Having multiple options of things to do was a draw in coming out west.

Different people have different things that are important to them. We like to be outdoors, doing things and exploring.

We’re Kings of the World!

Out here, you can go hike amongst rocks, lake-sides, forests, waterfalls or creepy hoodoos, all within a figurative stone’s throw and be back in time for dinner.

Or, if you plan ahead a little you can take dinner with you. A propane burner, small cooler bag, folding table and some chairs and it’s easy to set up your own random tailgate-picnic anywhere.

Random picnic set-up!

After a long winter, the local wildlife gets bored. Striped chipmunks scurry around, hoping you’ll drop a crumb for them. The brave ones will come and perch on your shoe and peer up at you expectantly.

Prairie dogs wave their fat behinds and bark, popping in and out of their holes.

Bison gleefully mill around the gawkers who come to see them…

…and sometimes act completely weird.

We had gone for a ride that day, bored from the winter ourselves. An RV was stopped ahead of us, bison milled around. Adorable fuzzy red babies scampered by their mothers.

One approached the RV ahead of us and stuck out a curious nose. The bison consulted among themselves.

<slurp slurp>

Did that bison just lick that vehicle?

Tasty Coachmen!

<sluuurp>

It did! That bison did just lick that vehicle!

They spotted us and came wandering over. We were surrounded by bored bison.

They all noticed us.

One rested his chin briefly on Hhrbie, looking in the windshield at us, who were sure looking out the windshield back at him.

<slurp slurp slurp>

Good lord, now they’re licking us!

A chorus of happy slurps reverberated through the car, a sound similar to sandpaper.

<slurp slurp slurp sluuurp>

Chrome is delicious!

Well, this was…different.

They started in the back and worked their way forward like an automatic carwash brush. Big, furry carwash afficianados. They were large. They could have probably picked us up and carried us off if they so wanted.

<sluuurp sluuuurp>

We were being bathed by bison.

One paused his attentive scrubbing of the front door and curiously peered in the drivers side window at me. I swear he looked amused. I fought the urge to roll down the window and give him a tip.

I’m looking at you!

Hhrbie was apparently mighty delicious. I wondered if he had paint left.

Slowly, so we wouldn’t hurt any of them, we inched away down the road.

Upon checking Hhrbie later on in a safe location, he was thoroughly covered with whorls of bison drool and tongue marks.

They did a great job, but they could have hit the chrome wheels just a little bit more!