President Obama in Yellowstone National Park“Oh, that’s pretty good. Cool.” President Obama commented after watching Yellowstone’s famous geyser erupt. Old Faithful did not keep the First Family waiting long and burst into the blue sky more or less on schedule at 12:16 p.m.; hundreds of park visitors gathered across the boardwalk and cheered when the president arrived.
For those of us who work in Yellowstone, having the First Family visit the first National Park was an honor. As an environmental professional who has worked in support of parks for over a decade, I sincerely appreciated the President recognizing the importance of “America’s Best Idea” with his special family trip to Yellowstone. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Yellowstone Superintendent Suzanne Lewis also joined the president for his tour.
My company, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, provided a special lunch for President Obama and his group, and I felt lucky to be selected to assist with the event. While the presidential party toured the mystical moonscape created by the unique geologic activity of Black Sand Basin, our crew readied the Old Faithful Snow Lodge for the meal. Working with the Secret Service, we watched as they conducted three different security sweeps (“sanitizing” is service lingo)--one sweep included an adorable and energetic bomb sniffing dog.
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