Yellowstone National Park Traps, Abuses Senior Tourists Due To Government Shutdown

Yellowstone National Park trapped some tourists due to the 2013 government shutdown.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the government shutdown has seen National Parks officials closing many tourist attractions including Yellowstone National Park, even though part of it was on fire.

They even tried to close George Washington’s Mt. Vernon Estate and Gardens, even though it’s privately funded.

Fifteen tourists were trapped just outside of Yellowstone National Park due to heavy snowfall. Bill Anderson, one of the trapped, has vowed to not take it laying down. Bill has told sources he’s written and called his representatives to no effect. But he’s not done yet, telling reporters, “We’re screwed. But I’m not willing to be screwed silently. You got to open your mouth”.

Aside from medical emergency, Bill Anderson and crew will likely not be leaving anytime soon as they were scheduled to leave October 18th. But with only Buns N’ Beds and one gas station currently available for entertainment it’s needless to say they are not having the best of vacations despite being in one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in the country.

In other news relating to the government shutdown and it’s effect on Yellowstone National Park, another story reports that a group of senior citizens were manhandled by park employees trying to expel the guests from the park. A group of seniors from a variety of countries were purportedly treated so badly some of the foreign-language speakers in the group thought they were under arrest. The group was locked in a Yellowstone National Park hotel under armed guard and allegedly verbally abused.

When the group was finally allowed to leave, they were not permitted to stop anywhere in the two and half hour trip it took to exit the Yellowstone National Park. The ranch offering a full service restroom was told they would lose their license to operate if they allowed the seniors to stop as planned.

Pat Vaillancourt says her experience at Yellowstone National Park during the government shutdown was like being in an completely different country:

“We’ve become a country of fear, guns and control. It was like they brought out the armed forces. Nobody was saying, ‘we’re sorry,’ it was all like —”

She couldn’t finish the sentence and instead clenched her fist and banged it against her forearm.

Though allowed to stay for two days at the park, the seniors were apparently forbidden from recreation. Pat Vaillancourt recounts that during a bus tour the seniors got out of the bus to snap photos of a herd of bison and another armed guard came by to tell them to get back on the bus, aggressively telling them they couldn’t “recreate.”

Who knew that the government shutdown would result in “anti-recreation police”…? Much criticism has circulated of the Federal government’s handling of the government shutdown of National Parks, and even states willing to fund their own park’s partial re-openings have been obstructed. Washington Times reports one park official claiming they have been directed to “make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

Even private homes that happen to be on federal land are being “closed”. People are being forced out of their homes at Lake Mead and not allowed to return until the 2013 government shutdown ends.

And, finally, the National Park Service has also attempted to close the ocean. Chartered fishing trips in Florida Bay were forcibly canceled while citing the government shutdown. Also, Florida coast tours and paddling guides are canceled.

What do you think of the US Federal government’s handling of the government shutdown of Yellowstone National Park and other National Parks?