Jellystone

Back yesterday from vacation. Went to Yellowstone, *just* ahead of the First Family, and just as glad to not have to fuss with all the security.

In all, a darned good time. The family all worked hard on being nice to each other in close quarters. Yes, there were the odd tense moments, like when I yelled at a driver who had pulled out into my lane with me RIGHT THERE to get around the bike taking a picture of the Yellowstone Arch, but all in all a jolly brilliant time.

This was the first time the kids had been to Yellowstone, and they liked it. They made a game of taking the obligatory pictures; the geysers, the animals, the continental divide, and so forth. But the boy is a child of his generation, and was more interested in getting home to play games and text, and the girl thought it was a lot like home, just with geysers. Which it is, and the nice park staff get irritated no end at being told so. The only sad part is that this will probably be our last family vacation as a family. The girl will probably move out this winter, and although we may take trips together in the future, it won't be the same.

This was my 5th time touring in Yellowstone, and each time there's something different to experience. Two things stood out for me. The first is the Park Service is making the experience more visual, and discouraging tactile experiences. Multiple *millions* of visitors each year means more 'keep off the grass' approaches to everything. I suppose it's an appropriate policy, but it's also sad in a way. It turns Yellowstone into a sort of zoo, not the glorious celebration of the outdoors I experienced as a teenager.

The second is something I can unequivocally call a joyful experience. On the North Rim, is a feature called the 'Red Rock Overlook'. It's an observation platform about 1/4 mile from the lower falls, and it's about 600? feet below the rim. We had already hiked down and up some of the other overlooks, so my family passed on this one. But I still had a little starch in my legs so I hiked down.

OH MY.

I had the fortune to have about five minutes to myself there. It's about 20 ft in diameter, built on an outcropping. You can feel the coolness from the waterfall, there's a few trees scattered around, the canyon walls rise around, and the sky covers everything. There's a breeze from the waterfall, and the weather was changing so it was more than a breeze.

It was like standing on a mountain top, being at the top of the world, and still having giant mountains ringing you, with a wind blowing you off your feet. And I had it to myself briefly. I laughed, with nothing else in me for just that few moments except joy.

Wow.