Decades After Visiting As A Kid, Cheyenne Man Gets Wish For Yellowstone Return

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Cheyenne resident Paul Terry has seen a lot of things in his life.

As a child, his father would take the family through Yellowstone National Park while driving from Oregon to Montana. Although Terry appreciated the sights, they also left him with a longing for more as they rarely stopped at any of the attractions in the park.

It left him with a lifelong desire to return and truly see what the park has to offer.

This week, the 78-year-old was finally granted that wish thanks to AARP and its charitable affiliate Wish of A Lifetime, an organization that grants life-changing wishes to older adults to redefine aging in America.

For Terry, who’s dealt with his own share of health problems, including recovering from three bypasses and living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes, he said the trip has meant a lot. He joked that he has more artificial parts in his body than real ones.

Walking A Storm

Terry is far from a couch potato, walking more than 10,000 — and sometimes as many as 20,000 — steps a day as part of the AARP’s Mall Walking group in Cheyenne.

He’s one of the top performers in the program, typically arriving at the mall as soon as it opens at six in the morning to get his steps in. AARP recently awarded him a $200 gift certificate for his walking feats.

“He has 10,000 steps in before we even get there,” AARP Wyoming Associate State Director for Outreach Jennifer Baier said. “He puts us to shame.”

Terry confided to the group that he joined up this spring to combat loneliness. He quickly became a familiar face, often sharing Hershey’s Kisses and dog treats from his walker.

“I give Hershey’s Kisses to the women to give me kisses every morning, and sometimes I give Tootsie Rolls to the men for bringing the women,” he said.

When Baier heard that Terry had always wanted to go back to Yellowstone, she thought he would be an excellent fit for Wish of A Lifetime, inspired by his motivated approach to staying active and his desire to visit the park one last time.

“It’s great to be able to grant wishes for people,” she said. “Paul worked for his whole life. It’s important to grant them an opportunity, all these wishes people dreamt about doing their whole lives.”

Terry took the three-day trip to Yellowstone this week accompanied by Baier.

He used his motorized scooter to get around, traveling miles around the Old Faithful Geyser and the colorful Grand Prismatic Spring. Yellowstone has put a significant amount of effort into improving handicap access, allowing visitors to reach all of the main spots in the park.

But when hiking up to a gurgling mudpot, Terry still rejected Baier’s offer to help carry his all-terrain walker. He carried it up all 38 steps.

“He was insisting on carrying it up,” she said.

“That’s when I was in better shape,” Terry joked about the hike that had only happened the day before.

In the few short days they spent together, Terry and Baier built camaraderie, teasing each other with almost every remark they made.

Terry joked that Baier’s husband wouldn’t be too happy if they shared a hotel room together. Baier rolled her eyes and responded that she keeps bear spray with her wherever she goes.

“I pack it for all the creatures on the trail,” she remarked.

A Life In The Trees

Terry grew up in rural eastern Oregon and northwest Montana, the son of a logger and farmer. He followed the logging part of his dad’s footsteps, making it his profession as well.

Terry spent more than 50 years of his life working in forests, able to identify countless types of trees and proper cutting techniques. With his feller buncher, Terry could slay about 800 trees in eight hours.

On their way into the park, Terry pointed out nearly every piece of logging equipment along the side of the road, explaining to Baier what each does and how it is operated.

His passion for forestry management shines through above all else, frequently critiquing how the park could do a better job managing its trees to prevent forest fires.

Highlights

Terry said one of his favorite parts about Yellowstone are its geysers, exploding from the earth’s crust with brute natural force.

“I just like the way they work, the mechanics,” he said.

He convinced Baier to wake up at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday so they could have Old Faithful almost all to themselves at the crack of dawn.

“I like the geysers,” he explained. “I don’t like the big crowds.”

While taking in Old Faithful again later the same morning, Terry also had a humorous interaction with a social media influencer, who he playfully scolded for leaving the human walkway. The influencer didn’t listen, appearing more concerned with dancing in front of the exploding water for online followers.

“They (park staff) do a pretty good job here,” Terry said. “I know sometimes the public doesn’t help them.”

He was also impressed by the Grand Prismatic despite the overwhelming crowds surrounding the colorful hot springs. He said the thundering falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone nearly took his breath away.

“I love them falls, it was tremendous,” he said. “It was worth making a trip to see that alone.”

They also took in the Dragon’s Mouth Spring, a hot spring that emanates clouds of steam, like the nostrils of a ferocious dragon.

On Friday, Terry was scheduled to head to Mammoth Hot Springs before heading home on Saturday.

A Meaningful Trip

Terry moved to Cheyenne 3-4 years ago to be closer to his sons. Although Wyoming is now home, the open plains of the prairie offer a sharp contrast from the dense green forests of Oregon.

Watching Old Faithful erupt for the fourth time on Thursday afternoon in the blazing heat, a small smile crept across his face. Not one to be overwhelmed with emotion, he complained that there were too many crowds around, but it’s clear the trip meant a lot to him.

“I’m glad they did it for me or I wouldn’t have seen it,” he said.

Terry’s hearing is slipping but he can connect his hearing aids to his phone, allowing him to listen to hours of audiobooks with crisp clarity. He joked that when he doesn’t want to listen to Baier anymore, he turns on an audiobook from his favorite author, the Western novelist Louis L’Amour.

“He really reels you in,” he said.

At his age, Terry admits it’s unlikely he would’ve visited Yellowstone without AARP’s help. He lives on a fixed income and can’t travel long distances by himself. It’s a common scenario for many seniors.

What the Wish of a Lifetime program provides, Terry said, is an opportunity for seniors like him to cross off wishes on their bucket lists before it’s too late. Since the program has started Wish of a Lifetime has granted over 2,700 wishes in 50 states including visits with The Rolling Stones, trips to Hawaii, Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon.

“AARP has been wonderful for me,” he said.

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.