This morning we began our journey around Gardiner at 8:30am. It was partially cloudy and a chilly 40 degrees as we walked across the bridge over Yellowstone River. We ventured up Second St. and noticed some souvenir shops and tourist attractions on our left and some restaurants on our right. The shops did not have much of the “Old West” feel, yet were still cozy and quaint. We then turned right onto Park St. and walked by a few shops. We noticed businesses around here open earlier than in Jackson Hole, and they do not all necessarily cater to tourists. We stopped in to Elk Inc. shop and spoke with Don, the shop owner. He is a native of Montana and has been in Gardiner since 1965. After receiving a degree in business he had the opportunity to buy this property to begin his own economic venture His shop is small and mainly sells tourist items and outdoor gear. Don also told us that he is a Game Call manufacturer and owns several patents. They sell worldwide and are world champions for their Elk game call, which he demonstrated to us. They also sell calls for wolves and other animals. When we asked Don about the town he told us, “People really need to come in here to see it” because Gardiner is more of a town that people pass through to get to the park. He also stated, “If we ever get a streetlight I would be pulling out”. We talked about the fire in 2008 that burned on the ridge above Gardiner. He told us everyone had to evacuate because it was covered in smoke and that you couldn’t see across the street because it was so heavy.
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After leaving his shop we went to a trendy outdoor clothing store and talked to an 18 year old from Mammoth. She has lived here her whole life and told us that they recently renovated the roads in the town. She is a huge wolf person and believes that there should be a balance in the ecosystem because the animals rely on each other for survival. She said “Don’t touch the wildlife because they depend on each other, and we cant mess with the ecosystem”. She told us that the elk were overpopulated so when the wolves were reintroduced in 1995 it helped with the population. We also asked her about her opinion of the wildfires, she said that wildfires happen and to let them just burn. She said that they shouldn’t be stopped unless they are going to harm someone.
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We then decided to grab some food in Rosie’s Bistro. Since we were grabbing a quick bite we decided to sit at the bar. The restaurant was very small, like most that we had noticed. It was constructed entirely of wood, and gave us the cottage feel. While eating and working, we struck up a conversation with some park employees beside us. They were a young couple, appearing to be in their late 20’s. Than man said he was a sous chef at Old Faithful Resort and the woman wad a bar tender. Decked out in expensive outdoor gear, they asked us about where we were from and what we were doing in Gardiner. We discussed the recklessness of tourists and their interactions with wildlife and natural sites. They agreed with us that people will do anything for a photo, no matter how dangerous or disrespectful to environment and the wildlife.