shortly after college I got bitten by the travel bug...
there was a bicycle tour in Europe...
then there was living in a tent and planting trees in Georgia...
and of course... there was a cross country motorcycle trip
while zig-zagging my way across the country I passed through Yellowstone National Park
yes... the home of Old Faithful
the home of old Faithful and the destination of many retired old people in RVs and on Goldwing motorcycles
as awesome as this place may be... on my short pass through Yellowstone National Park I was a bit let down
it was a bit crowded for my taste
the long line of RVs in front of me on my motorcycle obstructed my view and had me breathing the engine exhaust rather that the fresh air of the west
so...
I tried to get off the beaten path...
just a little... still on the marked trail... only away from the crowds
so I parked the motorcycle and took it to foot on one of the less popular trails
on this trail I met an old American Indian man who was willing to entertain my brain with some pleasant small talk
I talked with him about this and that and then told him I wanted to see some American Bison aka the buffalo
he laughed... as the Buffalo are all over the park and should not be hard to find
but I said I had yet to see any
so... we walked and he assured me that he would find some Buffalo for me
we walked... then we walked some more... it had not been that long
but we had yet to see any bison
so... the elderly American Indian reverted to some of his old tracking techniques
he motioned for me to stop then took a few quiet foot steps ahead of me
then he crouched down low and kneeled down on the ground
once down low on all fours he put his head down to the ground like a kid putting his head on the railroad tracks listening for the train
silently I watched and listened
and the elderly gentleman said... "oh.... buffalo come"
I responded in amazement, "what? you can hear the buffalo?"
to which the man responded, "no... face stuck to ground"
okay... not a story... a joke
but one of my favorite old jokes
I bet I have told this story before electronically... as I know I have told this story more than once in person
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=buffalo