Chapter Five

Steve

Friday

Our last couple of days was spent in Idaho and Montana. Right now, we're close to Yellowstone National Park, so Mr. Tanner suggested camping for awhile before we continue the rest of the long drive to South Dakota to Mount Rushmore. I heard you try mountain climbing, which should be a blast. I don't really know what's in store for us at Yellowstone, but we'll see...

"Who wants to play License & Hit?" Kimmy asked.

D.J. looked up from her YM magazine. "How do you play?" she asked.

"It's easy. We all look out a window, right, to look at license plates. When I call out a state that's on a plate, you have to shout 'Hit!' and then, I get to punch you!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Can't we just hit you?" she asked, irritated.

D.J. shook her head. "I don't think so, Kimmy," she replied.

Kimmy shrugged. "Oh, well. That's the game my family and I played on our vacation trips."

"Oh, what fun that must have been," Stephanie remarked sarcastically.

"Danny, what are we going to do today?" Vicky asked, giving Kimmy a weird look.

Mr. Tanner shrugged. "Whatever you guys want to do. I mean, it'll be awhile before we reach South Dakota, so..."

"What's there to do in Montana? There's nothing but mountains and trees," Stephanie said.

D.J. spoke up. "I was looking at a pamphlet at that general store we stopped at. It said Yellowstone National Park is right near Montana. In fact, one of the entrances is in Montana, but the park is actually in Wyoming. We can go there."

"That's awesome! You know, they have places somewhere where you can mountain climb. Grand Teton National Park, that is. I've been to Yellowstone before. It's awesome," I said excitedly.

Vicky nodded in agreement. "Yeah, camping sounds like fun. Did we pack tents?"

"I only packed some because D.J. said. I didn't think we'd need them," I replied.

"Well, aren't you glad you listened to me?" D.J. asked, putting her hand on my knee.

I took a hold of her hand. "I'd always listen to you. You're so smart," I said, looking deeply into her eyes.

D.J. smiled at me. "Awww. You're the greatest," she replied.

"No. You are," I replied back.

"No. You are."

"You ar-"

"Don't make me gag, please. I've heard enough," Stephanie said, covering her ears. She turned to Mr. Tanner. "So, we're going to Yellowstone, Dad?"

"I guess. I was looking at this map here. Like I said, Wyoming is kinda close to South Dakota, so we can still make it to Mount Rushmore."

"That's sooooo boring! Who wants to see a bunch of heads of dead guys?"

"It beats the other state we were in. The potato state," Kimmy said.

"That was Idaho. And you actually agree with Dad? You want to see Mount Rushmore?" Stephanie asked her, her eyes wide incredulously.

"Well, yeah. That's where the Gold Rush is, right? The more gold, the bigger the rush!"

We all stared at Kimmy incredulously.

Stephanie shook her head. "Forget I even asked," she said.

"We made it! We're in Wyoming!" D.J.'s voice rang out about four or five hours later.

"Thank goodness. Man, I'm so cramped," Stephanie replied. "Are we there yet?"

"We should be. One of the entrances is in Montana, so we-" Mr. Tanner said, but I interrupted him.

"Yeah, we're here. I can see it. Right there, is a park ranger by one of the stations," I said, pointing.

I was right. More cars were right behind us, waiting to get into the park. A park ranger with a clipboard stopped us at the entrance.

"How many?" he asked Mr. Tanner.

"Six."

"Thank you very much. Here's some paper with the rules. Enjoy your stay at Yellowstone, sir."

"Oh, we will, handsome!" Kimmy chirped, staring at the park ranger with a lustful look.

The park ranger gave Mr. Tanner a look.

"Sorry. Very high hormones," Mr. Tanner replied, chuckling nervously a little.

The park ranger didn't laugh. "Keep moving please, sir. There are other people waiting," he said.

We drove further on, glaring at Kimmy.

"What? He had a hot bod! I couldn't help myself!" she exclaimed.

"From now on, Kimmy, for the remainder of this trip, keep your hormones in check or Dad will throw you out...Literally," D.J. warned her.

"Not even literally," Stephanie added.

Vicky sighed. "You know, I think camping was a good idea. Don't you all think so?"

Mr. Tanner nodded. "Well... Yellowstone is a beautiful place. Except for the bears."

"They have bears here?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah. They do. Grizzly bears and I think they have brown bears, too," I said. "They're the most common around here."

"Think we'll see any?" Kimmy asked.

"I hope not. They're scary," D.J. said. She grabbed my hand and I squeezed it.

"Well, if we just follow the rules here and do what we're supposed to do, no bear will harm us," Mr. Tanner replied, looking at all of us.

"I'm in agreement, Dad," Stephanie said.

"I won't even argue with you on that one, Mr. T," Kimmy added.

The rest of us nodded our agreement.

We continued our drive down the road. About half an hour later, we'd set up camp. It was about 7:45 at night and was extremely dark except for the campfire Vicky and Mr. Tanner had set up.

Stephanie, D.J., Kimmy, and I decided to take a quick hike not too far from camp. So we grabbed our flashlights and some food and went on our way.

"What do you think Vicky packed in here, anyway? This stuff weighs a ton," Stephanie said, readjusting her backpack strap.

"Steph, let's just keep going. Remember what your dad said," I reminded her.

"Yeah, you don't want to get EATEN by a big, black BEAR!" Kimmy yelled from behind, grabbing Stephanie's shoulders.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Stephanie screamed.

"Shut up, Steph! Do you want the whole world to hear you?" D.J. asked.

"Sorry, but-"

"Let's just keep moving," D.J. said.

Kimmy and I followed, but Steph kept walking along at a snail's pace.

"Come on, Steph," D.J. replied.

Pretty soon, Stephanie was out of sight. D.J groaned in exasperation.

"I swear, I don't know why she even came if-"

We heard a yell from behind. A minute later, Stephanie came crashing through the bushes. "BEAR!" she shrieked. She nearly crashed into me. I lost my balance and we both fell into a giant puddle of mud.

"What-" I asked, angry about all the mud all over me.

"What's going on?" Kimmy asked.

Stephanie's face was streaked with tears. "I saw a b-b-bear! A big, huge bear with big teeth and-and claws. It roared at m-m-me," she sobbed.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"I w-w-w-wouldn't lie! I-I-s-saw it!" she replied, sobbing again. D.J. went to comfort her sister.

"Not-not only that, but-but it's co-coming this wa-way!" she added in a muffled voice, her head almost hidden behind D.J.'s shoulder. Kimmy and I had to lean closer to hear her.

"What? We gotta do something!" Kimmy said, getting more serious and hysterical.

I began to feel the wheels turning in my brain. "Hmmm...I'm guessing the bear probably smelled the food Steph has in that bag. I'm going to climb up in that tree over there and tie the food up as high as I can climb so the bear can't reach it," I said thoughtfully.

"What about the rest of us? I don't wanna be bear chow!" Kimmy exclaimed.

"Relax. We're all going to climb together. But first, I need the food and you, Kimmy."

"Why me?" Kimmy asked (I noticed Stephanie's mood change quickly when I asked Kimmy to climb the tree.).

"I hate to say this, but if you take off your shoes, then chances are, the bear won't get us. So, c'mon!"

Kimmy nodded and then proceeded to climb with me. We climbed up higher and higher. I quickly tied up the food and waited for D.J. and Stephanie.

Five to ten minutes later, the bear came mingling around. It looked up and saw the food swinging. It had its nose up in the air.

I looked at D.J. and Steph, who looked at me in return. I gave the signal to hold their noses when Kimmy took off her shoes.

"It likes the smell of the food. Now, Kimmy! Go!" I shouted.

Kimmy kicked off her shoes. And sure enough, it worked! The nasty, foul odor of Kimmy's feet chased the bear away. The bear quickly moseyed away.

"WOOOOOO!" Stephanie cheered, still holding her nose.

"Now, that's bear repellant," I remarked.

We climbed out of the tree. D.J. kissed me. "For saving our lives," she explained to me.

When we had climbed out of the tree, I dug out the sandwiches, snacks, and drinks.

"Who wants a bologna and cheese sandwich?" I asked.

That's the end of our Yellowstone adventure. There's not much to tell except that we visited Old Faithful and the Grand Tetons and the hot springs.

Camping was a lot of fun. Except for the guitar that Mr. Tanner brought along and had us singing corny camp songs. But, other than that, I had a great time and I'd never forget it.