DAY 16 -- YELLOWSTONE TRIP 1926

August 11, 1926 -- Wednesday

Just like Charlie of the M.T.A. song, I wonder if the family will ever return. I also sing “the tale of the castaways,” the theme song from Gilligan’s Island where a two-hour cruise turned into a nightmare. It appears that Ina has had enough of traveling and camping and is ready to be home. 

I have no information regarding this day in 1926 as the family travels through Washington and Idaho to reach home. All that remains among the memorabilia is a photo of Shirley at Spangle, Washington, which more or less indicates that they camped near there (18 miles south of Spokane), and I think it’s doubtful that they made it home in one day. Hopefully, they arrived on August 13 (Friday).

And I know nothing about their homecoming. Did Myrtle and Ethel prepare the desired nutritious homecoming dinner? They probably lacked up-to-date information from the travelers and likely worried. Perhaps Ina insisted on sending a telegram from Spokane, and that would have reassured the girls, but the timetable would still be uncertain due to unforeseen circumstances on the road.

But – I can pretend. I can see Myrtle rising early to bake a cake while Ethel went to the garden to pick tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, and lettuce. They also scurried around to tidy up, air the house, and hide the cigarettes and ashtrays.

I do know that the travelers made it home, though, because they went on to live out their lives for a good many years – all of them. Jack was first to pass on – 1946; Ina – 1957; Bernice – 1958; Lynn Dryden – 1963; Myrtle – 1971; Earle – 1975; Ethel – 1980; Vance – 1987; and Shirley – 2004. 

That’s all, Folks! Thanks for celebrating the 1926 Road Trip to Yellowstone with me. KW 

DAY 15 -- YELLOWSTONE TRIP 1926

 August 10, Missoula, MT

In her final postcard, Ina writes: We didn’t leave Anaconda until 12:30 P.M. Ate our lunch there and drove 117 miles. It was windy and cold, and we were in one hard shower. It has been cold ever since we left the Park. We wear our coats and sweaters and put the curtains on. We are trying to make it as far as Coeur d’Alene today. Spokane is over 200 miles away. We won’t get home till Thursday. I’m just wild when I stop to think of it. Hope we don’t have any more car trouble. In haste. Love, Momma

Vance plays with a dog

[Today, Interstate 90, a fast-moving four-lane highway, connects the 200 miles between Spokane and Missoula, but in 1926 it was an unpaved dirt and gravel trail. Ina hoped they would make it to Coeur d’Alene, but even that would have been ambitious. I know from the picture of Vance that they camped near Kellogg, Idaho, which means they traveled about 130 miles this day.]

 

DAY 14 -- YELLOWSTONE TRIP 1926

[Ina writes another postcard to her daughters, Myrtle and Ethel, at the farmhouse. On a practical level, it's silly to keep writing these postcards because even with delays, they won't be delivered until after the travelers arrive, but today I'm glad she did and that she had the foresight to keep them. It could only be better if she had continued a journal.]

August 9 [Monday] – at Anaconda, Montana – 9:35 A.M.

Graham & Cora Wanless in 1937

We made about 190 miles yesterday. We were in two hard showers. At Bozeman, we were one day late for their round-up. The town was finely decorated with bunting and flags. Lynn had to have a flat tire vulcanized, so we are delayed again. I’m getting frantic [to be home] on account of Cora and Graham and how you are getting along. Love, Momma

[Cora Dobson Wanless was Jack’s younger sister. Ina must expect Cora and her husband Graham to visit from Boston Bar, BC, Canada.]

DAY 13 -- YELLOWSTONE TRIP 1926

August 8 (Sunday), 9:20 A.M. – Livingston, MT

Dear Girls,

We checked out at the north entrance at Gardiner yesterday at 5:00 P.M. and drove 23 miles. Camped on a creek with fine big cottonwood trees. Driving along Yellowstone River. Road rough. Can’t say what day we will arrive. May phone or telegraph from Spokane. Weather cloudy and quite cool. We are very anxious to get home. Planned to be home sooner. Please have plenty of vegetables cooked for our first meal and a big cake, canned or fresh fruit. If handy, chicken. Love, Momma

[So, they are traveling home by way of Montana instead of retracing the route through Idaho. However, 1926 is decades prior to the opening of Highway 12 connecting Montana with central Idaho. Instead, their route will take them to Missoula and across the Idaho panhandle through Coeur d’Alene and on to Spokane before they can travel south into the remote area of central Idaho where home is located – a long and arduous journey. 

Frankly, I feel for Ina. Seeing the wonders of Yellowstone was interesting and educational, but I know she, Bernice, and Shirley had "down time" while they waited as the men fished. And now Ina is hungry for a decent nutritious meal. KW]

DAY 12 -- YELLOWSTONE TRIP 1926

 

AUGUST 7 -- YELLOWSTONE, THEN AND NOW

[I have no postcards from this day, but they apparently left Yellowstone at 5:00 p.m. on this date, as revealed in tomorrow’s postcard.

It looks like the family had so much fun touring Yellowstone National Park and the Jackson Lake area, but I see the downside, and today a visit to the Park is a very different experience. I asked AI to give me a comparison. Read on:]

My aunts -- Bernice and Shirley

It is easy to look at old photos from the 1920s and feel like early tourists had a more magical, unfettered experience. Visitors back then could walk right up to the edge of active geysers, feed black bears directly from their car windows, and explore the wilderness without crowds, boardwalks, or reservation systems. From a perspective of pure, lawless novelty, it certainly looked like a thrilling vacation. However, historians and park rangers point out that this unfiltered freedom came with severe, often hidden consequences that would shock a modern traveler.

The Chaotic Reality of 1920s Tourism

• Severe Safety Hazards: Without boardwalks or guardrails, early visitors frequently suffered severe, sometimes fatal burns from stepping through the fragile thermal crust into boiling acidic water.
• Violent Wildlife Encounters: Encouraging bears to feed on human food and garbage caused massive spikes in injuries. Dozens of tourists were hospitalized every year from bear bites and maulings, and the animals suffered from poor health and shortened lifespans.
• Widespread Destruction: Early tourists routinely threw logs, rocks, and trash into geysers to force eruptions. This permanently choked off the plumbing of several unique thermal features, destroying them for future generations.
• Ruined Landscapes: Soap and laundry detergent were regularly dumped into pristine pools like Morning Glory to change their surface tension and trigger bubbles, which accelerated the growth of damaging bacteria and altered their brilliant colors forever.

Why Today's Experience Offers a Different Kind of Value

While modern rules can feel restrictive, they were enacted to save the park from being loved to death. Today's visitors trade the chaotic, destructive freedom of the 1920s for a different set of benefits:

• Ecological Health: Thanks to strict management, Yellowstone is the only place in the lower 48 states that still retains all of its medium-to-large wild mammal species that existed before European settlement.
• True Wild Behavior: Instead of watching a garbage-fed bear beg for scraps by the roadside, modern tourists get to witness apex predators hunting, foraging, and raising their cubs in a completely wild, natural ecosystem.
• Preservation: The boardwalks ensure that the vibrant thermal pools and delicate microbial mats look exactly the same for you as they will for visitors a century from now.

Early tourists certainly had a wilder, more unscripted adventure, but modern visitors get to experience a healthier, more authentic ecosystem that has a chance of surviving into the future. [End AI]

[As a final word from me, the fact is that you must do your homework before visiting Yellowstone – or any national park, for that matter. You can’t do it your way. You have to know the rules. Tent camping -- actually "roughing it" -- is a thing of the past. You have to have a metal-sided camper and keep your food within secure metal boxes. And you must have a reservation for overnight stay.

A friend once said, "A seer of sights I am not." I agree. And to this I can add, "Been there; done that." The crowds can have it. KW]

DAY 11 -- YELLOWSTONE TRIP 1926

[It’s Friday, August 6, 1926. I am concerned that our family should be starting for home. It took them five days to get to Yellowstone, and it will take every bit of that to get home. So, what’s the hold up? Apparently the men are determined to fish, and yet they catch next to nothing.]

Ina wrote this postcard on August 6:

Dear Girls, We are camped on the Yellowstone almost nine miles above the falls and Grand Canyon. The men have gone fishing – crazy – but we’ll have to begin to hurry home. Each has caught a fine trout except Vance. They went off about 5 this A.M. in Lynn’s car to fish. Yesterday they tried it in the lake and river on Fishing Bridge but no luck, so we went on to Grand Canyon. I use only superlatives here to describe Upper and Lower Falls. Then we drove back about nine miles so they could fish. Lovely camp. Only two other parties here. A bear came into camp about 4:30 this A.M. and got the men up. He was turning over pots and pans. The girls are still sleeping, but I find it hard to do in more ways than one so got up and built a fire.

 

[Ina says that Earle took this photo of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from Inspiration Point. Dad and I didn't go. The road was closed for repairs and it was a two-mile walk, so only the "boys and girls" went.]

Point Lookout and the Lower Falls. Dad, Shirley, Bernice, and I are the people you see in the "log pen" on the point. Earle, Vance and Lynn came on down the rim and shot back from "Grand View."

DAY 10 -- YELLOWSTONE TRIP 1926

CAVORTING WITH BEARS -- August 5

[I read that bear sightings are more common these days as the bears lose habitat to fires and seek to find relief from the heat. In fact, as Mike and I drove up the Gilbert Grade on Saturday, a black bear lumbered across the road right in front of us. This is the first time we’ve seen a bear on the grade, though we see them in this region from time to time.]

Postcard: At Fishing Bridge Camp

Ina feeding cookies to a 2-year-old "brown bear"

We left Jackson Lake camp after lunch yesterday and made this camp among the trees. Saw a bear in camp standing up being fed. Mother bear and cub in camp this A.M. The next move is to backtrack five miles and see Natural Bridge and Knotted Pines. Then on to Grand Canyon [of the Yellowstone]. We are getting awfully dirty. Bernice says the nighties will get up and walk off with a blanket on each arm. Getting hungry for home cooking. 

Shirley & the brown bear

[Have you watched Hazardous History with Henry Winkler? This trip to Yellowstone in 1926 qualifies as “hazardous.” Never mind that the cars were anything but reliable and safe, did you see how close they stood to Old Faithful on Day 8? It’s not allowed today. And here we see them actually holding out treats for the bears to snatch. And Ina thinks it’s such fun!!! I’m surprised the bear didn’t swat her.

Here’s an overview regarding the evolution of the attitude toward bears at Yellowstone provided by Google:

“In the 1920s, bears at Yellowstone National Park were not widely viewed as lethal or terrifying apex predators but rather as entertaining, anthropomorphized attractions. Park management actively encouraged tourists to feed black bears and view nightly garbage-dump spectacles, treating minor bites and scratches as a fun ‘souvenir’ rather than a severe safety hazard. Despite the lighthearted public relations, both black bears and grizzlies remained powerful wild animals, and serious or fatal attacks did occasionally happen at feeding sites. The casual attitude toward bear safety eventually led to severe habituation and rising conflict. The National Park Service phased out the dumps and officially banned feeding by 1970.”

Aunt Bernice & the "brown bear"

In the mid-1950s, when I was about five years old, I went with my parents to visit Uncle Earle and Aunt Bernice in Idaho Falls. (Uncle Earle taught junior high manual arts and mathematics there for thirty years.) Uncle Earle drove us to Yellowstone Park, and I remember that we sat in a long line of cars on the road as the bears came along looking for handouts. Uncle Earle had brought a bag of candy, and as the bear approached our car, I tried to put one in its mouth. Alarmed, my dad was rolling up the window as fast as he could. KW]