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Yellowstone visitors weigh in: Would you rather see a grizzly or Joe Biden?

Posted: Jul 26, 2010 6:16 PM by Dan Boyce
Updated: Jul 27, 2010 9:22 AM


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Yellowstone National Park staff worked hard to minimize any disturbance to park visitors while a high-profile guest visited the park on Monday.

Yellowstone tourists took some time out of their trips to talk about how they feel about Vice President Joe Biden's stop.

Along with the mountain vistas and diverse wildlife of the country's first national park, visitor's also had the chance to see the nation's second in command on Monday. But tourists at one campground near Madison Junction were mixed as to which they'd rather see - Joe Biden or a grizzly bear.

"I'd take the grizzly bear. You know, it's natural, it belongs here," Mike Unverferth, from Raymond Nebraska, said.

"Joe Biden. I've seen a lot of grizzly bears in here," said Castledale Utah resident, Derald Oliver.

"He's (Biden's) not gonna eat us," said Alexa Humphreys, who is cycling across the country from her home in Portland, Oregon with her friend Jess Hoffman.

It's true, I don't have to hide my food from him," Hoffman said, also choosing to see Vice President Biden.

"You see Joe Biden on TV all the time. You very seldom see a grizzly bear, especially in the wild, maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Cliff Yeater, from Stagecoach, Nevada.

Seeing a grizzly may have been a simpler feat. Biden's streamside speech was a private affair. The press, park employees and their families were the only invitees.

Before and during the Vice President's speech, rangers carefully patrolled a wide perimeter.

"It is being held with minimal disruption to the visitor, there have been no roads closed for this event," Yellowstone acting public affairs officer Lindy Allen said.

The guests agreed that not much was held up, mostly.

"Oh, we just ran into a minor thing. We were going to use the bathroom down the road, and we had to come up here," said Judy Smith, of Thomasville, North Carolina.

But a grizzly could have caused that too.

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