Those Green Aliens Along The Road To Yellowstone A Tribute To Wapiti Vietnam Vet

For years, the green aliens spotted lurking around northwest Wyoming were just another Wapiti oddity, like the Smith Mansion, for visitors to double-take at as they were on their way to Yellowstone National Park.

Now, the little green men are a memorial to the legendary man who found peace and prosperity in Wapiti and chose to share it with thousands of others.

The aliens belonged to Francisco “Frank” Alvarado, who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last month. He chose Wyoming as a place to quietly retire and spend his golden years happier and busier than ever. 

And a little quirkier, too.

“He always felt like he had something to prove,” Nicole Alvarado, Frank’s only daughter, told Cowboy State Daily. “He came from a humble upbringing and did amazing things. He was an incredible man who always wanted to help others.”

Nicole admitted that she always found her father’s skinny green aliens “hideous” and for years hoped they might return to their home planet, or at least disappear from the side of the highway. 

Now she can’t imagine them not exploring their adopted planet as a deep green memorial to her father.

“They're hideous, but they brought my dad a lot of joy,” she said. “So for that reason, I think they have to remain for a little bit longer.”

That means more double-takes along the road to Yellowstone’s East Entrance, and maybe even spotting them doing some sightseeing throughout the nation’s first national park.

Soldier, Deputy, Californian

Frank Alvarado was born to two Mexican parents in El Paso, Texas, in 1948. 

The eldest of four children, Frank was living with his family in West Los Angeles, California, where he entered adulthood with an enlistment in the U.S. Marines for a deployment to Vietnam.  

Frank survived nearly 50 missions during the Vietnam War, which his family described as “several difficult years serving his country ... marking his life with pain, suffering, strength and resilience” shaped by the horrors of war.

“He was a warrior in so many ways,” Nicole said. “He grew up in a place where he felt like he had to prove people wrong about himself, even though he was already a really good guy.”

Frank returned from Vietnam, but the experience profoundly impacted his life. 

He was exposed to Agent Orange during his service, which he suspected might have created or contributed to the debilitating disease that ended his life.

After returning to the United States, Frank spent 20 years as a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. When he was off duty, he ran and completed more than 50 marathons.

Between his deployments in Vietnam and his time with the LA Sheriff’s Office, Frank battled with post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Nicole said his experience related to an officer-involved shooting was a significant turning point, and he wanted a quieter life.

“There was a segment on the ‘Today Show’ about the 100 best small towns in America,” she said. “One summer, my parents just decided to go and check out these places, so they maneuvered their way through the country.

Nicole said Frank and her mother, Maureen, wanted a small neighborhood, “a quiet place with nothing going on.”

“They found Cody, and then they found Wapiti,” she said. “They bought their house in 1993, and we still have it.”

Sharing The Love And The Landscape

The Alvarado family might have wanted a simpler life in the Wapiti Valley, but Frank found himself reenergized, inspired and ready to prove himself once again.

After a life-changing visit to Yellowstone National Park, Frank started Pheidippides in 1993, a tour company offering guided tours of the park. 

He later changed the name to Cody Shuttle, which continues offering private tours of the park.

“My dad loved an audience, so being a tour guide was the perfect job for him,” Nicole said. “He loved the beauty and magnificence of Yellowstone, but I think sharing it with people from all over the world was what brought him so much joy.”

During his tours and in his free time, Frank became an avid wildlife photographer, taking thousands of photographs throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. 

When he found himself with time at home, he constantly hosted parties and people to build camaraderie in his community.

“He had so much pride for Wyoming,” Nicole said. “He loved showing people photos of our house, always invited people over just to spend time and enjoy a barbecue. He loved people, and he loved Wyoming.”

‘This Green, Stupid Alien’

Frank was enjoying a warm winter in his second home in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he started having trouble moving his arms. 

After several tests and a neck surgery, a VA facility gave him a diagnosis Frank considered “worse than a death sentence.”

“With a death sentence, you have a chance of an appeal or pardon,” he told the Cody Enterprise in 2021.” When you have (ALS), you don’t have that option. You know what the end is going to be, just not when.”

Despite the debilitating effects of ALS, Nicole said her father retained his optimism and sense of humor throughout the final years of his life. 

Perhaps that explains why he decided to add an extraterrestrial presence to his Wapiti home.

“I have so much knowledge about the aliens,” Nicole said. “My parents went on a road trip to New Mexico and passed a place where they picked up the hideous cast-iron alien.

“My dad's always been fascinated with aliens and Area 51, so my mom, begrudgingly, agreed to get this green, stupid alien.”

The alien soon stood at the end of the family’s driveway, right across the highway from the infamous Smith Mansion. 

Nicole still doesn’t think much of her father’s extraterrestrial addition to the Wapiti Valley, but she accepted them because she knew he enjoyed them.

“It got stolen once and disappeared for months and months,” she said. “Then our neighbor, Harry Kagan, got a call from the Park County Sheriff’s Office saying they’d found it as part of an investigation. It was hanging out in someone’s home, but it was recovered and brought back.”

Frank decided the best way to keep the alien safe was to make sure it had someone watching its back. So, he got a second alien that was placed at the end of their driveway.

“And now there are two hideous aliens on our property,” she said. “Because, of course, one was not good enough. You need two. It wasn’t my decision, but my dad enjoyed them.”

Kidnapped For One Last Tour

Laura Redmond, owner of Heart of Wyoming Photography, was driving toward the East Entrance of Yellowstone in the middle of the night when a green alien appeared at the side of the road.

“As soon as my headlights hit that alien just right, I slammed on the brakes and pulled in,” she said. “That alien was lined up with the Milky Way.”

Redmond got a fantastic shot of “ET” with the mountains and the Milky Way in the background. She didn’t know until later that she was the last person to see the iron alien before it was stolen.

“The next morning, it was all over Facebook that this alien had been stolen,” she said. “I was the last one to see it, so I kept my mouth shut, because I didn't know who took him, and I didn't want people to think that I did. 

“About nine months later, I was driving up in Yellowstone and the alien was back.”

A few weeks later, the Northern Lights were streaking over northwest Wyoming. Redmond returned to Wapiti to get another spectacular shot of the green alien in front of the multi-colored aurora.

When Frank and Maureen called Redmond to buy a print of her alien aurora photo, Redmond decided it was the perfect moment for a peculiar request.

“I asked Frank if I could kidnap his alien,” she said. “I really want to take him down the highway to Big Boy and take pictures of Big Boy and the alien underneath the stars. Frank said, ‘Sure,’ so I did.”

Just Another Tourist

Redmond got a great shot of the Wapiti Big Boy sharing a stellar view with Frank’s green alien. It was so good that Redmond asked to kidnap the alien again, but this time, she wanted to take it all over Yellowstone.

Little did Redmond know that she and Frank had the same idea.

“He told me he always wanted to do that but never got to because of his ALS diagnosis,” she said. “So, he let me kidnap his alien for three weeks.”

Redmond made the most of her time with ET, getting shots of the alien at Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, and the Beartooth Highway. 

The alien seemed to enjoy the visit too, getting good shots of him viewing bison, posing next to a historic Yellowstone tour bus, and standing in one of the booths at the East Entrance gate, donning the iconic park ranger hat.

“My only regret was that I didn’t keep the alien long enough to get him over to Devils Tower,” she said.

Redmond recognized that her silly photo shoots with ET were bringing some laughter and enjoyment to Frank as he struggled with the progression of ALS. He loved Yellowstone, and now he got to laugh at the shots of his little green alien enjoying the same sights that made him fall in love with the park.

“I texted him the pictures along the way, ‘Look where I took your alien today,’” she said. “Frank was very appreciative. He told me that he felt like he lived the life through the pictures that I took.”

Welcomed, Valued, Connected

Frank spent the last year and a half of his life at the Southern Nevada State Veterans’ Home in Boulder City, Nevada. 

There is no cure for ALS, but he received every treatment available to make his life more comfortable.

“He was taking medication to slow that decline, but all it could do was hopefully prolong and offset the symptoms as they came,” Nicole said. “ALS is one of the cruelest diseases that exists in the world.”

Nicole teared up as she lamented how her father, once so vivacious and athletic, slowly became a prisoner in his own body.

“Knowing that this person, who isn’t cognitively impaired in any way, is a victim of this awful disease was the most difficult part,” she said. “It slowly took over his body until he was completely immobilized.”

Fortunately, Frank was able to make a few short trips back to Wyoming before ALS completely incapacitated him. Nicole said his final visits were empowering for her father, as he got to enjoy the company of the people he’d worked so hard to bring into his life.

“He made so many lifelong friendships and connections with people in Cody and Wapiti,” she said. “During those final trips, I think he was finally able to see the life that he created for himself and our family.”

Frank Alvarado died July 25. He was 77 years old.

How You Made Them Feel

Nicole will be grappling with the grief of losing her father for many years to come. She’s getting married next year, but Frank won’t be there to share that happy day with her and her family.

“Sadly, he won’t be a part of my wedding, but I know he’ll be there,” she said.

Despite her opinion of the “hideous” aliens at the end of their Wapiti driveway, Nicole said her family plans to keep them there. 

They were Frank’s out-of-this world friends and their strange, humorous presence along the highway to Yellowstone is a very visible and fitting memorial to the man he was.

Nicole was always inspired by her father’s outgoing nature and how he so willingly shared his passion and enthusiasm with everyone he encountered, whether they were neighbors or tourists on one of his guided tours of Yellowstone.

“He really strived to make people feel warm, happy, welcomed, and valued,” she said. “He loved to share the magic of what Yellowstone and Wyoming were all about, and he was so proud to give others that experience in a place he loved.”

Frank found a mantra for his life of working to bring happiness, love and acceptance in one of his favorite quotes by Maya Angelo: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“He really lived his life like that,” Nicole said. “He wanted everyone to feel valued and connected. Moving to Wapiti began a new chapter for him. It felt like the main stage of his life began there, and we were so fortunate to be part of his experience.”

Anyone who needs a reminder of that can find it the friendly green alien along the road to Yellowstone.

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.