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a bull jealously watched over his harem, and a couple of calves frol-
icked in his orbit. We leaned on the fence as our own children frol-
icked, too.
The next day, we took the half-day whitewater trip with Yellowstone
Raft Company, another Ondrus family operation, and it turned out
to be one more of the highlights of our visit. The water was running
high—plenty of rapids and more than a few good splashes—with
Electric Peak looming over the valley as we made our way downri-
ver. Our guide was knowledgeable and charming, the kind of per-
son who was clearly doing this because she loved it: loved the riv-
er, loved these mountains, loved taking families down some of the
best whitewater in Montana. The kids had a blast, we all got very
wet, and even as longtime Montanans, we learned things about the
landscape we'd never known or taken the time to notice before.
We Montanans love to travel around our state. Maybe we take a
trip to Hawaii, or Florida, or Bucharest now and then, but we mostly
like to travel around our own little demesne. And, luckily for us,
Montana offers such a range of climes, landscapes, and experienc-
es that a trip a few hours from home can feel like a grand journey.
That was certainly true for our family. We forged memories we will
never forget while at Yellowstone Tipis. And we did it all without
compressed spines, sore hips, or long walks to a frigid latrine—the
usual repercussions of camping. Instead, we woke up as fresh and
as pert as a blooming patch of arrowleaf balsamroots, and were
heartily sad to leave such an exceedingly comfortable tipi.
