Deer John,

Sometimes things just don't go as planned!

I have been planning for this weekend for a long time now. Sometime early in the year, I realized that my 50th birthday was going to fall on a Friday. I started  telling Dan that since that was the case, I wanted a party. About a month ago, he asked, "Do you want a party, or would you rather go to Yellowstone?" I didn't have to think about it for very long before the choice was obvious. 

Of course, the problem with a winter birthday trip is weather. Forecasters said all week that we were going to get snow, but we didn't. Friday dawned cloudy, but the roads were clear, so we set out for Yellowstone. Unfortunately, just 30 miles short of Gardiner, the snow began to fall. We pulled off in Emigrant to think it over, then turned around and started back home. A photogenic pair of eagles along the river east of Livingston took most of the sting out of the aborted trip. 

Saturday morning, Dan checked the Yellowstone webcams, and they confirmed that we had made the right choice. But just because we had to come home didn't mean that we had to stay there. The roads closer to home were clear and dry, so we once again went looking for wildlife. We drove to Columbus and hit a park and a fishing access. We didn't find any eagles, but we soon found deer! It quickly became apparent that the rut was in full swing. Most of the does didn't seem overly interested (hence the post title), but that didn't seem to slow the bucks down any. They just kept chasing. (One ol' boy did get lucky.)

The problem with winter outings is that the days are so short. Long before we were really ready to quit, the light began to fade, and it was time to point the Subaru toward home. While it may not have been Plan A for the weekend, it was still an enjoyable outing.