The Charm of a Tourist Town

I don’t know when I became insufferable about tourist towns and touristy experiences. Maybe it was spending much of my adult life living in top tourist destinations. If you’ve ever lived in one, you know that tourists can be super annoying. A nuisance. Entitled. Clueless. Nobody knows how to walk on sidewalks! But, hey! We’re all tourists, aren’t we? Colan and I certainly are, trying on America one stop at a time, and we’re doing our best to not be THOSE people. And one of our favs lately has been rediscovering the charm and allure of a tourist town.

We stayed in West Yellowstone, Montana, at the most popular entrance to Yellowstone National Park. We arrived too late to explore Yellowstone the first day, so we settled into the Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park (getting our groove down pat, baby!) and then walked into town. Our first impression was unfair as we took one look at the hordes of tourists and the overall architecture, which makes West Yellowstone look like an old western frontier town, and dismissed it as contrived—just a necessary thing to deal with to get to the park. Turns out, we were idiots (excel at that sometimes despite our best efforts), and nothing could be further from the truth.

Our time in West Yellowstone was fantastical, wonderful, and life-affirming not only because of the gobsmacking beauty of Yellowstone National Park but also because of the charm and convenience of West Yellowstone, the town. For one, exploring national parks often means A LOT of driving.Walking to anything we might need— grocery, liquor, hardware stores, restaurants and bars, sweets and gift shops, you name it— all easily accessible by foot, was a great way to end the day. We spend so much time driving that leaving ol’ Pearl home when possible is always welcome. It’s been years since we’ve lived in a walkable city and were reminded how much we love it. Perfect weather and a 10pm bedtime for daylight didn’t hurt either. Get out there and walk!

We like to be Regulars, even on the road. It makes us feel grounded in this nomadic life of ours. Plus, we’re always on the lookout for where we may want to put down roots next. Locals give the best scoop! We quickly found our favorite spot— The Buffalo Bar and would head out every night for dinner, drinks, and live music under the stars. Seriously, every night. And it never got old. It just left us wanting more. Our nightly routine became something we looked forward to with the same enthusiasm as our daily park adventures. So go and find a place to be a local while you’re busy being a tourist. It's the best way to be a nomad if you ask me. And definitely the best way to fall hard for a tourist town.

Hope to see you out there! -CL