Some tourists had just gotten into Gardiner and were excited to explore Yellowstone National Park. Others were wrapping up their trip and preparing to head home.
But on Monday morning it didn’t matter which direction they wanted to go. No one in Gardiner could go anywhere.
Historic flooding washed out sections of road south of town in the park, and flooding obstructed the only other way out on U.S. Highway 89 to the north. Thousands of tourists became stranded in the town of about 900 residents that’s built around being the northern entrance to Yellowstone.
The flooding took tourists by surprise, with some finding out only because they overheard someone talking about it in a coffee shop on their way to the park gate.
For some, the day was full of uncertainty. They had never been to Montana or Yellowstone before, were unfamiliar with the weather patterns and didn’t know what they could expect (though to be fair, who could have expected this?).
Others didn’t know where to get information about the flooding and road conditions, and one tourist even dismissed a flash flood warning that popped up on their phone because they live in an area where those warnings come through all the time and usually aren’t a big deal.
All that, plus the notion that they could be stranded for days on end, meant there were a lot of panicked and stressed tourists on Monday.
Enter the residents of Gardiner.
Lodging owners helped frantic guests book rooms. Some restaurants stayed open to let people have a place to sit. Churches organized an overnight shelter and a hot, free meal and residents shared crucial information to passersby and on local Facebook pages.
The tourists were grateful and respectful towards residents. Jeff Ballard, pastor of the Gardiner Community Church, helped assist visitors.
Kids who didn’t even speak the same language were playing with each other or watching movies, Ballard said; and several tourists said despite the situation, they were actually enjoying their time in town.
“A sentiment that we have heard from a lot of folks who were stranded here is that Gardiner is a great place to be stuck,” Ballard said.
While some prepared for the town to be isolated for several days, Highway 89 was reopened for people leaving Gardiner and local traffic midday Tuesday, and the town was mostly empty of tourists just a few hours later.
By Wednesday, Gardiner was a “ghost town,” as put by one business owner.
But a local Facebook page for Gardiner and Mammoth residents — which many joined Monday to get information — was full of posts from tourists thanking residents for their help.
“The people in Gardiner are the most resiliently kind, fantastic people ever,” said tourist Jaime Barks. “We were just blown away.”
Barks arrived in Gardiner late Sunday afternoon in her RV with her husband and two kids, ages 13 and 11. Just a week-and-a-half into a two-month road trip, they had just driven 2,000 miles from their home in Tennessee and decided to chill out and head into the park first thing Monday.
It wasn’t until she went on a morning coffee run that Barks found out that the town was cut off due to the floods, setting off a “disorienting and upsetting” few hours.
Barks got on the community Facebook page where she was able to get information, and evacuated on Tuesday at the directive of Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly, who answered questions from those in Gardiner on a call Tuesday.
Richmond, Virginia resident Patrick Siewert and his fiancée, Lori Sclater, also relied on Facebook on Monday and Tuesday.
The two initially posted up at a local bar on Monday, but ran out to the Gardiner Market for provisions once it became clear how bad the flood was.
Siewert spent much of Tuesday coordinating with others on the Facebook group to see if a charter flight out of Gardiner’s airport might be a possible way out before learning the road was open, when he and Sclater headed out of town.
He and Sclater both said Gardiner residents were crucial to their ability to navigate the situation.
“At no time did I ever feel in any danger or anything like that,” Sclater said. “Anybody we came into contact with was kind and calm and willing to offer whatever they had or information.”
Similar to others, Arizona tourist Heith Reade didn’t know about the flooding until he was ready to leave town, this time to head north after spending a few days in the park.
A Gardiner local flagged him down just as he was packing the last of his family’s bags into the car Monday morning to let him know about the floods.
Reade initially shrugged it off, but figured he’d look it up on his phone. Aerial photos showing the flooded and washed out roads quickly convinced him the situation was serious.
Reade, who was traveling with his wife and three young kids, headed down to the Gardiner Market, where a cashier told him where he could find updated information. Then he set up shop in the Yellowstone Perk coffee shop, where he said residents and tourists alike were swapping information and commiserating.
He was headed there on Tuesday when a resident of the house next door asked him if he was a tourist, then let him know the road was reopened.
Reade said he appreciated that a stranger was willing, and eager, to give him vital information.
“It’s a small town — so everyone knows when you’re new, so it was just very very fortunate timing, and for him to be willing to interact with us, not knowing us, to give us that information,” Reade said.
Several of the tourists said they were happy to be safely on their way, but were concerned for the residents of Gardiner who are facing a disruption to their economy like no other.
The town’s generosity during the crisis will be remembered.
“We are hellbent on coming back. We are determined. Not just to Yellowstone but to Gardiner specifically,” Barks said. “The community was so kind to us that I want to come back and spend our tourist dollars there. I want to see them get back on their feet.”
Let the news come to you
Get any of our free daily email newsletters — news headlines, opinion, e-edition, obituaries and more.
