Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Yellowstone With Esther

When Brandon and Traci were still at school at BYU Idaho we took Esther up with us for a visit. We went to West Yellowstone for one of the days. It was beautiful. When we'd stop, Esther would say, "I'll just stay in the car." Then Jerry would tell her she was going to miss out and he'd convince her to get out and see the sights. Which she did each time and enjoyed. We did this at every stop. With her being legally blind, I was concerned for her safety sometimes. At an area full of paint pots and deep pools I mentioned to her that we needed to stay in front of the warning signs. I read her the signs about the hot temperatures and thin crusts of earth. We were all looking at the sights and she turned her back on them like she was not going to look. Then she started bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet and kind of humming like she was not interested. Then she slowly backed up one little step at a time, acting nonchalant and humming, etc., until she could make out that the sign was just in front of her and she was behind it. Then she smiled to herself like the cheshire cat and slowly walked forward again.