Travels with Kenny

Saturday, August 14, 2010. Gardiner, Mont., at the entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Our plan on Friday morning was to rent bikes and ride along a branch of the Columbia River in Missoula. Unfortunately, it was raining, so we canceled that, did a little shopping, took a short hike by the river (the rain had stopped by then), and headed east. We stopped at Butte, which as you all know, was a major mining area at the turn of the last century. The visitors' center has a map of the thousands of mine shafts under Butte. It's amazing the city hasn't collapsed. We're now in Gardiner, Mont., a little western/touristy town on the edge of Yellowstone NP. We're spending three nights here to make sure we see everything.

When I was in the sixth grade, my teacher had traveled to Yellowstone during the summer, and she regaled us with stories of the park's wonders. Ever since then I've wanted to see it. It took me 58 years, but I finally made it! And it's everything I thought it would be.

One of the nice things is that, although the park is very large, the part where visitors go the see the famous sights is not so large that it takes hours to get to them (like Yosemite). Serry and I drove the Canyon Loop today, stopping at various sights, including the Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone [River]. Nothing as huge as the Grand Canyon, but impressive anyway. A couple of terrific waterfalls, deep gorges, nice trails, etc. On the way to the canyon, we were stopped by a traffic jam. It turned out there was a huge male bison walking slowly down the middle of the road in the other direction. He must have passed within three feet of my window. The way he was walking reminded me of those inner-city kids who walk slowly across traffic to force it to slow down. In addition to lots of bison, we saw some deer, a pronghorn antelope, and a couple of coyotes. No bears yet. Maybe if I cover Serry with honey.
I almost forgot: A couple of years ago, Serry and I were on the road somewhere, and a flat-bed trailer truck went by the other way holding what I was sure was a giant statue of that famous photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square at the end of World War II. I Googled it but couldn't find anything about such a statue. Lo and behold, a couple of days ago as we were getting dressed, I turned on the Today Show and there in Times Square, having just been unveiled, was the statue I saw on the truck. How cool is that?

This has been such a wonderful trip for Ken, he is finally doing what he has talked about for so long, and it has been a real adventure for both of us, and it's not over yet.
The ranger told us it was mating season and we might see some bulls fighting over cows, but we did not. What we saw was 6 bison cross the road, to another field and down to the river, walked across the river where they were met by a huge bull. I thought now we might see the fight, but instead, the bull sniffed each one, and I assume recognized them or felt no threat and they all went off and grazed on higher ground. It was very cool.

I also hope we see some bears, but on my terms, from the car and not while hiking.