Yellowstone National Park teemed with a magnificent, if restrained, wildness. That was good enough for me. Impressive and defiant Buffalo grazed, though not in herds of millions. I was thrilled just to see these living monuments of an wondrous historic past. Huge Horrible Grizzlies (Ursa horribilis) roamed in the back country and everywhere else. They didn’t even try to hide out. They lumbered through the campgrounds and preyed upon unsuspecting garbage cans. They hankered for left-overs. At night, as we hunkered down in our sleeping bags, we could hear the tortured clanging of twisted metal as another can bit the dust.

Suzette reached deep down and found her inner beast one day in Yellowstone. We were slowly rolling towards a campground when a few bears were sighted. The wagon came to a halt so we could observe nature in all its glory. One gregarious bear turned and headed right for us. I sat at the nearest window and had a front row seat. My window was rolled down, and Suzette, on seeing, hearing and smelling THE BEAR, sensed imminent danger. As THE BEAR started to rise up to gain access to my viewing window, Suzette went bezerko in attack mode. All of her bear-hunting genes fired up simultaneously. As my mother tried to restrain the rabid dog, she yelled at us in the back seat to close the window. I sat transfixed and astounded. Thank god my brother rolled up the window just as THE BEAR’s face reached the glass. I could have been THE BEAR’s lunch.

Now it is time to take a little detour, and give you a little back story on Suzette. Stay Tuned.