Oh, Give Me a Home, Where the Buffalo Roam...

There is no way I can paint a word picture vivid enough for you, dear friends, that could come close to describing the sights I have seen since my last post.  To say that there has been many different landscapes poured out before my eyes would be such a disservice to both the landscapes and my eyes.  My eyes could not believe themselves on more than one occasion.  I'm sure the landscapes enjoyed my eyes' ogling, as they didn't blush and slink away, but stood there just as bold and brazen as could be.

Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons deserve much more description than I have time for....so I will tell you about them in note form:
-  These two national parks are beautiful gems in this nation.  There is magic there.
-  The land is quite literally hotter'n hell.  Yellowstone has geysers, mud pots (also called paint pots--see video), fumeroles, and springs, to name a few. 

-  The first moment I shed a tear from emotion on this trip was in Yellowstone, around 8 a.m. when I was driving from the Madison campground toward Old Faithful.  I saw a multitude of geysers spewing water and clouds of steam into the air.  Since it was freezing outside, the steam was seen for quite a distance.  The rising sun burned flame and gold on the billows of steam.  It was a sunset climbing out of the land.  I was overcome.

-  At night there are voices of animals calling out to each other across the expanse.  The cry begins as a whistle, but becomes more of a yearning...a high-pitched-to-low-pitched, long, drawn-out, slow melancoly.  I'm afraid someone's lover has gone astray.

-  Campfire cooking is just as good as I remember, but much more arduous.  My first night I made chicken with wild sweet potatos, onion, chanterelle mushrooms and rosemary.  The second night I made a can of soup and for some reason had to wash dishes THREE times!
-  Max, not having his winter coat yet, was cold.  The first night around 5 a.m. I awoke to very audibly walk to the potty (best word really...trust me)...loud enough so that the grizzlies, wolverines, moose, buffalo, elk, and chipmunks (mean little buggers) would know I was coming and mosey along.  Poor Max was sound asleep--snoring even--but each time he snored a shiver would pass over him.  I bundled him in extra blankets including a wool blanket from the Queen Mary II (Thanks Margaret!) and curled up next to him.  The next night he wore my Patagonia fleece vest to bed and was as snug as a bug in a rug.
-  Dryness.  Let's say that every vital part of me, and many less than vital parts, are dryer than a cracker made of cotton.  My nose gushes frequently which is funny because I just as frequently am without a tissue.  I think I'll have to do laundry more frequently than I at first believed.  Hmm.
-  PG-13 area----By my last night at Yellowstone I was...well...ripe.  So, I took a whore's bath.  Ya know--feet, armpits, and undercarriage.  I felt like a million bucks.  Don't think I could get that much.
-  Sorry Mom for the preceding.....but, I should be a good citizen and tell the truth as long as I'm doing this.
-  The Grand Tetons remind me of synchronized swimmers for some reason.  Maybe because they are such beautiful mountains, almost all the same height with gorgeous matching exteriors over pure raw powerful bodies. 
-  The aspen trees have on their fall frocks of deep goldenrod, some with a touch of pumpkin-orange.  I didn't hear the quake, but I know its there.

-  Buffalo beside the road, on the road, in the road, walking down the road, beside the road, BESIDE THE CAR!!!  "Whoa Nelly!  That there fella is bigger than the Murano."  Max, in a showing of bravado to protect Alpha, growled at the buffalo...from the safety of the backseat.  Good dog.

Well, those are the notes.  Today, I will set out to Devil's Tower and make Mount Rushmore by noon.  This is perfect because some friends of Mom's will be there at the exact same time.  We've already planned to have dinner together and see some sights.  Since this will be the first meal I've bought since the huckleberry pie incident, I'm hoping for something yummy---South Dakota???---buffalo steak!!!