Retro Roadtrip: Yellowstone through the years

Take a look at what a "bear" driving through Yellowstone used to be back in the day with these vintage Yellowstone National Park photos...

Every year, we find ourselves spending a good amount of time in Yellowstone, often cursing the road construction as we try to spot wildlife. There are few places in the world you can experience nature in all its glory like you can in Yellowstone. It's truly one-of-a-kind.

For our very first installment of "Retro Roadtrip," we thought we'd share with you some pretty incredible vintage photos of folks driving through Yellowstone National Park.

As you see above (and in the gallery below), bears approaching cars used to be a frequent issue in Yellowstone. The reason? Some of the national parks used to actually bait the wildlife with trash pads near the road to ensure visitors were "wowed" by wildlife. Obviously, they figured out this wasn't a great idea.

Scroll through more images below:

All photos via Yellowstone National Park

These days, the bears aren't real-life Yogi and Boo-Boos, but instead roam the wilderness just as they had done prior to us messing with them. That's just good for everyone.

In the decades since most of these pictures were taken, the park has re-introduced the wolf, re-birthed itself through the fires of 1988, and re-kindled America's love of its national parks.

Love Yellowstone? How about a stay in their massive treehouse, the Old Faithful Inn. More about it here...