A RETURN TO THE CAMPFIRE
WHAT THIS IS
The REAL Yellowstone™ is a living cultural storytelling program.It exists to carry forward the human knowledge, judgment, and stewardship ethic forged during Yellowstone’s formative years — knowledge passed person to person, across families and communities, long before it was written down.A Return to the Campfire exists to hold, witness, and pass forward this living memory through film, live storytelling, sound, and atmosphere.
THE GOLDEN ERA
The Golden Era Is Our FoundationThe Golden Era provides the values, judgment, and stewardship ethic that ground this work. It set the standard for care, responsibility, and lived knowledge.That foundation does not confine who belongs here, or whose stories can be told. It informs how this work remains relevant and alive in the present — carrying what matters forward rather than holding it in place.Rangers are the defining lineage of the story.But stewardship in Yellowstone has never lived in one role alone. The cultural ecosystem includes park staff, families, concessionaires, outfitters, guides, and gateway communities — people whose lives and labor shaped how this place functioned and endured.TRY tells the human ecosystem of Yellowstone, with rangers as the spine — not the only voice.
HOW THE STORIES ARE SHARED
A Return to the Campfire unfolds through a blend of film, live voices, and shared presence — creating space for stories to be heard the way they always were: person to person, in relationship with place.Live storytelling carries those memories forward.What matters most is the act of gathering itself: to listen, to remember, and to carry what’s been shared forward.
WHY IT MATTERS
The stories of Yellowstone’s people — the ones who carried its Golden Era — are slipping away.Not because they lack value.
But because lived knowledge is fragile, and time does not wait.These stories were never meant for archives alone. They were passed by voice, by presence, by judgment shaped over years in place. When those connections break, something essential is lost — not just to Yellowstone, but to the ethic of care it taught the world.A Return to the Campfire exists because this knowledge matters — and because remembering carries responsibility.🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲
Beginning Summer 2026
A Return to the Campfire marks the first public gatherings of The REAL Yellowstone™.Details about locations, dates, and participation will be shared as the season takes shape.
LEGACY PARTNERS
A Return to the Campfire is being carried forward with the support of legacy families whose histories are deeply intertwined with Yellowstone itself.Pat and Ginger Povah — stewards of the Hamilton Stores legacy — have come on as founding legacy partners, helping ensure this work is held with care, continuity, and respect for those who lived it.Their support reflects a shared belief that Yellowstone’s living human history matters — and that its stories deserve to be carried forward with intention.
The People Behind the Work
I grew up with the quiet hum of ranger life in my bones.My father wore the flat hat for 35 years in Yellowstone. My grandfather ran Camp Trails, a backcountry youth camp in the park from 1928 to 1958.This place shaped my family—and now, this project is my way of giving something back. At its core, it’s a cultural revival.A way to hold onto the presence, memory, and voice of those who knew the park by heart.I’m just one storyteller.
But I carry the echoes of many.—Lori Nuss, Founder
Behind the Camera
Braeden Meyer is a filmmaker and artist whose work explores the relationship between people, science, and the natural world. Grounded in experience across biological sciences, research, conservation, and documentary filmmaking, his approach bridges scientific inquiry and lived human experience.Working in an observational, vérité style, Braeden brings a patient and thoughtful lens to stories shaped by place, memory, and meaning. His work is guided by a belief that complex ideas — whether ecological, cultural, or historical — can be made accessible without losing their depth or integrity.
Program Production
Linda Howard—Program Production & Storyteller CoordinationLinda is a lifelong steward of public lands whose work centers on human stories and place-based memory. Her journey began in Yellowstone, where arriving for her first season “felt like going home.” She brings decades of interpretive experience, warmth, and care to shaping the storytelling at the heart of this project.
✉️ STAY IN THE CIRCLE
The stories aren’t gone—just waiting to be heard again.
These images come from those who lived and worked in Yellowstone during its formative years. They are fragments of a lived culture — moments carried forward through family albums, home movies, and memory.
The Real Yellowstone™ is original project created by Lori Nuss established 2022.© 2025 Lori Nuss. All rights reserved.🎬 Trailer Directed and Written by Lori Nuss | Cinematography and Edit by Braeden Meyer | Narration by retired Yellowstone Ranger Jerry Ryder.Site Design Lori Nuss.