Today’s off-road experience was tracking down buffalo. (Just a note: The real name of this North American animal is bison.)
We were driving along I-94 about sixty-five miles south of our destination in Fargo, ND, when Earl spotted a herd of bison casually eating the grass on the east side of the highway. Immediately after that we saw a sign that read “Buffalo for Sale.”
Now we are bison aficionados, having made more than one trip to a bison ranch in Indiana, having eaten it and slept under its hide (very warm), and currently planning a trek to Yellowstone National Park to commune with them. Additionally, the skull of a female bison hangs in Earl’s office. It is a thing of beauty.
So we headed for the next exit in search of the advertised buffalo. We can’t afford to buy one; our condo docs forbid anything over the weight of an average dog. But we could at least pay our respects.
Which we did. Although there were no directional signs, luck provided us with the right road. And when we came to the end of it, the bison were there. Being courteous intruders, we found someone to ask if we could walk to the fence and see them close up. Permission was granted.
I’m not sure if it was my paisley sweater or just the fact that we were unfamiliar faces, but the bison began to close ranks and move away from the fence. We hastened our gait, but they hastened theirs too. A new mother with her offspring went cantering over the hill and out of sight. The others moved a distance away.
Regardless, we got to see them relatively up close and personal, which is all you want to do. Bison are not pettable or predictable. They are not at all interested in human friendship. Rather, they are majestic beasts that played a significant role not only in the development of our country as it is today but also in the development of what it was before Western European explorers showed up. And . . . they’ve inspired more than one song.
Leave a Reply