ducatimatz28

The Yellowstone Cubs Documentary really brought back Memories of My Family visiting the Park every year starting in the 1950's onward. I was around 5yrs old on my 1st visit around 1955. The Entrance Fee into the Park shown in the Film (1963) was pretty cheap at $3.00 compared to Today. I just looked up the present fees Private Non-commercial Vehicle $ 35.00 (valid for 7 days)Motorcycle, Snowmobile $ 30.00 (valid for 7 days) Single Entry (foot, bike, ski, 16+ years old)$ 20.00 (valid for 7 days) and these costs are half the days of the 1963 Fees(15 days) Just like in the Film back in the Day, The Bears were on the Roadways waiting for the Cars; Even though you weren't suppose to Feed them, everyone did, especially when Cubs were present. Many people seem to think these were tame animals and would get up close for Photos, Some Dumb Mothers actually Putting their Children on the Bear for a Photo. There were lots of these Small little Cabins to stay at in the Park. I can remember them having Small heating Stoves with a Few Presto Logs next to them.

The Old Faithful Inn which was built in 1904 still exists today. It has 327 Rooms and is open from May to October. Old Faithful Geyser has always amazed me that it still reaches the same height or close every time it erupts. Discovered in 1870 by the Washburn Expedition it has erupted for Centuries possibly since time began. When the 1959 Earthquake happen in the Park it changed a number of Things. Geysers that hadn't worked in a Century started working again and new ones started up. It is said that Yellowstone Park sits above the Largest Volcano in the World and if it went off has the Destructive Force many times larger of the Atomic Bombs dropped on Japan in WW2, Hopefully this never happens! Anyone that visits the Park especially those that live in large cramped Metropolitan Areas will marvel at it's wide open Space and Beauty. Now days when you travel through the Park you won't see Bears on the Roadways, You Might see Elk resting on the side of the Roads or an Occasional Buffalo or Moose crossing the Road. Still a thrill for a 1st timer to the Park but nothing like it was when I was a Kid, so it makes me Glad I was born at a time to see what was in the Film and more...

Actually a decent Motorcycle Racing Based Film especially since it was made for TV. All the Racing Sequences were overseen by Real AMA Dirt Track Racers who were Former Grand National Champions (Jay Springsteen,Chris Carr,Gene Romero were Race Sequence Cordinators,so they made the Racing Scenes Look Legitimate. George Roeder II was actually doing the Racing as Frank Shelby. Roeder is the 2nd generation of a famous AMA Motorcycle Racing Family. His Dad George Sr was a well known professional racer going back to the 1950's. George II spent almost 25 yrs on the AMA Pro Racing Circuit carrying National Number 66 starting in 1986-2010. Certainly a more Realistic Film on Dirt Track Motorcycle Racing than the Dated "Pace that Thrills" (1952) which actually put a negative on Racers especially the part played by Actor Bill Williams (Dusty Weston) who did some Stunts in a Race that would have gotten you Banned by the AMA Today. I had forgotten about this Film until I saw Craig T Nelson playing a Character in "Sheldon" and remembered that he did an actually good acting Performance in this made for TV Film.

In Sept 1966, Not that many households had a Color TV. NBC's figure for January 1st, 1966 stood at 5,220,000 Nation Wide, an 85% gain over the January 1st, 1965 number but still only 9.7% of all television households. I was in HS in 66 and we didn't get a Color TV (Zenith 25") until 1967. Although all the ST Episodes were filmed in Color, Not every TV Station in your Smaller Markets had the equipment to transmit Color; so even those Households that had a Color Set in 1966 still might have only seen this Episode in B&W. I don't think it was until 1969/70 that I saw "Man Trap" and a lot of other Programs that had been filmed in color for years in living Color.

So re watching all these Episodes/Programs was a new Experience. All the Bright Different Colored Uniforms of the Crew as well as the Ship's interior and Sets was like seeing the episode for the 1st time again. Today's Generation give you the Odd Look today talking about Color TV, but People of my Generation can still remember when it was a Thrill in the early 60's to watch the NBC Peacock Fan out from B&W to "In Living Color" or watch Tinker Bell produce Color with her wand on Walt Disney's WWOC. Just because you were the Luck Family that had a Color Set in the early 60's; there were on 4 programs that were shown in Color... I still believe IMHO that "Man Trap" was one of the best Episodes of the Series.