Ironclad Rules For Survival In Wyoming’s National Parks

The world is full of interesting people and the internet doesn't really give them much slack, especially if they're a repeat customer of the 'touron' label.

The National Park Service has been one of the major contributors of producing these 'tourons'. The term 'touron' (combination of tourist and moron) started being used to describe by the Urban Dictionary as:

to describe any person who, while on vacation, commits an act of pure stupidity.

This term has actually spawned hours and hours of entertainment for us all. There are Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and websites dedicated to this special breed of people.

Here in Wyoming, it's common to have many touron moments, because of the great opportunities we have. National Parks, National Monuments, large fluffy cows, a wide array of wild animals and the types of places most people aren't familiar with. Since everyone has a phone that can quickly take pictures and record video, these moments are captured and put online within seconds of them happening.

If you've ever looked on product packaging, there are usually warnings printed that most people read and think "well, duh". These warnings and rules have to be on these products because either A). Someone has done that particular thing mentioned or B). Someone may think of doing that particular thing mentioned.

I was looking the bottom of a coffee mug that had "caution: if you put this cup in the microwave, it may be hot when you remove it" printed on the bottom. Yep, companies have to cover their butts for about every scenario.

That includes the National Park Service.

They do a great job of being playful and not too critical of people when they put stuff on their social media, especially safety rules. In reality, someone has probably done it or may think about doing it.

Since Friday the 13th was last week, the NPS felt they should remind people of simple rules to keep them safe when visiting National Parks, with a flair of comedy.