Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
Most of you know that Yellowstone National Park has a large herd of bison. We knew this too, but we didn’t quite know they enjoy being lap pets! One day, seven of us were crammed into a minivan driving through Yellowstone when we noticed a herd of bison walking alongside the road. Like everyone else in the park, we slowed down to take a closer look. As we slowed to a crawl, one of the bison was just walking right alongside us about six feet away.
Close Encounter at Yellowstone
What an awesome experience! Six feet from a wild bison! Well, having a door and windows between us and the wildlife seemed silly at the time, and it was blocking the view, so somebody (I can’t remember who) decided it was good idea to open the sliding door. Brilliant! Now we had a clear shot of the bison and video cameras were rolling. All was well until my mom (closest to the door) pointed out, “Lee (that’s my dad), he’s getting closer. . . Lee. . . LEE. . . AAAAAAH!!!”
My mom and her sister then proceeded yelling alternating “AAAAAHHH!!”s as the animal was now veering slowly toward the open door of the van. His eyeball loomed HUGE, now just inches away from us, until my dad finally put on the brakes and gave him the right-of-way. While we nearly die laughing every time we watch the video, the only photo we got was this nice, suitable-for-framing shot of his backside!