by Natalie Ogbourne | Aug 29, 2023 | Lessons from Yellowstone
My youngest daughter was eight when my family and I found ourselves in the path of a bear at close range on the trail. (Read more here.) As kids are prone to do, her response to learning there was a bear heading down the trail in our direction was to make an...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Jun 1, 2023 | Lessons from Yellowstone
Tyson the Bison That, according to the signs in the Madison Campground bathroom, was the name of the bull hanging around in the campground. The signs prompted campground residents to be aware of his presence so as not to accidentally get too close. Even docile-looking...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Apr 15, 2023 | Lessons from Yellowstone
“You’ve got a griz!” The call came from the picnic area below—just seconds after I had discerned that the brown shaggy head and shoulders cresting the hill twenty-five yards to my left was not, in fact, a bison. It was a bear. Wherever it was headed, we were in the...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Mar 17, 2023 | Lessons from Yellowstone
“It’s time to turn around,” my husband said. Relieved, I pivoted on the spot. J and I were in Yellowstone’s Bechler Region, a remote area with no roads, plenty of waterfalls, and its share of bears. It took the morning just to drive there. After spending the rest of...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Feb 4, 2023 | Lessons from Yellowstone
Crossing the gravel parking lot, Dad and I turned toward the Gardner River. Worn by wildlife and fly fishermen, the narrow path that paralleled it wasn’t an official trail. We knew it only because of the hours three generations of our family had collected here at...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Jan 2, 2023 | Lessons from Yellowstone
My husband and I were just approaching the trailhead when I saw the sign. Again. WARNING: BEAR FREQUENTING AREA. The weight of impending doom settled on my soul and my mind launched in with its barrage of questions. How many bears? Is it one or a mama with cubs? How...