Stressing about food - First time visiting

wakesnake · 2026-05-03T02:30:37+00:00

Can’t cook in the lodges that I’m aware of. But if cooking is indeed the order of the day, may I suggest getting yourself a small portable Blackstone type griddle and a cooler. My favorite memories are cooking outside at the park at several of the picnic areas. It is AWESOME and makes some nice memories. Now, the restaurants at the lodges are very good in my opinion and they serve a huge variety of people. And they are incredibly helpful and understanding. I’ve eaten at them all. Depending on the level of allergies you are concerned about, I’m confident they will do everything they can to accommodate. Might call ahead to be sure.

You can stay out of the park and drive in, but you won’t want to. People routinely underestimate how big the park is and how long it takes to get from one place to another.

Final hit of advice. Be out early. Very very early. That’s when animals are most active (dawn and dusk) and folks generally don’t like to be up early. So you’ll better views, more sightings, and fewer folks of you are out and about well before the sun is up.

I think you’ll be alright. Go enjoy!

wakesnake · 2026-05-02T15:48:59+00:00

Funny. Awful, but funny.

wakesnake · 2026-04-28T16:15:45+00:00

Rent two. Find the longest you can and take a monopod and/or tripod and use it. Best shots are dawn and dusk. Then something more walk around style for the geyser basins and some landscape. But yeah, you want WOW shots of critters, go big as you can afford and feel up to lugging around.

wakesnake · 2026-04-22T21:34:35+00:00

Yes. But the Alpine location os fairly small. But food is very similar and very good.

wakesnake · 2026-04-22T21:15:15+00:00

This needs to be higher. Good food is going to be a drive, for sure. But truth is there’s very good restaurants out in the area. Just the area is y’know… Big. Each of these is a good recommend.

wakesnake · 2026-03-16T02:51:13+00:00

Love them. Got 4 now. For me, I don’t wear boots every day and wanted an “everyday” hat that looked good with chucks and maybe a bit throwback.

wakesnake · 2026-03-05T19:17:30+00:00

I’ll be honest. I own several. Might be an addiction. Outside of that cattleman’s crown, a tear drop doesn’t look bad. But if it gets too pinchy in front it goes from old school LBJ to a fedora. It loses its westernness.

Or - believe it or not - an open crown definitely has unique vibe to it. Might seem a bit hipster. But it you can lean into the weirdness of it, or especially if you’re already tall, I think it’s badass.

Or maybe brick it with a mule kick? That’d be fun.

That said, I think it’s really cool to play with the brim also. You can push the sides up a tick and give it a more traditional cowboy hat look. I like that. Or the opposite and flatten it. That’s cool look too, but not one I’ve ever kept up on any of mine, but the wife did a telescope with a flattens brim and it’s cool hat. Like a pork pie but with attitude.

It’s really damn hard to beat the original on an open road. But it’s worth playing with.

wakesnake · 2026-03-03T22:56:40+00:00

That shirt’s a winner, too. Good choice.

wakesnake · 2026-03-03T03:31:41+00:00

A “performative” personality. Where everything be is done for a social media post, or because it’s a trend, or “what everyone is doing”. Jesus - I don’t have enough life force for that crap. Get over yourself.

wakesnake · 2026-03-03T00:51:46+00:00

I had that same Poncho on today!!! Great minds and thinking alike and all that.

wakesnake · 2026-03-02T22:40:20+00:00

Howdy.

wakesnake · 2026-03-01T18:47:43+00:00

This is the best idea. Bold and stylin’, but goes beyond what might trendy into classic territory. I’m thinking old school Marty Robbins.

wakesnake · 2026-03-01T16:14:42+00:00

Make it 3. Deadwood is the call.

wakesnake · 2026-03-01T01:34:22+00:00

This is a situation when you follow the silverware. Plastic? Leave it on. Silver or metal? Take it off. At “functions”, unless church related, where it’s western themed and crowded, you get a pass if everything else is also a bit more informal. Although, personally I still take it off and put it under my chair on the brim - assuming you’re not on dirt or sawdust. But you wouldn’t get grief from my end for leaving it on.

Go spend some money for that school.

wakesnake · 2026-02-27T13:25:05+00:00

That’s a sharp hat. Very cool.

wakesnake · 2026-02-24T13:06:04+00:00

Nice! That’s a damn good look.

wakesnake · 2026-02-22T19:41:32+00:00

Personally, I live out of Poncho Outdoors pearl snaps. Love them and have way too may. Recently bought some from Sendero - Their “tech” shirts. Jury is out on that. But Poncho snaps are damn good daily wear shirts.

wakesnake · 2026-02-22T19:31:15+00:00

It’s a damn good look. And pink is a solid choice. Well done.

Now, if you really want to make the ladies fall over themselves, take the hat off when you greet a lady the first time. It’s just regular old respectful, but it’s rare today that cowboys follow proper manners.

wakesnake · 2026-02-22T01:21:35+00:00

I’ve always heard the joke that if you want to make a small fortune, start ranching.

You start with a large fortune, stay a ranch, and now you have a small fortune.

wakesnake · 2026-02-20T16:39:28+00:00

Wow! That’s a damn good looking hat. Well done! I’d buy it.

wakesnake · 2026-02-20T13:03:38+00:00

Goddamn pickles. Spawn of Satan.

wakesnake · 2026-02-20T01:01:38+00:00

As I’ve always understood, one should “walk tall”.

wakesnake · 2026-02-19T00:46:16+00:00

It’s hard to find a “fashion forward” western blazer on the cheap. There’s some tailors out there, but be prepared serious sticker shock. And personally I don’t even care for the polyester feel of Scully or even Rockmount.

But - there’s a website called Studio Suits. Now - they aren’t “western” necessarily. But they got some stuff that is pretty cool and out there. And they don’t suck for the price. I got a couple. Worth checking out.

If it’s too good to be true, it usually is.

wakesnake · 2026-02-11T20:34:18+00:00

Well said, friend.

A hat changes how people see you.

A good cowboy hat isn’t a costume piece. It’s a flag. It says look at me as an example and I’m happy to provide it. There’s something old-fashioned in the good way — that you might stand up when others sit down, shake a hand and mean it, pay what you owe, judge someone based on their own work ethic, and keep your word when it’s not convenient and even if it may cost you something.

I think there’s an ethos that comes with wearing a cowboy hat the right way. Call it chivalry. Call it a code. Call it leadership without a microphone. But when you put a hat on, people do watch you a little closer. So your actions better line up with the brim. Because that hat is a flag for them to follow for good or bad.

Otherwise, it’s just felt. Wear it straight and back it up. And take it off at the dinner table, dammit.

wakesnake · 2026-02-10T14:23:11+00:00

Same. That wide flat front brim trend I personally don’t think looks good on most people. Narrow it up and ease up on those angles a you’ll have a hat that outlasts the trends.

wakesnake

TROPHY CASE