
We puttered around camp eating and packing, letting Stephen sleep in for awhile. Finally the clouds began to look threatening, so we kicked Stephen out of Andrew's yellow tent and started packing in earnest.

Just before we left, we took some photos at the 4B1 site. If I look a little distracted in this photo, it's because a coyote was watching us quietly from about 15 feet away. It just strolled up and stood for a few moments. We wondered if it was rabid. Its unusual for coyotes to be so bold during the day in such an undisturbed place.




As we broke free of the forest and walked out across Hayden Valley, the storm closed in on us with cold rain and lightning strikes. I was terrified of being out in the open with the lightning, but at the same time we really wanted to get home. Pilar and I talked about how nice it would be if the Employee Dining Room had French onion soup and clam chowder. We were walking pretty fast-way ahead of the guys. It started to hail tiny ice chips.

As we neared a stand of pine we heard a strange growling coming from it. We walked on cautiously and found a bull bison standing in a clearing. The thunder was upsetting him and he was growling and stomping. He was right next to the trail. We slowly detoured around him, once again climbing over deadfall. The guys caught up to us and we yelled for them to detour also. As we rejoined the trail at the edge of a thermal area we nearly walked into a second bull hidden by trees. This one was just as agitated. His back was to us and I talked to him to let him know we were there as we once again detoured around. Andrew popped out of the trees just where we had and the bull turned and took two quick steps at him. He managed to get back into the trees just as Stephen came out by the bull. By this time he was beyond agitated. He lowered his horns and charged at Stephen. Stephen ran with the bison on his heels and I screamed my loudest, "NOOOO!" Amazingly enough, he stopped. We quickly regrouped and hurried away down the trail, leaving the bison stomping and snorting. The last mile or two was cold and rainy, but uneventful. When the trail head with the truck finally came into sight Pilar and I cheered. We stuffed the backpacks into the bed and climbed into the cab to wait for the guys. By this time they were about a half a mile behind us. By the time we drove back to Canyon Village and parked in the employee parking lot, it was dinner time. Our friends and coworkers were making their way out of the dorms headed for the EDR. Everyone wanted to hear our story and find out if we'd made it to Fairyland. We told them about Joseph's Coat, 4B1, the Yellow Brick Road. We told them about the waterfalls and about the bison. Our Fairyland was in the adventure we'd had trying to reach it.
3 comments:
Sorry you didn’t make it to fairyland but the story was very good. Oh, btw all the room cleaning info is hilarious and good to know. I think Jennifer and I are both envious of your trip.
Adios,
Aaron
Very interesting story and a lot of good pictures. I'm impressed!
Are you seriously nuts?! Andi, I can't believe you sometimes. It makes for a good story, but holy shnikies girl! I'm glad you're still alive. I am reading your blog, checking it every few days to see if there's anything new. Keep the stories coming! I'm going to do some research on Fairyland--it sounds so remote and interesting!
Post a Comment