Grown Up Highlights

The highlights of the trip for me & Jeff weren't as focused as those of the kids. For Jeff, just seeing "real mountains" (as opposed to the little hills we get in Tennessee & Kentucky on the way to Florida) was a big deal. Also, he got a real kick out of all the animals in Yellowstone. He got the best of the bison pictures, in fact.  We also saw some baby bison, but nothing in the way of elk.

 Another animal was one of my particular highlights.  I'd never seen a bear in the wild before, and the killer zoom lens on my camera meant I didn't have to get close AT ALL.  I did have to wait a bit for him to pick up his head from eating whatever vegetation was on the ground, but not too long. There were a lot of people who did get much closer and stayed much longer. In fact, there was a regular traffic jam on the side road, and as we were leaving, we saw a ranger driving in, with his lights flashing and an annoyed look on his face.

The REALLY best parts for me, though, were getting to see old friends. I hadn't seen either Pat or Terri in about 20 years, and catching up was great. Pat took us out to dinner and then up to Stanley Lake, which is now my top destination in Idaho (yes, even more than the Diamond D).  Jeff was joking that he was finally glad to meet him in person, because he'd been convinced for years that Pat was nothing more than a figment of my imagination.  So when Pat was leaving, he leaned in and stage whispered, "so will you send a check to my agent, or just pay me now for this role?"

Hanging out with Terri and Jess and their girls was also too much fun--in fact, we spent so much time chatting that it put us a little behind schedule!  We had brunch at Shorty's, and then just hung out near their electronics store for a while longer.  Jeff talked with Jess and Sarah with their older daughter Shae while Terri & I gabbed, but poor Lauren was bored to death. 

At one point up in Stanley, I nudged Jeff and murmured, "Don't you think this should be an annual trip?" Unfortunately, I don't think it's likely we'll go back that often, but I'm reasonably confident that it won't take us another 20 years to get back. (and yes, we are already thinking about our next trip!)