Bison, Bears, Geyser Safety, and Zidane

It has been five days since we last posted. During that time we've driven about 1300 miles, from Wheatland, WY to Vancouver, BC. We spent three nights at Yellowstone NP and one each in Ellensburg (sp?) Washington and Vancouver. Here are some pictures and details about the last few days.

First, I want to say thank you to the Kirbrides for their hospitality and generosity to us. We really enjoyed the time we spent in Wheatland, especially the times just spent talking with and hanging out with y'all. So thanks a lot.

Yellowstone is a beautiful, beautiful place. Old faithful, the most famous landmark in Yellowstone, is not even half the story. The first view we got once we got inside Yellowstone was this. It's looking back on the Grand Tetons from just inside of Yellowstone.



It is so amazing that God would create a world with such beauty for us to enjoy, and even more amazing that he would give us the ability to appreciate that beauty. His grace to us begins far before he saved us from sin, it began with the act of creation.

The one thing about Yellowstone that really hacked me off was this. Everywhere we went, there were warnings about Bears, tips for avoiding Bears, and signs telling us that Bears were waiting around every corner to eat us. Naturally, this caused me (jason) to anticipate the chance of actually seeing a bear in the wild for the first time. No chance. We did not see any bears, any signs of bears, or even hear any stories of other people that had seen bears while we were there. Bahh. Hopefully we'll get to see one while in Yosemite later in the month. (sarah: not really--we really are hoping never to see a bear outside of a cage in a zoo)

We did get the chance to see tons of Elk, a Moose, and a few Bison while were in the park though. This picture was taken on our way out of Yellowstone on the last morning.



For those of you who don't know this, our camera doesn't exactly "zoom" very well. So we really were about 10-15 ft from this Bison. We couldn't get near as close to the other animals because we were repeatedly warned through signage "not to apprach the wildlife." Also, Sarah would have killed me if the Elk didn't if I tried to sneak up close enough to get a good picture. For those of you who are interested, we are going to try to figure out how to post a slideshow or photo album of the best pictures from our trip.

Speaking of great pictures, this is the subtle and understated warning sign that was posted in the geyster basins which warned us to stay on the boardwalks. You can decide for yourselves what the best part about this picture is. There is just so much to choose from.



The next interesting thing we did after leaving Yellowstone was our stop in Seattle to watch the World Cup final. We found the bar that French World Cup fans were using to follow the cup and joined in cheering on Les Bleu. When the footballer formerly known as the best midfielder in the world decided to sacrifice his team at the altar of himself, the predominantly French patrons of the bar were in agony, with much weeping and gnashing of teeth. One petite French woman asked me repeatedly why he would do such a thing. I tried my best to ignore her, but it failed. Sad day for the French, but there were more than a few happy Italians both in Seattle and later in the day in Vancouver. We saw one man being carried by a couple friends at about 8 o'clock at night. I am convinced that he had probably been drinking since 10 that morning. Oh the thrill of victory.

If we do not get kidnapped by any Canadians, we will be sure to post and let you know about our time in Vancouver in the next couple of days. For now, just know that beautiful city + terrible roads + Canadians makes for an interesting time.

PS. If anyone is trying to call us while we are in Vancouver we have tried to keep the phone off to avoid the outrageous charges for international calls. We'll get back to you as soon as we're back in the Good 'ol U. S. of A.