From afar it looks like a boy with a bad “butch” haircut due to the shrubs that grow on top. However, standing at its base, it is purely monumental. For Spielberg cinema lovers, it is iconic, yet there is no paraphernalia or mention of  Spielberg’s “Strange Encounters of the Third Kind” shot here.  We probably weren’t the only ones humming that 5 note melody and secretly wishing the nice aliens would invite us on board. Steven and I agreed that if either one of us ever got such an invitation, there is no “Good-bye, Sweet Thang”, only…..”Gone!” Hoping the aliens can find us in a nearby Buffalo, WY brewery (where the town is on its third record-breaking day for high temperatures on this date), Steven samples the best beer ever:  “Fire Hole Chile Porter:  A Robust Porter with chocolate and coffee flavors accented by a subtle spicy finish from Japanese Red Chili Peppers”. Doesn’t that sound like a fabulous recipe for a dark chocolate fudge cake! Pick your poison. What do you think these real cowboys we ran into on a cattle drive would choose after a day on the long trail,”herdin’ doggies”?

Something about this small western town makes me keep belting out the cowboy ballads that I grew up singing. I know these must be on your hit list too: “Buffalo Gals Won’t You Come Out Tonight to Dance by the Light of the Moon”, “Hang Down Your Head Tom Doolie”, “The Red River Valley”, and “Home on the Range”. Isn’t Steven a lucky guy? Unfortunately , the Cowboy Hit Parade kept right on rolling onto the Yellowstone hiking trails as I belted out songs to warn the grizzly and black bears (the breeds in Yellowstone that actually eat people) of our presence…like that is a good thing? Perhaps, they hate Cowboy Music…or flee my singing voice, quickly leading their cubs to safety. All good. We loved this folk art image of buffalo gals dancing by the light of the moon…and now we are fleeing to higher elevations to get cool.