Nancy stepped on the brake.
Paying no attention to the car, the elk began
prancing gracefully across the road.
“Oh, Nancy, look at the babies!” Bess cried.
Nancy chuckled as a handful of little elk
wobbled awkwardly in front of the herd.
The herd stopped in a meadow on the left
side of the highway. Near the center of the
sparse grass where the creatures were grazing,
Nancy noticed a cone of gray rock about a foot
high. From its center, wisps of white steam
curled into the air.
“It’s a geyser!” Nancy exclaimed.
Bess’s jaw dropped.
“The whole park is covered with them,”
Nancy said as she started driving again.
“Which is why Yellowstone is so special.”
“I read the guidebook, too,” Bess said teas-
ingly. “The geysers are remnants of volcanoes
that erupted around here millions of years ago.
But I still can’t believe it.”
“Just wait until you see Old Faithful. It
erupts about every hour and a half. And it will
be right outside our window at the hotel,”
Nancy said.
“That’s why I wanted to stay there,” Bess
replied.
Nancy shook her head and laughed at her
friend. “You just didn’t want to camp out,
even though it would be better if we were
closer to the study group.”
“Oh, Nan, I can’t!” she moaned. “I hate
bugs, but even worse I hate sleeping on the
cold, bumpy ground.”
“Okay, okay,” Nancy said. “You convinced
me. But you may be passing up the chance to
get close to a cute Emerson guy,” she warned
her friend.
Nancy stepped on the brake at an intersec-
tion. A sign pointed right to the Grand Loop
Road and left to the inn and visitors center.
Before she could turn, a tour bus passed in
front other. She followed it in the direction of
the inn.
“It seems a bit early in the season for tour
buses,” Nancy said.
“It’s probably better to get here before the
main tourist season starts,” Bess replied. “Is
Ned meeting us at the hotel?”
“He said he’d try to. But the Emerson group
is incredibly busy right now, gearing up for the
end of this phase of the study,” Nancy ex-
plained. “If he’s not there when we arrive,
we’ll head over to the campsite after we check
in.”
The road grew steeper, and Nancy kept a
safe distance between her white rental car and
the bus in front. On the far side of the pass, the
highway ran beside a gushing river.
“That must be the hotel,” Bess said, point-
ing to the left. “Have you ever seen anything
like it in your life?”
Nancy leaned forward and saw a building
that was at least seven stories high with a
slanted roof and rows of little dormer win-
dows. Its walls were made of huge rough-cut
logs stacked one on top of the other.
“It looks like a giant birdhouse,” Nancy said
delightedly as she turned onto the road that led
to the inn and followed it to the front of the
building. Then, remembering that Ned might
be waiting for her inside, she hastily stopped
the car, turned off the ignition, and jumped
out.
“Go on ahead. Nancy,” Bess urged with a
knowing smile. “I’ll find someone to help me
with the bags. Then I’ll park the car in the lot
over there,” she said, pointing.
Gratefully, Nancy tossed Bess the car keys,
mounted the wooden stairs, and entered the
lobby.
The center of the building was an atrium
that rose all the way to the roof. Along two
sides were level after level of balconies. A huge
fireplace of gigantic lava stones dominated the
big space. Half a dozen guests sat near the fire
in old-fashioned rocking chairs. Another row
of rockers faced tall windows overlooking sev-
eral geysers. A few people were seated there,
enjoying the view. But no Ned. Nancy choked
back her disappointment.
Just then she saw Bess enter the lobby,
followed by a bellhop pulling a trolley with
Bess’s two suitcases and Nancy’s small carry-
on bag.
“Where’s Ned?” she asked when Nancy
reached her side.
Nancy shook her head. “At the campsite, I
guess. I’d like to drive over and take a look.”