Brief encounters

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

By Teresa Griswold

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Military choppers clipped the Upper Geyser Basin of Old Faithful, on Saturday. A large portion of the boardwalk had been secured for the First Family’s private tour, and instead of all eyes on Old Faithful, a few thousand onlookers from around the world crowded along barriers to glimpse America’s leader.

The ranger said President Obama was so far away she had to view him through her field binoculars – the same ones she uses for spotting wildlife.

The First Family made a quick visit to the park in their sweep across the Rocky Mountain West for the President’s series of town hall meetings to discuss healthcare. After a few hours though, the park returned to its steady rhythm of erupting geysers, excited visitors and wandering wildlife.

Shortly after the First Family’s private lunch and tour of the geyser basin, Marine One transported them to Air Force One, waiting just outside the park’s west entrance at Montana’s West Yellowstone Airport.

The blue-and-white, highly customized Boeing 747 stood alone on the tarmac closely guarded by secret service agents, sharpshooters atop the terminal building, police officers, bomb-sniffing dogs and military personnel, many of them armed.
Reporters and photographers dwarfed by the huge plane gathered in the designated press area at the one event officially open to press for  Obama’s visit. A lone satellite truck hoisted its white dish in front of the airport. Marine One arrived, proceeded by two or three marine choppers, one that seemed a twin to the President’s. Marine One’s door opened and the First Family emerged along with aides.

Press members were ready with questions, recorders and cameras, but the First Family didn’t give their reaction to the Yellowstone experience, the President didn’t comment on how his Administration vows to preserve the world’s first national park or other lands.

The President smiled and waved from a distance. He walked confidently with his arm around his youngest daughter Sasha, then boarded the jet which took off minutes later. The First Family’s Yellowstone visit was a vacation – that’s it. JHW


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Brief encounters | Planet JH News Article: General News

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