Y E L L O W S T O N E   -   D A Y   # 1

Thursday, August 5, 2004

I recall reading an article about an old school of thought that has been gaining more and more support. That thought is fighting really large forest fires is a waste of money and unneedfully risks the lives of those who fight them. Statistically fighting large conflagrations is not productive, such fires pretty much do what they want.

The idea is to fight the small ones and implement controlled burning to remove all the flammable ground cover that has built up, an effective way of letting some of the steam out of the kettle. This way the steam gets let out, catastrophic fires become a thing of the past, and man has control of when and what gets burned rather than letting nature decide, which isn't always in the best interests of man.

The first campground I encounter is Indian Creek. My plan is to see how far south I can go with my overnight accommodations. If I can get into the middle of the park, I will be centrally located to the remaining 6 attractions that I want to see.

After pulling in I look at the reservation board...

... then drive through the campground. The campground is both lackluster and a little depressing, plus it's only 1/2 full. The campground host tells me none of the southerly campgrounds have reported they are full yet, so I decide to take my chances and try the next one down the line. If the next campground, Norris Campground, is full, I'll just drive back real quick to Indian Creek and snag a campsite.

More views as I pushed southward.