September 27, 2011 Update

I just returned from a trip up to see my mom and my sister. I also took advantage of the free day at all national parks to go into Yellowstone National Park for the day. That proved to be an interesting decision.

As I like to hike to get unique views, the first thing I did upon arriving at Old Faithful was to follow the trail up to a higher observation point. In no time at all I was huffing and puffing and sweating profusely, seriously second-guessing my decision. At least I got a good view and a nice picture out of the deal. But wisdom dictates that I seriously consider any and all future hikes requiring some significant elevation, as I paid for that climb during the rest of my trip.

Normally I watch out for wild animals while I am in the Park. But there were a large number of cyclists on Saturday and I was busy watching them to make sure I did not run into any of them. However I did get to see the usual bison that frequent a major valley. Fortunately they were far enough away that none of them rushed my vehicle to prompt me to “DO THE JINGLE – DO THE JINGLE!”

From the Park I drove to see my mother. For the past number of visits I’d been mentioning how I was interested in seeing Yellowtail Dam. So we took the day and drove down to see it. It is located within a canyon and the views were quite impressive.

The marina is close to the dam and mom and I drove down to have a look. It was interesting in that we got to witness some scuba enthusiasts enjoying the day. I have never gone scuba diving myself, and at 50 years old with some pressure issues I’ve noticed whenever I swim to the bottom of a deeper pool I’m not sure I will ever get the chance to go. But it was fascinating to see them in their wetsuits and scuba gear.

During the ride over to see the dam, mom and I encountered some open range with livestock on the road. As we came upon several cows and their calves, I spotted four black silhouettes high-tailing it away from the road. They were bears – a mother with two cubs and a third cub that looked like it might have been a yearling. Mom and I highly suspected that we’d just interrupted “lunch” and that the cows might not have any idea that our sudden presence might have saved a couple of their calves.

I got to see my sister before I drove home. She is doing well and I spent an hour helping her do some shopping so she could get some necessities. It was nice to be able to see her, even if it was only for a couple of hours before I made the long trip back home.

It is still insect season, a fact further confirmed by all the kamikaze bugs that flew into my windshield. Fortunately I was not in any trouble hauling their corpses across state lines. But it did make it interesting driving into the sun with a windshield getting covered with bugs that were splattering as though I was driving into a drizzling rain. And when I refueled I scraped the insects off the windshield to make room for the new ones I would be encountering further down the road.

So I’m back home and it is back to posting stories to the website. I see I’m about to reach my 500^th story/chapter post. So I’ll have to see if I have something special I can put up then. Anyway, thanks for stopping by…