What gets into people when they go on
vacation? Are we so relaxed that we
don’t think straight? There seems to be
a plethora of incredibly stupid acts by people traveling, a number of which are
occurring within our national parks.
Forget the idiotic speeding on our nation’s highways or the things
college kids get up to when they get their school break. I’m talking about otherwise normal and sane
adults who just leave their brains at home.
I’m lucky enough to get to Yellowstone once
a year, if not more, and it never ceases to amaze me how up close and personal
one can get to the wildlife there—sometimes a bit too up close. Most of us have now heard of the man and his
son who put a baby bison in the back of their car to take to the rangers,
thinking he looked cold. Really? I don’t know what to even say about the
thought process behind that one, although
I learned they were from South Africa and that seems to be the norm over
there. Huh?
 |
| Cristal nervously sits in car as buffalo passes by |
My daughter and I were on the road when a
herd of bison came meandering down; the size of their heads alone is enough to
put the fear of God into you. But
apparently not to some—take the woman who decided to snap a selfie with a bison,
then was surprised when he knocked her over.
Actually, she was lucky, considering she expected a 2000 lb. animal to
just stand there and behave.
Have a good look at the hot springs and geysers in the park and think about what it might
be like to fall in. Despite numerous
signs warning visitors not to leave the walkways, there has already been a death in Yellowstone
this year due to people leaving the boardwalks and going on to the delicate travertine
terraces surrounding them. Another
visitor decided to stroll off to get a cup of medicinal sulphur water; that cup
of water cost him a $1000 fine. Luckily
for him, he didn’t pay with his life.
 |
| Yellowstone: would you leave the boardwalk? |
The old adage of leave only footprints, take only photographs
seems to be long forgotten in some circles.
On a list I found of fourteen incredibly stupid things tourists have
done, a good number of them were desecrating monuments or memorials. Two American sisters were deported from
Cambodia after taking nude selfies in front of the sacred temples at Angkor Wat. In my neck of the woods, people have scaled
the Brooklyn Bridge to get a good shot of the New York skyline, and spilled
coffee on the carved names at the Ground Zero Memorial. The list goes on.
Some of these idiocies
have to do with people’s expectations and lack of knowledge, especially when it
comes to traveling abroad. I found
several lists of things American tourists have said about their vacations, and
it made me wonder, do we know nothing about geography, history, and other
cultures? Here’s a small sample: “We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi
drivers as they were all Spanish”; “We went to a Mexican restaurant in
Rome and the waiter was Italian. You assured us Italy was the best place for an
authentic food experience”; "Why did the queen build Windsor Castle so close to
Heathrow Airport?"; "How do I know which plane to get on? I was told
my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on
them"; “There was no sign telling you that you shouldn’t
get on the hot air balloon ride if you’re afraid of heights”; “Although the
brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer
in the drawers.”
So I leave you
with one last word: THINK!
And if you’d like a wee bit of mental stimulation, head on
over to my website http://andreadowning.com or select some summer reading via
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerAndreaDowning
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