I will start with saying that since mid-March, we have been extremely
cautious in regards to the COVID-19, so your question resonates our
concerns. (One person in our family is also in a high-risk group.)
Our trip was planned on a relatively short-notice, just about 2 weeks
prior to the start, - as we wanted to have some vacation before the school
year starts. We did not want to fly, and we were looking for an
interesting place(s) with comfortable outdoor temperatures in August.
Badlands national park (in SD) was yet another candidate, but it was too
hot there. So, we went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks.
Because of the timing, we knew yet before going that the parks were rather
full: it is a peak season, I believe.
Both parks did a reasonable job for the most part, organizing the
traffic and crowd control: At some popular paths in Yellowstone, they made
some narrow trails (around geysers) one-way. They've limited the number
of people inside the big shops (although they completely failed to
maintain the distance between the people in the queue outside the store -
of those waiting to enter the store). At the Old Faithful Geyser, there
was a big line of people staying too close for the Covid season. We did
not go there, but found a moment when the line almost disappeared.
And there was human stupidity among some park staff, e.g.
one of the cashiers at that store insisted on touching every item we
were buying (when we had 3 identical ones), even though he could've
scanned those from our hands, or scan one 3 times.
Most park visitors were very considerate: wearing masks, keeping a
distance, patiently waiting for others to take photos from the
observation points, stepping aside when passing or going in the opposite
direction on a narrow path, etc.
But we encountered some Covidiots arrogantly ignored everything, even the
clearly marked one-way trails. Fortunately, there were just a few of them.
There was a situation (at one of the smaller observation points of the
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone): there was a couple that was taking their
time taking photos of the waterfall and selfies with it and the canyon in
the background. We (and another family) were patiently waiting to trade
places. Then a couple of groups/families came there and stood very closely
behind. I demonstratively and fairly loudly coughed. Someone from that
group laughed: they understood me, but did not bother to keep the
distance. That was the only such an incident that we've experienced over 3
days at those two parks.
The hotels/motels in that area were very full, so we were glad we had ours
reserved ahead of time. In the parks, some lodges were closed because of
the Covid, and many (all?) campgrounds were full. We stayed at a hotel in
Jackson, - and there they did not do daily service, which was good for us.
We avoided all the restaurants, buying food in supermarkets, and
making our own sandwiches, etc. in the park. We brought with us all the
necessary picnic supplies (plates, utensils, etc.).
BTW, before traveling, double check the state regulations on the
quarantine, etc. Many (most?) western states do not have quarantine
rules for the people coming from other states. But some (e.g. New Mexico,
which we just drove through, - touching a small corner of it) have them.
Here is the page that might be helpful:
https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/healthdepartments.html
Also, keep in mind that some park facilities (lodges, campsites), remain
closed for this season. So, check that ahead of time.
Also, specifically for Yellowstone: one of the roads there is closed due
to construction: Tower Roosevelt to Canyon Village. (It cost us extra 2+
hours for the trip to Lamar Valley and back.)
HTH,
Igor
PS. My apology for the delayed response, - I've been writing it over
several days - with interruptions: our school year has started last week.
John Thu, 20 Aug 2020 08:22:18 -0700 wrote:
How did you handle the "social distance" thingy on your trip? My plans for
2020 travel have been a bit messed up.
Yellowstone was on my itinerary for this year, but I have several factors
that put me in the high risk group for Covid-19, so I've had to stay home.
On Thu, 20 Aug 2020, Igor PDML-StR wrote:
Hi All!
Morning Glory Pool at Yellowstone National park:
http://42graphy.org/misc/2020-08-parks/MorningGlory_IR04504.jpg
All comments and critique are welcome!
Igor
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