road trip: the national parks

part 3: yellowstone, land of gold

Get there early, says the desk clerk at the Brandin’ Iron Inn, even if you have a pass. They start lining up at four o’clock.

I arise at 3 am. Plot my strategy on a particle-board table. A map and exceptionally bitter coffee. The wait at the entrance as long as the drive from Montana.

A slow crawl through the stark landscape. Sulphuric swirls in the earth’s fabric. Steam chugs like a locomotive from the geysered-ground. Shades of sapphire embedded in gravel. Socially-distanced bison. The day growing heavy.

Time shifts in the space between. Covid was hard on all relationships.

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This microburst is the third in the road trip national park series. Here’s part one and part two.