again. minivan people return and take a different spot near me. it is now pitch dark out. they can't find the picnic table and proceed to cook on the ground. they clear everything out of the minivan as they are sleeping in it and need the room. PARK RANGER comes by to check on 4runner people about 930pm and talks with them. i flag him down and inform him of the minvan/sprinter drama and that the entire contents of the minivan are now spread out on the ground. he stops and talks with minivan people via cell phone translator. he helps them put all of their shit back in the car.
i get up this morning and minivan people are already awake. contents of teh van are again on the ground. they have located their picnic table and are cooking breakfast. i go to the ladies room. mrs. minivan is in the womens restroom washing dishes in the sink (nasty) and waiting for her electric tea kettle to warm up. there is a dish washing room adjacent to the bathroom but i guess they missed that part of the lecture from the ranger last night.
i set up my stove, made coffee, put my stove away, walked to the river and back, put my tent away, got dressed and fixed my hair and minivan people were still sorting out the contents of their luggage on the ground. 4runner people were still asleep when i left.