CIA-RDP96-00792R000400550001-3

T
HE Approved ForRelease 2000/08/15 GIABDP96007928000400550001-3
and, indeed, in the world.
a wilderness realm seemingly set aside
at the creation. But as a national park-
the oldest and largest in the Nation-
Yellowstone measures its age, and 1972 marks
a century.
During these hundred years, more than 48
million persons have visited the vast federal
preserve in northwest Wyoming. For millions
of others, the name alone has offered a sense
of identity with America. No matter that,
among all the national parks, attendance is
higher at Great Smoky Mountains, and that
the scenery, many claim, is more spectacular
at Glacier. Yellowstone continues to stand as
As I drove through the west entrance of the
park on a day stifled by August heat, my
thoughts were of a time, years ago, when an
aunt returned from a vacation and, as aunts
are given to do, distributed souvenirs of
places she had visited. For me there was a
coin bank in the shape of a moose, with the
name "Yellowstone" burned into its wooden
base. The bank is still among my belongings,
having become, like bronzed baby shoes, one
of those possessions kept through sentiment.
Such mementos of the park are found in
homes across the country: pictures of Old Faithful
44º 27' 38 " N
1100 49' 41 " W
617
Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792R000400550001-3