Firehole Drive

The waterfall on this route in Yellowstone is one reason to make the turn that puts you on a one-way road. But a second reason is the chance to see a spot in the river, where you can swim in shallows heated by natural hot water coming from vents and springs.

I'm too old for that. Besides, I may have donated $25 to Save the Whale Foundation, but I really don't want them grabbing me, pushing me toward a fast current, and hearing those words that make me feel badly: "Willy, swim to the ocean and find your family!" It's the thing about being huge that sometimes is so sad.

By the time we took these pictures, we were at the end of the day. The children were beginning to make the annoying noise. I know they've never seen that Jim Carey movie where he and his "dumber" friend are in a truck with a hit man, but my grandsons have that noise in their repertoire. It's just one of several, and although I'm not sure I had the look on my face that Lydia did in this picture, I began mumbling irrationally--"Sshhhhh, Shhshhh, Shhhshhhh, Shoosh!"

I don't think I was about to say the ultimate "farm" word. You know, the one that describes the organic material that makes flowers grow, although--besides being that organic stuff--it pretty much defines the cuisine at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. The "s" word is like a "catch all." It fits into so many convenient categories, but I try my best to avoid it when my grandchildren are in the car with me.

And when I slip, my Annie reminds me, even when the grandchildren aren't around, although she says it sometimes more than I do. But I love her more than mayonnaise, so she can say that "s" word or the other one she sometimes uses too, when she burns, hits, or bruises her fingers or toes.

I love her. She makes me smile, even sometimes when I'm grumpy.

With the walking I did in Yellowstone that day, even if it was only a few short hikes around smelly sites of interest, my joints in my knees ached. It was like the drum solo in Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick" on their second album I loved so much when I was a teenager.

Thank goodness for Tylenol. It made the day more pleasant for other people in the rental car that day.

But it was a beautiful day in Yellowstone, and I still want to return with lawn chairs this summer. My Annie, Jack and I will sit in a safe spot and listen to the wind blow through the pines. We just have to find a place near our car that provides a "good vibe" spot without threat of being eaten by bears or gored by elk, moose or buffalo.

But I have driven on Interstate 15 through Utah, and I figure if I can survive that, I can make it through anything.