We went to Yellowstone a few years back and I was rather distressed at what people would do for a picture: jumping over guard rails to stand on the edge of a frosty gorge, sticking their camera in the face of a buffalo with a week old calf, bathing in a hot spring...no wonder people get killed out there! I'm afraid the only thing most people know about the world in general and wildlife/places in particular comes from either the internet, the discovery channel, or a Disney movie. Sorry to say that dancing/singing mice are kind of rare and won't help you out of your current predicament! Cows kill people, and buffalo are their psycho jumpy unsocialized cousins!
This last week we spent in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, and overall it was a wonderful experience, but I met someone who probably is the reason for warnings like 'do not iron clothes on body' or 'cattle chute is not for human use.' I had a list of sights, drives, and hikes I wanted do, and on this particular day it was a hike out to a waterfall. First the thing was very poorly marked and I was basically just guessing where the parking area was located based on several different internet maps and hiking apps, but we found what looked to be the right spot and set off. The temp plunged from 60 to 45 and it started spitting rain, progressing to a steady drizzle at the falls. The day before had been in the mid-nineties and we had endured a rather hot, thirsty hike so no one really thought to pack along their sweatshirt, assuming it would warm as the day progressed, gotta love mountain weather! We huddled together under the trees until the worst of the rain abated and were moving enough that we didn't get too cold, but we came out on an area completely covered in rock, now extremely slick with the rain. I was also half-dragging/half-pushing an unhappy four year old, who can trip in a grocery aisle, along with us.
We were on top of the falls, that plunged straight down a rocky face into the stream below, and it was super slippery, so much so that I didn't even let the little one anywhere near the most scenic spot. Theoretically you can get down to the base of the falls but I didn't really want to die so we were about ready to turn around and head back to the car when I met the person of interest. They too were packing younger kids along, not quite as young as mine, but not much older either. I mentioned they might want to go up and around through the woods to get to the head of the falls as it was far less slippery than the bare rock, but the lady at the head of the party started demanding why I hadn't been to the base of the falls as the internet assured her it was possible, I tried to explain the slippery rocks and thought the angry toddler was rather obvious but all she could seem to understand was that the internet said it was possible and therefor she was going to do it. I wished her well and portaged my whiny toddler back to the car, hoping for her kids' sake that she might actually believe her waking eyes rather than some review online!
