Technology
Introduction to Explore Yellowstone Like A Local! If you are new to the Guidebook & Podcasts and want a bit more info before you buy one, please take a listen.
In this introductory episode of 'Explore Yellowstone Like A Local,' host Teddy Garland shares insights about the upcoming Yellowstone Drive Guide app and the acclaimed guidebook. Listeners w...
Introduction to Explore Yellowstone Like A Local! If you are new to the Guidebook & Podcasts and want a bit more info before you buy one, please take a listen.
Technology •
0:00 / 0:00
Interactive Transcript
spk_0
Welcome to Explore Yellowstone like a local, the number one podcast for Yellowstone and
spk_0
Grantees on National Parks and Home.
spk_0
To the top rated guidebook of the same name and I am Teddy Garland, your author as well
spk_0
as your host for this podcast as well as the new big edition for 2025 and beyond the Yellowstone
spk_0
Drive Guide app and these podcasts allow me to tell a lot of stories.
spk_0
However, in that new driving app that we are launching for the 2025 season, all of the
spk_0
stories that are normally in all of the podcast can now be found easily on a silver platter
spk_0
in the Yellowstone Drive Guide app.
spk_0
So, there's over 30 podcasts for Yellowstone Parks unless you guys are big podcasters and
spk_0
want to listen to 30-some odd podcasts of Yellowstone Park, you can now get all the great stories
spk_0
and all the great information found on these podcasts in the Yellowstone Drive Guide app.
spk_0
And the app is designed to work in conjunction with the guidebook.
spk_0
The guidebook helps you plan your trip before you guys get to Yellowstone National Park
spk_0
and saves you hundreds of not thousands of dollars on your flights and lodging and dining.
spk_0
And then it helps you guys plan each day of your Yellowstone Park vacation before you guys get there.
spk_0
And then when you guys do arrive, the Yellowstone Drive Guide app will escort you on your Yellowstone
spk_0
vacation when you guys arrive.
spk_0
Now, talking about telling stories.
spk_0
That song is going to California by Led Zeppelin and hope Robert Plant had given me
spk_0
trouble for using a little snippet of one of their songs on there.
spk_0
But we were sitting there, this is back in 1980, right around 1980, and over, you know,
spk_0
over 40 years ago.
spk_0
And a couple of buddies of mine had height down to the brink of the lower falls and just this
spk_0
beautiful, gorgeous, sun-kissed day, not a cloud in the sky.
spk_0
It was just absolutely beautiful.
spk_0
And we were down there on the platform, there's hardly anybody down there.
spk_0
We got down there early in the morning and we were just leaning over the rail and the sunbeams
spk_0
were shooting down through the canyon and it's a magical spot.
spk_0
It is an absolutely feel it in your heart kind of spot.
spk_0
My buddies, you know, not even looking at me.
spk_0
We're just sitting there looking out over the rail and the river is just a torrid of thunder
spk_0
right off our right shoulder and he just kind of staring out and looking at the canyon.
spk_0
And he just goes, I wonder how tomorrow can ever follow today.
spk_0
And those exact lyrics are of course in that song later on down in that song a little
spk_0
bit in the sky.
spk_0
Man, it's so cool.
spk_0
It's so pretty.
spk_0
And that's what Yellowstone Park does for you, man.
spk_0
That's in me getting you to some really cool spots like that is exactly what the Drive
spk_0
Guide app does as well as the guidebook.
spk_0
All right, well, let's get into the introduction to explore Yellowstone like a local for you guys.
spk_0
For those of you thinking about buying a guidebook or buying the app, we've got more information
spk_0
on a podcast called the Yellowstone Drive Guide app so you can get some good information there.
spk_0
Now, we are just launching the Yellowstone Drive Guide app for the 2025 season but the
spk_0
guidebook's been out there for years and the guidebook has been called the best guidebook
spk_0
ever written for Yellowstone Park and a must have for Yellowstone.
spk_0
We have a number of you guys leave us reviews and everything on our explore Yellowstone
spk_0
like a Facebook group which all of you should join by the way and have been calling it
spk_0
the Bible for Yellowstone Park.
spk_0
And I think those accolades are wonderful and I really, really appreciate everything.
spk_0
And I've worked really hard at this guidebook and I mean, I'm dumping over 100 years of my
spk_0
family's knowledge of being up in Yellowstone Park into that guidebook.
spk_0
And every year I do re-rides on the guidebook.
spk_0
I update restaurants and hotels and things like that but this year I did a bunch of
spk_0
re-rides for the guidebook including a complete rewrite of the hiking chapter where we
spk_0
haven't organized where there's small hikes for little kids, a little bit harder hikes,
spk_0
a little bit longer hikes so you guys can choose hikes in both grand teetown and Yellowstone
spk_0
Park based on your group's abilities.
spk_0
I've got all those listed for you guys and I've got short day hikes.
spk_0
I got long day hikes.
spk_0
I got the overnight hikes and I also did what I consider the greatest hike in all of
spk_0
Yellowstone Park and possibly want to top 10 hikes on planet earth in that hiking chapter
spk_0
as well.
spk_0
So I really, that is my far the biggest chapter in the guidebook and I really worked hard
spk_0
at rewriting the hiking chapter in the guidebook for you guys.
spk_0
You know, the first thing I want to tell you guys about the guidebook is it's super easy
spk_0
to use.
spk_0
It's really, really easy to use and a lot of you guys have said that in your reviews of
spk_0
the guidebook.
spk_0
And I travel a lot and when I go to a new place, I want to be able to understand what I'm
spk_0
going to do and see and all the things when I get there.
spk_0
And you know, and a lot of guidebooks don't do that.
spk_0
Let me give you an example.
spk_0
Lisa and I, we had some people staying in our cabin right outside of Yellowstone Park
spk_0
over there on the Madison River.
spk_0
And so we decided to go up to Glacier for four or five days and check out Glacier.
spk_0
And I got glaciers a long way from what Shellstone and Montana is a huge state.
spk_0
And so we drove up there and went to Glacier for two or three days.
spk_0
I bought this guide, but supposedly the top rated guidebook for Glacier National Park.
spk_0
And I mean, I read the whole thing, cover it, cover it back to front.
spk_0
And I just, I was, I was more confused about what to go see and do in Glacier National
spk_0
Park after I read that guidebook than I was before.
spk_0
I literally had no clue what was going on to Glacier after I read what was supposedly
spk_0
the best guidebook ever written for Glacier National Park.
spk_0
And it was just, it just had great reviews.
spk_0
And I just, you know, I gave it to Lisa.
spk_0
She read it and she goes, that thing reads like stereo instructions.
spk_0
It's like somebody, I want to know what to go do when I get to Glacier National Park.
spk_0
And the guidebook, Explore Yellowstone like a local is so easy to use.
spk_0
You don't have to read the whole guidebook.
spk_0
It's broken into day long adventures that you choose that you want to go do.
spk_0
So say like you've never been to Yellowstone Park.
spk_0
And you want to go watch Geysers Go Off.
spk_0
Well, all you have to do is go read Geyser Day, old faithful grand and all the rest.
spk_0
And it tells you what to do to have a great day watching Geysers Go Off.
spk_0
It tells you where to park where you need to go to get the predicted times for the Geysers.
spk_0
And what you're going to go see for a second, third, how you're going to base your entire
spk_0
day off when grand Geyser goes off because it only goes off every seven hours.
spk_0
And how it's so easy to catch old faithful and where the best place to watch old faithful
spk_0
go off is for them to get away from all the crowds and get you about a hundred feet closer
spk_0
to the actual cones.
spk_0
You're closer to the cone and away from all the people.
spk_0
And then see where B high is and you go into the end and check out the end and everything
spk_0
you need to know about having a great day to go watch Geysers Go Off is in that one
spk_0
chapter.
spk_0
And that one chapter, just like all the other chapters in the guidebook, takes one
spk_0
day to complete.
spk_0
So by reading through the chapters and then deciding what you guys want to do on your
spk_0
vacation based on how many days you guys have, you guys can pre-plan your vacation before
spk_0
you guys arrive in Yellowstone Grand Teton National Parks.
spk_0
And then when you guys do arrive, the Yellowstone Drive Guide app will simply escort you through
spk_0
the park telling you every single thing that's out in front of you so you don't miss a
spk_0
thing.
spk_0
And when you guys do get to the old faithful guys are basin.
spk_0
All you have to do is follow the icons leading you through the Geyser Basin.
spk_0
You're going to park and get out of your car, see the icon where I tell you guys to watch
spk_0
old faithful from.
spk_0
You go over there and I tell you some really good interesting facts about old faithful.
spk_0
That only has a four inch restriction about ten feet under the ground.
spk_0
I tell you how to watch for it to a rub.
spk_0
Then I tell you guys how to watch for B high and everything else.
spk_0
And then when you go to the next Geyser, there's an icon sitting there and it just hands
spk_0
you the old faithful Geyser Basin on a silver platter.
spk_0
So you guys basically don't have to do anything.
spk_0
The guidebook helps you plan your trip before you guys get there.
spk_0
And then once you arrive, the app escorts you through the park.
spk_0
Not only while you're driving, but when you guys get out of your car and go exploring
spk_0
different places like the Geyser Basin or if you guys get over to the falls, when you guys
spk_0
get down to certain spots in the falls, I'm going to tell you some great stories about
spk_0
say artist point or the brink of the lower falls or whatever.
spk_0
So the guidebook helps you plan your vacation before you guys arrive.
spk_0
And then the app hand you a Yellowstone park on a silver platter once you guys arrive.
spk_0
So let's talk about what is in the planning your Yellowstone vacation chapter next.
spk_0
So I'm just going to give you a quick snippet of what that planning chapter says.
spk_0
You know, we go into the guidebook about when the park opens the third Friday in April.
spk_0
But I'm telling you guys, you want absolutely nothing to do with the Yellowstone park from
spk_0
the third Friday in April, up till about May 15th.
spk_0
Nothing is open.
spk_0
The end is an open, the iconic old fateful end with the giant red doors, which everybody
spk_0
must see on a trip to Yellowstone park is closed.
spk_0
It opens up about May 15th.
spk_0
You know, and honestly, the temperatures in the first Friday in April are in the teens
spk_0
or 20s or 30s sometimes.
spk_0
I mean, it can be freezing and snowing then.
spk_0
And a lot of the times it is and who wants to sit there and watch old fateful go off
spk_0
while you're just freezing your ass off.
spk_0
And then when it goes off because it's so cold, all you see is steam.
spk_0
You can't see the water shooting in the air.
spk_0
You know, all you're looking at is a big cloud of steam and you kind of look over to your wife
spk_0
and your kids going, did it go off?
spk_0
And then everybody goes, I don't know.
spk_0
I didn't see anything.
spk_0
It was just a bunch of steam in here.
spk_0
So that's just an example of what's in the guidebook that kind of gives you the dates
spk_0
of when the Yellowstone park opens and closes.
spk_0
But just because the gates open to Yellowstone park doesn't mean everything else in Yellowstone
spk_0
park is open and that and a lot of people get confused about that.
spk_0
But yeah, I know the dates that everything opens up inside the park and when all the trails
spk_0
open up inside the park.
spk_0
So you're not going to Yellowstone park and you try to go in the old faith lane and it's
spk_0
closed.
spk_0
Are you trying to go to the canyon area and you can't do any of the trails in the canyon
spk_0
area, which is not to be missed because they're all snowed in and they're closed.
spk_0
So, but all those dates are in the guidebook for you guys.
spk_0
And so let's talk about saving time and money on your Yellowstone vacation next.
spk_0
You know, there's two things I hate to waste.
spk_0
I simply cannot stand to waste time and money.
spk_0
And I'm no different than you guys.
spk_0
When I go to Yellowstone, I want to stretch my vacation dollars as far as they can.
spk_0
So, let's talk about flights first.
spk_0
Flites into the Yellowstone area.
spk_0
In the guidebook, I list all the places you can fly into.
spk_0
You know, the main your first choice is to fly into West Yellowstone.
spk_0
The airport's literally two miles from town.
spk_0
I mean, it's two and a half miles from the entry gate into Yellowstone park.
spk_0
I mean, you can fly into West Yellowstone on the early flight on United, get in your rental
spk_0
car, drive you the gate and be sitting at old Faithful watching it erupt at 11 o'clock
spk_0
in the morning.
spk_0
That is taking good advantage of your time.
spk_0
But, flying into West Yellowstone can be super expensive.
spk_0
So, I give you alternate airports, locations you can fly into where you can get a bunch
spk_0
of rental cars cheaper, you can get flights cheaper, you can basically get, you know, your
spk_0
whole trip made a lot cheaper by flying within an hour or two hour drive from the town
spk_0
of West Yellowstone.
spk_0
And I tell you about Laudgy where you should stay.
spk_0
You want to base out of West Yellowstone.
spk_0
Jackson hole's certainly too far south and I give you all the reasons for that in the
spk_0
guidebook.
spk_0
And there's, give you all these places to stay around West Yellowstone.
spk_0
So, you can not only save money on flights, I give you lodging tips to, and I avoid all
spk_0
of the big corporate hotels.
spk_0
I give you really neat log cabins in the trees.
spk_0
Now, I give you really unique places to stay where you've got like a big moose paddling
spk_0
a canoe on your roof and, things like that.
spk_0
And then, I also give you great budget options.
spk_0
I've got a place listed in the guidebook where you can stay for less than 100 bucks a
spk_0
night.
spk_0
Man, I'm telling you, the only thing less than that is sleeping in your car out on the
spk_0
side of the highway somewhere.
spk_0
But yeah, there's all the lodging options are unique, neat, fun places and then I give
spk_0
you good value items.
spk_0
And a lot of the places I listen in the guidebook aren't on expedient because they have repeat
spk_0
customers and they don't need it.
spk_0
But I list them in the guidebook for you guys so you guys can find them and know about
spk_0
them and get their names.
spk_0
So the flights and the lodging and then I also kind of get into how you can save money
spk_0
on food and dining.
spk_0
Like I said at the start of this, I am no different than you guys.
spk_0
And I had my kids up there and you know, I'm telling you what, dad gets super tired of
spk_0
pulling this wall out three meals a day.
spk_0
And you're in a vacation area.
spk_0
There is nothing cheap in Yellowstone Park or in the Or West Yellowstone and Jackson
spk_0
holds just astronomically expensive.
spk_0
I've got tips on how you guys can save money feeding your family while you're on vacation
spk_0
to save a bunch of money.
spk_0
So here's a quick story of a lady that bought a guidebook and ended up following the money
spk_0
saving tips in the guidebook and ended up saving a ton of money.
spk_0
So just like you guys can do here.
spk_0
Here's one of the first stories I was going to tell you about this is 2022.
spk_0
This lady picked up on the podcast and then she bought a guidebook and they were staying
spk_0
down in Jackson Hole.
spk_0
They had never been up here before.
spk_0
They figured they were going to stay down in Jackson Hole, drive up into Yellowstone Park
spk_0
and do all that stuff.
spk_0
And so she started listening to the podcast and then she read the guidebook and she read
spk_0
all the information I have in here, how to save time and money on your Yellowstone vacation.
spk_0
She canceled her, her ex very expensive hotel in Jackson Hole and she ended up saving $2,800
spk_0
on a six night trip just by changing her lodging.
spk_0
And then she changed her flights to one of the outskirts cities that I tell you guys
spk_0
about where you can fly in much, much cheaper and then rent a car and drive in.
spk_0
You know, you got to have a car if you're flying in, doesn't make any difference.
spk_0
And they have more rental cars that these outskirt airports and then they do in West
spk_0
Yellowstone, your rental car cheaper.
spk_0
So as they ended up saving $450 per person on their flights because you know, everything
spk_0
in Jackson Hole is just stupidly expensive.
spk_0
It's one of the most expensive cities in America.
spk_0
It's just ridiculous.
spk_0
But all in all, she emailed me after she got back and she saved almost $5,000 on her trip.
spk_0
And she goes, I just didn't know.
spk_0
I'd never been up there.
spk_0
I didn't know that you could save money flying to a different airport.
spk_0
I didn't know you could save that much money.
spk_0
And she goes and plus we didn't know that it was too far to drive from Jackson Hole up
spk_0
into the park every day because it takes almost three hours to get from Jackson Hole.
spk_0
Two old faithful and a little about three and a half hours of the canary who wants to
spk_0
spend seven hours in their car every day driving the same road over and over and over and over again.
spk_0
You know, you get to stay in West Yellowstone and you're been hitting the junction in 15
spk_0
miles.
spk_0
You can go wherever you want.
spk_0
You're just bam, you're there.
spk_0
You're old faithful in 35 minutes from West Yellowstone.
spk_0
And she didn't know that.
spk_0
And a lot of you guys don't know that.
spk_0
And another way to save time is getting out in front of the cars that go into Yellowstone
spk_0
Park every day, especially in the busy months of July and August.
spk_0
10,000 cars a day, compouring into Yellowstone Park every day and you simply have to get out
spk_0
in front of those cars.
spk_0
And based on what month you're visiting Yellowstone Park, I give you the times that you need
spk_0
to be through the entry gate so you can get out in front of all those cars.
spk_0
And then also another big tip that nobody knows about and everybody goes, oh my god, what
spk_0
happened?
spk_0
There's no cell service in Yellowstone Park.
spk_0
But for you guys that have purchased the Yellowstone Drive Guide app, you guys don't have
spk_0
to worry about that because it works off GPS satellites and it's accurate within five feet
spk_0
of your location.
spk_0
So as you guys are driving along, I'm going to tell you about something that's out in front
spk_0
of you and it's going to be right out in front of you.
spk_0
I'm going to be telling you about something you're basically looking at as you're driving
spk_0
along three Yellowstone and Grand Teton and the surrounding areas.
spk_0
Get up, but you've got to get out in front of those cars.
spk_0
You've got to get out in front of those 10,000 cars.
spk_0
And in the guidebook, I tell you when you need to go through the gate depending upon when
spk_0
you are visiting.
spk_0
That way you can stay out in front of them.
spk_0
And in the spring months in May and June and even in July a little bit, there's bison
spk_0
jams on the road.
spk_0
The bison are just use the roads because it's easier walking than through the trees.
spk_0
And I tell you how to get out in front of those cars because if you guys get stuck in traffic
spk_0
behind a bison jam or something like that, you're going to be stuck in traffic all day.
spk_0
You're never going to be able to get around it.
spk_0
But by getting into the park early, you can get around there.
spk_0
And if you do encounter some bison on the road in the guidebook as well as the app, I tell
spk_0
you guys the approved way, the National Park Service approved way to get through a bison
spk_0
herd.
spk_0
So you guys won't be stuck in traffic like everybody else that doesn't know that.
spk_0
The newbies that go into the park don't know that.
spk_0
If you get stuck behind a guy that's got five bison walking on the road in front of
spk_0
his car and he just won't go around them.
spk_0
And his kids are freaking out and trying to take selfies with these bison walking down
spk_0
the road.
spk_0
You're stuck.
spk_0
You're done.
spk_0
You're stuck there all day long.
spk_0
You're never ever going to get around that because that guy will have 500 or 1000 cars
spk_0
stacked up behind him before you know it.
spk_0
And you guys need to get to the spots I send you in the park at a certain time to stay
spk_0
in front of everybody and have a great enjoyable day.
spk_0
So here's your next story.
spk_0
Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about when I say that.
spk_0
All right.
spk_0
So here comes your next quick story.
spk_0
And so in 2023 and about May, God 20th, I went in the park by myself.
spk_0
I got in there early, got in front of everybody.
spk_0
Just had a nice, easy, smooth drive or whatever to the canyon area.
spk_0
Kind of like the start of this podcast.
spk_0
I wanted to get there.
spk_0
I wanted to go to artist point, check that out.
spk_0
Then I wanted to get down to the brink of the falls and watch the sunrise come up.
spk_0
Just like at the start of this podcast.
spk_0
And so I get over there to artist point, pull up in the parking lot.
spk_0
There's just a handful of cars there.
spk_0
And it's like, God's about 815 in the morning, 820.
spk_0
Because see it about 845 or 9, the parking lot will be almost full.
spk_0
And there'll be bus loads of tourists coming in.
spk_0
I mean, there'll be five or six or eight buses parked on the busing lanes on the right.
spk_0
But I get you and me there 30 minutes before all those people get there.
spk_0
So I walk up to the platform up there.
spk_0
And there's this girl standing there.
spk_0
With this guy, I'm not taking any pictures of anything.
spk_0
I just kind of want to check out artist point and do it with no people up there on the platform.
spk_0
And this girl walks over there and she goes, you're Teddy Garland, aren't you?
spk_0
And I said, yes, yes, I am.
spk_0
She goes.
spk_0
And this guy goes, that's the guy we've been listening to for the last two weeks.
spk_0
And she goes, yep.
spk_0
And she goes, I wouldn't have believed it.
spk_0
And I go, what?
spk_0
And she goes, I've been coming to Yellowstone Park for about 10 years.
spk_0
She goes, I've been on this platform probably 15 times in my life.
spk_0
It's just a madhouse of people up here.
spk_0
And I said, yeah, I heard about 30 minutes it's going to be.
spk_0
And she goes, I was a complete skeptic of buying your guidebook and listening to those podcasts
spk_0
that you could get me up on this platform and stand here and have the whole thing to ourselves.
spk_0
And that's what that guidebook does for you guys.
spk_0
Man, you know, I practice what I preach to and I get one to the park.
spk_0
I'll be, I'm going to go to artist point.
spk_0
I'm going to get there early and every time I get up there, I walk up there and there's
spk_0
somebody up there that has bought the guidebook.
spk_0
And that's basically the only people that are there early in the morning.
spk_0
And you're just a hair above, you're 20 minutes, 30 minutes above, the throngs of people
spk_0
that are going to be there in just a little while because I know when they get there,
spk_0
I know when they're, and I know where they're going to go next.
spk_0
So I just keep you out in front of everybody as you go to all the great sites in the canyon area.
spk_0
I mean, a lot of my good friends in West Jealous don't are guides in the park.
spk_0
And I know where they're going to take their big groups and when they're going to take
spk_0
their big groups, I keep you out in front of them and everybody else throughout the entire
spk_0
park.
spk_0
And you're out there and you have the whole park to yourself.
spk_0
It really works.
spk_0
I'm telling you guys.
spk_0
And then they were new.
spk_0
They were going second and third and fourth and fifth in the canyon area.
spk_0
And we ended up hiking the whole canyon area all to ourselves the whole morning for two
spk_0
hours.
spk_0
We hardly saw any other people the whole time.
spk_0
And that's what you want.
spk_0
You don't want to hike with a thousand people.
spk_0
You want to have the whole park to yourselves and that's what that guidebook does for you.
spk_0
And we get down to the brink of the lower falls and there's nobody down there.
spk_0
And she goes, I just can't believe it.
spk_0
There's usually 50 or 100 people down here.
spk_0
And you got to just basically wait in line to get a good view over the canyon.
spk_0
And when I get you guys down to a spot like the brink of the lower falls, just like the
spk_0
start of this podcast, I get you there right when the sun's coming up.
spk_0
And the sun being shoot down that canyon.
spk_0
And remember when you guys get to those spots that Yellowstone Drive Guide apps going to
spk_0
tell you stories about every spot you're visiting in that canyon area.
spk_0
All right.
spk_0
So let's talk about my knowledge of Yellowstone Park.
spk_0
And a lot of people say that I'm in the top five or one of the foremost authorities on
spk_0
Yellowstone Park.
spk_0
And that's wonderful.
spk_0
But without question, the foremost authority on Yellowstone Park is and was a guy named
spk_0
Lee Whittlesley who just recently retired.
spk_0
I believe he retired the summer of 2023.
spk_0
And it's kind of interesting.
spk_0
I really didn't.
spk_0
I have read all of his books on Yellowstone Park, but I wasn't aware of a couple of really
spk_0
interesting facts that kind of tied me in him together.
spk_0
And so as I was reading this information about after he retired, you know, I'm from Oklahoma
spk_0
City and everybody goes, well, how can a guy from Oklahoma City know, you know, so much
spk_0
about Yellowstone Park?
spk_0
You know, he's not from Montana.
spk_0
He's not from Wyoming.
spk_0
And, you know, how can he be one of the most of, you know, authority figures in the
spk_0
Yellowstone Park?
spk_0
And he goes, well, you know, Lee Whittlesley, and we grew up about five miles from each
spk_0
other.
spk_0
He's from right here in Oklahoma City.
spk_0
He went to Oklahoma University.
spk_0
I went to Oklahoma State.
spk_0
And I started my first job when I was seven years old in Yellowstone Park, renting out
spk_0
canoes over at Fishing Bridge.
spk_0
And Lee Whittlesley is 10 years older than I am.
spk_0
And he was brought to Yellowstone Park by his parents on vacation one year and just fell
spk_0
in love with the area.
spk_0
And he knew right after that first vacation that that's where he wanted to spend the rest
spk_0
of his life.
spk_0
He just fell in love with Yellowstone Park.
spk_0
And so when I'm seven years old, starting my first job over there, renting out canoes
spk_0
at Fishing Bridge, that same summer, he starts his job working down at West Virginia
spk_0
and asks them guys are basing down there, working as a trash collector.
spk_0
We both start our first jobs in Yellowstone Park the same year and about 20 miles apart.
spk_0
I mean, what are the odds?
spk_0
Let's next cover some of my family history up there in Yellowstone Park.
spk_0
I'm kind of asking yourself, this guy really knows what he's talking about and you know,
spk_0
and all that kind of crap in that guidebook.
spk_0
So let me tell you a little history about the Garland family up in the Yellowstone area.
spk_0
So the first photograph we can find was taken in 1919 of my granddad Fred standing there
spk_0
with my dad at about four years old and his little older brother Jack at six years of age,
spk_0
standing right up there next to Old Faithful with that he rupting behind them.
spk_0
I mean, it's a great picture.
spk_0
Back then there were many boardwalks around Old Faithful.
spk_0
He's walked up there on the rocks and watched thing go off.
spk_0
So yeah, it's quite a bit different now than it was back then.
spk_0
And for some reason my granddad Fred just had a love with the Yellowstone area that began
spk_0
basically with the full advent of the automobile in the late 1915s and 1920s and began driving my dad
spk_0
and his brothers up there to Yellowstone, Granteetown National Parks.
spk_0
I mean, he was a huge fly fisherman.
spk_0
I guess that was the main impetus behind everything.
spk_0
There's a picture in the guidebook of my granddad Fred on the snake river bend on the snake
spk_0
river in front of the teetons with a bunch of fish in a cradle and everything else.
spk_0
And that painting was done in 1922 by a guy named Harrison Crandall a full seven years before
spk_0
Granteetown National Park even became a national park.
spk_0
But yeah, I mean, my family has been going up there every summer to the Yellowstone Park area.
spk_0
Every non-war year we've been up going up there since 1919 and possibly before that.
spk_0
That's just the one we can find the first picture.
spk_0
And I of course got drug up there just like my dad did and his brothers every summer.
spk_0
I spent every summer of my life up there for roughly 60 plus years at this point in time.
spk_0
And so you know, there's nothing else to do with the fancy,
spk_0
when Yellowstone Park and go screw in her hand, you screw in all the areas outside of Yellowstone Park
spk_0
and go down to Granteetown and mess her in.
spk_0
So you know, if you do it for 60 plus years, you kind of in your parents have done it for 60 plus
spk_0
years before that, you kind of figure out what's going on.
spk_0
All of that information, all of that family history, all of that knowledge is poured into that
spk_0
guidebook and that driving app.
spk_0
Yeah, that's the the gesture of it, I guess, is we've been going up there for this entire
spk_0
time and we've got some great old pictures in the guidebook and there's another picture taken
spk_0
in 1922. It's a hand painted photograph again by Harrison Carandle of my dad and them
spk_0
camped up on Lake Solitude. If you guys don't know where Lake Solitude is, Google it up and it's
spk_0
hard to get to Lake Solitude today. You can imagine how hard it was to get there back in 1922.
spk_0
It's amazing. So for some reason, my granddad Fred just had this love of Yellowstone and
spk_0
Rantyton National Park in the surrounding areas and he passed that love of the area down to onto
spk_0
my father and his brothers and they've been past it onto me and I now I'm passing it on to you guys.
spk_0
So that that's kind of our family history up there. So let's talk a little bit about the history
spk_0
of the guidebook, how the guidebook got started. Okay, so this guidebook got started over 20 years
spk_0
ago and what would happen is friends of mine from Oklahoma City would be going up to stay at my
spk_0
cabin and they asked me, hey, what do we do when we get there? Where do we go in the park? What should
spk_0
we do and where should we go see this and how do we go watch the best geysers go off and my
spk_0
little girl wants to go horseback riding. Where should we go horseback riding and so I started
spk_0
typing all this stuff up and after a while I got pretty lengthy, you know, just type written
spk_0
pages of stuff to people to go do and so my wife at the time started adding some pictures in there
spk_0
of the certain areas they were going to go visit while they were on their vacation so they
spk_0
could kind of see what it looked like. So we started printing off this guidebook that I had just
spk_0
started up for friends and family, it turned out pretty good. And it just kept getting longer
spk_0
and bigger and longer and more pictures and all this kind of stuff and it ended up being like, you
spk_0
know, 30 or 40 pages long. It's like, you know, it's a really good guidebook and then some of my
spk_0
friends in town caught wind of it and they said, hey, can we buy one of those guidebooks from you
spk_0
and that way I can give them to my parents when they come up there and they can self-guide themselves
spk_0
through the park and I don't have to screw around with them. You know, buy one of those gimme one man,
spk_0
you know, so that's how it all got started. And so a few years goes by and the guidebooks just
spk_0
kind of truck it along and I kind of print them off every year and people get them and they
spk_0
go stay at my cabin and giving them to friends in town and they're giving them to their families
spk_0
and friends and everybody's going in the awesome park and having a ball. And so I get divorced
spk_0
of my new girlfriend, you know, Kepops up Lisa and she's in this guidebook bigger and else. And so
spk_0
she got, we get this really much a crappy weather came through Oklahoma said, you know, I'm in the
spk_0
landscape, I'm a landscape architect. So we had just, you know, nothing to do and she goes, well,
spk_0
she'd go up there and kind of clean that guidebook up a little bit and I said, all right, you know,
spk_0
because she wanted me to get rid of all the pictures in there of me and my ex-wife. So I went up to
spk_0
my office and just completely rewrote the entire thing from start to finish and cleaned it all up
spk_0
and added a bunch of new stuff in there and how to get to some really cool backcountry geyser basins
spk_0
and, you know, where to go hotpotting and where to go get under a big waterfall with thermally
spk_0
heated water pouring all over you. I mean, I really worked hard at it. So we were just giving the
spk_0
thing away. You know, didn't make any difference. I just thought it was kind of fun. The guidebook
spk_0
had developed this little cult falling in West Yellowstone and in Yellowstone Park and, you know,
spk_0
people would talk about it every now and there was really, really kind of fun. And so I got done
spk_0
with it and I printed it off and I took a copy down there and showed it to Lisa and she goes, man,
spk_0
that's really good. Then Lisa put in a bunch of new pictures and I mean, I said, look fantastic.
spk_0
And she, I mean, I said, I go, man, this is really good. It's the best guidebook I've ever seen
spk_0
for Yellowstone Park by a log shot. And she goes, you know, we ought to sell them. And I said,
spk_0
that way, how are we going to sell them? She goes, do a podcast. And they go, what's a podcast?
spk_0
That was in about 2018. And I started doing a podcast and I kind of had the idea of breaking Yellowstone
spk_0
Park down into manageable bites or areas that you could do in a day because it's just so big. It
spk_0
would just, it just overwhelms everybody. So that was the premise. I was breaking Yellowstone Park
spk_0
down into areas or sections that somebody could go visit in a day and do it enjoyably and not
spk_0
just wear themself slip doing it because Yellowstone Park will wear your ass out if you let it.
spk_0
But I was going to try to divvy it up to where people could do certain things during a day and
spk_0
have a great time doing that. And I knew all the tips about beating the crowds and all that.
spk_0
I didn't know that stuff was, you know, second hand to me, but it's not second hand to the people
spk_0
reading the guidebook. So I put all that information in there. That's how it all got started. And
spk_0
after that, we sold 100 guidebooks. I thought I was just on top of the world, you know, I couldn't
spk_0
believe it. And everybody's having a great time. The reviews were just off the charts good.
spk_0
And we only print off a thousand paperback copies a year. And we sold out of those thousand paperback
spk_0
copies about August 10th of last summer. Now we still have the electronic versions. You can get
spk_0
any time. But if you want a paperback copy, you better get on the horn and get it ordered because
spk_0
we're going to sell out early. Everybody's having a ball. It's a gas. It's a really cool guidebook.
spk_0
Man, I got the thing screwed down tight, man. The guidebook is loaded with information and the maps
spk_0
you need. And because I'm getting you guys to some out of the way places. And you have to know where
spk_0
you're going. And I don't expect you guys to start digging around, finding maps and ordering maps
spk_0
on Amazon. All these places I send you to are in the guidebook, whether it's hiking to a backcountry
spk_0
geyser basin or if it's, you know, mountain biking over here, I'll show you the mountain bike trail.
spk_0
It's all in the guidebook for the guys. So you don't don't have to do anything. It's a complete
spk_0
package. And starting in 2025, the Yellowstone Drive Guide app is going to escort you through every
spk_0
single thing you guys want to go do. I also cover all the outside the park activities that you can do
spk_0
right outside the park boundaries like a whitewater rafting. Go ride four gliders on some of the best
spk_0
trails in North America right outside of West Yellowstone. Go horseback riding, horseback riding
spk_0
inside the park kind of sucks. But outside the park, it's fabulous. There's some great places to go
spk_0
horseback riding. And I cover all the places to ride a bicycle in Yellowstone Park, but it's pretty
spk_0
limited, but right outside the park are some of the best mountain bike trails found anywhere in
spk_0
the country. It's, it's, there's some fabulous places to go riding bikes. And I tell you where to
spk_0
rent the equipment and everything else. And we already discussed the hiking chapter, high rewrote the
spk_0
hiking chapter for inside Yellowstone as well as grand tea ton for kids and, and then day hikes,
spk_0
long hikes and all that, but right outside the park, you can go hiking with your dog. And I cover
spk_0
all these great trails that when you get up on some of the summits, you're looking out over the
spk_0
tea tons and back out over the caldera of Yellowstone Park. And you have, you look dog with you. So,
spk_0
you know, it's a ton of package. There's just a lot of really helpful information in that guide
spk_0
book for you guys. And we added this year, we added a new daily itinerary that you guys can follow.
spk_0
Like if you've got three days, what, what you should do in those first three days, if you've got
spk_0
five days, what you should do in those five days. And that kind of helps new visitors plan their
spk_0
trip out better so they can know where they should go and where they shouldn't go. Depending on
spk_0
how many times you've been there, you can kind of see all that in that itinerary system. And we've
spk_0
got it all the way up for a week. So if you had a full week to visit Yellowstone Park, I give you a
spk_0
seven day itinerary picking from the one day adventures in the guide books so you guys can cover
spk_0
the best of the best in Yellowstone Park based on how many days you have to spend in both parks. So,
spk_0
and then we've got a new rating system for all the features in Yellowstone and grand tea ton.
spk_0
Like how cool it is to see it, like if it's not to be missed and then how difficult it is to get
spk_0
to some things because some things are difficult to get to. Like it's easy to see artists get to
spk_0
artist point. That has a rating of five and then a difficulty of one. But if you want to get down
spk_0
to the brink of the falls, like we talked about the start of this podcast, you know, that has a
spk_0
also a rating of five. It should not be missed on any trip to Yellowstone. But you got to walk down
spk_0
this set of zigzag walkways getting down to the platform to get down there and it may be too much
spk_0
for, you know, say an elderly person or something like that. So it has a difficulty rating of three.
spk_0
So that rating system kind of helps you pick out things that can suit your groups abilities and
spk_0
things that should not be missed. And also things that you should miss if it has a rating of one and
spk_0
a difficulty of three or four because it's hard to get to, then you guys don't need to bother with
spk_0
it. So that's how that new rating system works. And also when you guys buy a guidebook, you get
spk_0
access to the single largest library of videos ever compiled for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National
spk_0
Parks. And there's a QR code at the back of the guidebook. You simply scan that QR code and it
spk_0
gives you access to this private YouTube page. I shoot videos for you guys of all the main sites
spk_0
in Yellowstone Park and Grand Teton and the surrounding areas. So you guys can see these things,
spk_0
see what they actually look like as opposed to just reading about them in a guidebook and seeing
spk_0
a picture too. You can actually see a video of all these things. Again, to help you guys plan the
spk_0
best vacation possible to Yellowstone Park and then we also have a really fun deal for families
spk_0
to go to for a skills challenge. And there's a skills challenge of three different levels,
spk_0
easy, moderate and then very difficult. And the skills challenge is just a fun way to go through
spk_0
the park and you find certain things. And when you get home, you send us pictures of all those
spk_0
things and solve some riddles that are in the back of the guidebook and families love this thing.
spk_0
There's it's really popular with families, especially families with small kids on the
spk_0
easiest level. And we send the kids all to each year when they get home and all that stuff, it
spk_0
is turned out to be super, super popular. I didn't know how popular it would be, but everybody seems
spk_0
to love it. And the last level is very difficult. Nobody seems to be able to complete the last
spk_0
level except me, but anybody that does not only gets a t-shirt, but they get a hundred bucks out of
spk_0
the deal. And speaking of t-shirts, we've got an online store for you guys to look at when you guys
spk_0
go to pick out the Yellowstone Drive Guide app or purchase a guidebook or whatever you guys want to
spk_0
do. And by the way, while we're talking about that real quick, there's different packages you
spk_0
guys can get on our website for the Yellowstone Drive Guide app and a guidebook. We've got one where you
spk_0
get the electronic version of the guidebook and the Yellowstone Drive Guide app for only 25 bucks.
spk_0
And that is pretty, pretty cheap. Or you can get a paperback copy and the Yellowstone Drive Guide
spk_0
app will have different packages on there. We're going to have a specialty package, a great
spk_0
limited edition number of specialty packages, which has the guidebook bound in a really cool leather
spk_0
pack. And I'm going to write a personal note in there to you guys when you guys buy one of those.
spk_0
So there's all kinds of different ways to get the Yellowstone Drive Guide app and the guidebook
spk_0
and combo deals as well as some cool t-shirts, bucket hats for kids and all that kind of fun stuff
spk_0
is all on our website for you guys. So you guys can take a look there for all of that fun stuff.
spk_0
Besides getting you guys to the best of the best of Yellowstone and Grand Teton have to offer
spk_0
in all these secret places that are known only by locals like myself. There's a lot of fun
spk_0
activities in the guidebook as well. So it's really a complete package to make you guys have a great
spk_0
Yellowstone Park vacation and all you have to do is go to our website, explore YellowstoneLikealocal.com.
spk_0
And on our website you can go to the review section, read reviews and see pictures that people
spk_0
have posted on there. And be sure to join our Explore Yellowstone like a local Facebook group
spk_0
where you can see thousands of great reviews for the guidebook as well as thousands and thousands
spk_0
of pictures that you guys have posted of everybody having a great time in Yellowstone Park.
spk_0
Alright to bring those podcasts to an end I want to actually read a quick excerpt out of the
spk_0
guidebook about one of my favorite hikes that I've got listed in the guidebook and this
spk_0
this hike gets you to some absolutely fantastic spots. And it's hikes like this is why I wrote
spk_0
the guidebook in the first place. So let's hear a quick excerpt out of the guidebook.
spk_0
Alright this little excerpt out of the guidebook is to the Gibbon Meadows Geyser Basin which is a
spk_0
pretty tough off trail hike to get to but the payoff is worth it you guys. So let me read a
spk_0
little excerpt that's in this guidebook and you're not going to find this hike anywhere else in
spk_0
the world. I'm just telling you guys right now besides this guidebook because I bet less than 100
spk_0
people have been back to this area since the inception of the park in 1872 but I'm one of those
spk_0
100 people and I write a guidebook and I put it in there. And so this area that I'm getting you
spk_0
guys to this Gibbon Meadows hike is it's a wonderful magic place so I'm going to just going to jump
spk_0
in here real quick. Alright here I go as you work your way up through the sparse trees you will come
spk_0
to a huge huge vents and gurgling pots off to your right and then you will crest the hill and see
spk_0
the first of two nice big opal colored pools that up until I found these thought only existed
spk_0
in Norris. This is a special area you are exploring. Look around and notice how quiet it is. Your
spk_0
breath is about the only thing you can hear besides the steam vents and bubbling water from the
spk_0
pools. There are lots of pools and vents to explore just find a good spot and sit down and relax
spk_0
and take it all in. You're the only ones back here. If there was a road back to this Geyser Basin
spk_0
there would be tens upon thousands of people back here with you crowding in for that perfect selfie
spk_0
with that opal pool in the background but thankfully there's not. It's just you and you put in the
spk_0
work to get back here so stop and enjoy the peace and solitude that now surrounds you.
spk_0
On my first trip back here long ago I sat above this Geyser in the trees for nearly 30 minutes.
spk_0
It was snowing a bit and the silence and beauty was just enchanting and overwhelming.
spk_0
It's really nice to immerse yourself in nature to get away from all the crap in your life just to
spk_0
sit down and relax knowing that you're the only one here. I'm telling you you are now exploring
spk_0
Yellowstone like a local. You're hiking in Yellowstone yet you're all alone and you're using your
spk_0
senses like never before. It's a truly special feeling. This is why you came here. This is what Yellowstone
spk_0
is all about and it's yours and yours alone for as long as you want it. Don't be in a hurry to do
spk_0
anything. Just sit down and relax like never before in a spot that has remained unchanged for over
spk_0
600,000 years since the park's last eruption. And that's just badass. I'm telling you. Yellowstone
spk_0
Park is my favorite place on earth. I feel honored to be able to tell you guys about some of the places
spk_0
I have found in that guidebook and get you guys to some of the places where you guys can feel.
spk_0
The wonder, the true wonder of Yellowstone Park and like very few people ever will. So
spk_0
all right thanks for making it to the end of this podcast and the whole rest and you guys have
spk_0
a wonderful Yellowstone Park vacation. I really appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Bye bye.
spk_0
Oh
Topics Covered
Explore Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone Drive Guide app
guidebook for Yellowstone
planning Yellowstone vacation
hiking in Yellowstone
Geysers in Yellowstone
Yellowstone travel tips
best hikes in Yellowstone
Yellowstone vacation planning
Yellowstone attractions
Yellowstone insider tips
saving money on Yellowstone trip
Yellowstone park experiences
Yellowstone travel guide