This has been the nicest reprieve that I’ve had on trail. My hubby showed up with friends, Curt and Atsuko. They are as close to me as my immediate family! We spent a couple of days near Mack’s Inn at the very fancy Marriot’s Springfield Suites.

For my birthday and anniversary, which happens to fall on the same date, we had a one week party! I know, birthdays are only one day but honestly I’ve missed oh so many as it seems, I typically am hiking in the woods in August. So I milked it for everything I could.

But honestly, the best gift that I received was a song that George wrote for me! I know, my hopeless romantic, love of my life, is a musician. He was stressed as there are few things you can give your wife when she’s measuring every item that goes in her pack by the grams! But a song, that is perfect!

During the past few days, we played tourists in Yellowstone. Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic were the highlights of our first day. We saw a herd of Elk and lots of foreigners. I believe just about every country was represented in the park, and I know this by the numerous languages that were spoken as we milled around.

The girls and I headed back to Yellowstone for another day without the men. They had unexpected maintenance on our Van. After an hour or so, they isolated the leak that was making a wet mess on the floor. Thank you Curt and George for being fix-it kind of guys and then knowing what to do about it. That’s the key!

Our loop in the park was long and distinguished. We stopped at just about every scenic overlook from the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, to the many waterfalls, Geysers at both Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Basin. But the highlight was Lamar Valley and the hundreds of Bisons.

Our first sighting of Bison was just as we entered Lamar. There was a large herd to the north of us, and as we pulled over to check them out, Jen warned us that there was a Bison on the same side of our truck, way too close for comfort. We could hear him snort as he walked by.

We quickly returned to the truck and found a group of Photographers at a large pullout. There was a huge nest for a family of Ospreys across the canyon. The parent osprey swooped down, grabbed a trout, then brought it home to feed the family! What a show that was.

After all the excitement, we headed back down Lamar Valley towards a dirt road. As the driver, I made the observation that many sightseeing vans were also headed that direction and maybe they knew more than I did. Sure enough, about a mile down the road was a large herd of Bison across the river. We stopped, pulled out our lunch as we watched the herds doing the same. Eating lunch!

There is so much to see and do in this park, and honestly you would need a week to properly see it all. We continued onward to Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Basin. Both areas were spectacular with different appeals to each one of us.

These five days were filled with sightseeing and tourism but more than that, it was a beautiful fellowship of combined new friends and old. I am so grateful for this unexpected gift to spend quality time with my family and friends. And to end it all and put a bow on it, I have to say that it doesn’t matter what you do, or where you go, if you’re all alone! This life is best lived when you share it with others and have memories that can never be erased. This has been one of the greatest birthdays of my life, shared with some of the most important people. Thank you Lord for the countless blessings you have poured over me, in me and through me!

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’ “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” Numbers‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬