Please don't wash my windshield!

This encounter in Yellowstone National Park a couple weeks ago revived memories of being lost in one of the less desirable parts of New York City sometime in the early 1990s.

Sites such as this are fairly common occurrences on the miles and miles of roads throughout the park.

Traffic oftentimes backs up for hundreds and hundreds of yards when one of these fellas decides to take a stroll down the middle of the road.

They say not to get within 20 yards of buffalos (for bears, stay back 100 yards), but there's not much you can do in a situation like this other than keep your foot on the brake.

It was at about this time that I started feeling like Barney Fife reaching for the whistle in his shirt pocket as the 2000 pound beast neared.

Yes, the memory of trying to get to a hotel in Hell's Kitchen resurfaced at this time too - my wife actually took the picture below as I, Barney, tried to decide whether to take more pictures or do something really stupid.
When calm returned, this was all that could be salvaged out the drivers-side window. That late night in New York City had apparently left an indelible imprint about what might happen when the "safe-distance buffer" is violated.

It's funny to think about now.