Disturbing Incident at Yellowstone Lands Two Tourists in Jail

Image: PHOTO: Aerial view of the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park. (photo via Ajith Kumar/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
Image: PHOTO: Aerial view of the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park. (photo via Ajith Kumar/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
Rich Thomaselli
by Rich Thomaselli
Last updated: 9:05 AM ET, Mon November 9, 2020

People have done a lot of weird and stupid things at Yellowstone National Park, from getting too close to the scalding geysers to the woman who wanted to take a selfie with the wildlife and was flipped over by a bison.

This story that came to light over the weekend certainly might be one of the most disturbing.

It appears that two men were arrested over the summer for trying to cook whole chickens in a pot at a hot spring in the park.

They were taking a cookout to an entirely new level, according to an Associated Press story.

There are numerous hot springs at Yellowstone National Park and there are numerous stories of visitors being burned by them. Nobody can remember if they've been used as an instrument for cooking.

Nonetheless, back in August, a park ranger heard that a group of people with cooking pots were hiking toward the park's Shoshone Geyser Basin. The ranger found two whole chickens in a burlap sack in a hot spring. A cooking pot was nearby, Yellowstone spokeswoman Linda Veress said.

Asked what he was going to do, defendant Eric Roberts, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, said, "Make dinner."

Eric and Dallas Roberts, of West Valley City, Utah, were ordered to serve two days in jail and pay $540 in fines and fees for the Aug. 7, incident, according to court documents.

Eric Romriell, of Idaho Falls, paid $1,250 in fines and fees. All three are banned from Yellowstone while serving two years of unsupervised probation.

And, uh, if you're wondering … the hot springs can range from between 198 degrees and 275 degrees, so, yes, you can boil a chicken. But obviously, you shouldn't.


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Rich Thomaselli

Rich Thomaselli

Associate Writer

Editor Associate Writer true 9281 14744 Rich Thomaselli has written for TravelPulse since 2014 and has been a professional journalist for nearly 40 years. His work has appeared in USA Today, the New York Times and New York Yankees publications. He is an 11-time writ

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