...nearly buffalo'd in Yellowstone National Park

After a final night’s rest in Yellowstone National Park we loaded our car and began our drive toward California. Leaving the Park was not without excitement, however, as we narrowly missed driving into a buffalo which was walking down the middle of the road on a blind corner in the Middle Geyser Basin area. To complicate matters a silver automobile was stopped beside it in our lane of traffic taking photos. It was inches from the buffalo and by the time I was able to stop our vehicle we were inches from the buffalo and car. It was a close call. I couldn’t get around the car and buffalo and we were still on a blind corner so I pulled into the ditch for safety. Fortunately no other cars appeared from behind and we were able to continue our journey unscathed. This, of course, was after the buffalo walked passed us rather unconcerned about the havoc he had caused.
Not too much further down the road we saw a traffic jam indicating another wildlife spotting along the road. Sure enough a herd of cow and calf elk were on both sides of the thoroughfare. We got some up close photos and continued driving out of the Park. After stopping in West Yellowstone, Montana, for gas we hit the open road.

We drove some…and some more…and some more. We drove to Twin Falls where we turned south on Highway 93 toward Wells, Nevada. At Wells, we got on Interstate 80 and drove toward Elko. Even though it was getting late we decided to keep driving in hopes of making it to Winnemucca…and we did! After checking in at the Holiday Inn Express Motel we drove to the edge of Winnemucca where we ate dinner Basque style. The Martin Hotel was built in 1898 and is on the National Register of Historic Sites. It has long been a Basque restaurant and the food was delicious, even the beef tongue. It is also a great place to talk with fellow diners as the food is served family style and you may share a table with complete strangers whom you will know very well by the end of your meal. Too bad all restaurants aren’t that way. We would probably learn to get along with one another much better.
This morning we loaded the car and lit out for California leaving Winnemucca until the next time we need a Basque meal. The drive across the remainder of Nevada was uneventful and we crossed the border into California around noon. We ate a picnic lunch in the Sierra Nevada mountains amidst the smoke of several wildfires. Back on the road the number of cars on the road grew exponentially as we traveled toward Sacramento. We eventually made our way to Healdsburg arriving just 7 ½ hours after leaving Winnemucca. It was quite a trip and it all started as we were...nearly buffalo'd in Yellowstone National Park.