TRAFFIC JAM

Micah and I were lucky enough to spend yesterday at Yellowstone National Park. Neither of us had ever been before, and we were happy just to be away from work for a while. You should have seen us... we were just like little kids. We giggled lots and ran to almost every site. Everything was cool, everything was new, and everything was fun. We knew we had gotten a late start and were concerned about being able to see all the "hot spots." We intentionally took the long way around the loop so that Old Faithful would be our final stop and we would catch it right around sunset. Needless to say, I am my mother's daughter, and that did NOT happen. It wasn't entirely my fault we were behind schedule. Yellowstone, afterall, is an area for the preservation of nature and wildlife. That means that you never have the right of way. The buffalo made that quite clear to us as herd after herd blocked the only highway through the park. Now, this is not my first encounter with buffalo. I know they are pretty big animals, but boy are these BIG animals. Even the smaller ones were large enough to block entire SUVs from sight. Some would walk straight at your car and never even flinch. I swear a few were even challenging us. They often were so close I could reach out and touch them. Had it been an animal half the size I may have considered doing just that, but as it was I just opened my window and watched. Yes, they grunt... LOUD and DEEP! We did eventually make it to Old Faithful, long after the sun had set. We waited around for nearly two hours and never saw it erupt so we eventually gave up and went home. I felt like I saw so much, but I also know I missed so much. I guess we'll just have to go back again.

YELLOWSTONE IS BEAUTIFUL!