Yellowstone

How crazy is this? I spend the entire day, from dawn to dusk, in the great national parks of Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and still my closest encounter with wild life happens as I'm trudging back, exhausted, to my cabin. I was a few steps away from the porch when I heard a "thud thud thud" to my left. When I turned I saw the white butt of some ungulate bounding away from me a mere five feet or so away. She probably would have kicked me if she was any closer. There's this large bush near the cabin, and since it was already twilight and she was well obstructed, neither of us saw each other until I had almost run into her.

I froze, she froze at a safer distance, we stared at each other, and then I crept into my cabin and opened my curtains without turning on the light. Once she was certain that I wasn't coming out to attack her she started grazing again, right outside my window. I watched her meander around, stopping occasionally to stare my way with huge, mickey mouse ears outstretched, (don't think she could see me, but you never know) until it got so dark all I could see was the white of her tail and the dark shadow of her ears when she moved. Eventually I couldn't see even that, so now I'm typing this up.

This day was too full for me to write about exhausted as I am, never mind this week.  I saw a ton, learned a ton, drove 300 miles, and now I need to pass out and write up a more in detail report later tomorrow.