There's always two sides to every story.....
".....Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said rangers didn't confine guests to the lodge but might have been on foot patrol nearby to prevent visitors from getting close to Old Faithful geyser and other park attractions.
"We did not have people stationed at lodging facilities for any reason," Nash said. "The immediate area at the inn, the restaurant, the adjacent stores and gift shops would have been accessible, but we did close the boardwalk and the hiking trails in the area. And they all remain closed."
As for the armed rangers, Nash said most of the rangers who were not furloughed are the ones who normally carry firearms.
He said all visitors in the park when it closed were given the same message.
"Boardwalks through thermal areas were closed, hiking trails were closed, and that people were
not permitted to drive through the park and sightsee and take photographs. That was a consistent message shared with all visitors who were in the park last week," Nash said. "Our contacts all started with an apology."....read......
Yellowstone Tour Group Treatment Draws Complaints - ABC News
"....At a time when park rangers have been referred to as gestapo by visitors who were forced to leave Yellowstone, Anzelmo wanted to remind the nation that essential park employees still on the job have been participating in search and rescue operations, flood repairs and other maintenance work while taking abuse from the public.
“This is not the fault of any federal agency,” she said. “It’s the fault of Congress.”...read....
Report: Yellowstone loses $9M so far from shutdown
Personally, I think the federal government does a fantastic job managing the National Parks. It is one of the few things they do right.
Protection of federal lands, buildings, waterways, and other property of the U.S.;