Barack's quickie Yellowstone trip

Our President is a busy guy. He only has a few more weeks to convince America that if Congress doesn't pass his sweeping health care plan, we'll all regret it. (Many of us will regret it when suddenly we're forced to pay for abortions that they assured us wouldn't happen; or when abortion clinics begin popping up in our neighborhoods. I hope and pray these things don't happen.)

This past weekend Mr. Obama took some time off from his town-hall meetings out west to visit Yellowstone and to try his hand at fly-fishing. He didn't catch any fish, but he did manage to make it down to Old Faithful with Michelle and the girls to see the famous geyser erupt. What else did they do there? They got a tour of Black Sand Basin (one place we regrettably did not visit on our trip last month), and had ice cream at the Old Faithful General Store--the same one where we watched the baby birds having their lunch on the front porch.

Then it was on to Arizona and the Grand Canyon. I understand the Obama's didn't spend much time there, either. When I was a kid we stopped there on a cross-country road trip, took a walk down Bright Angel Trail and viewed the canyon from a few vantage points. Someday I hope we'll take our kids to the Grand Canyon and stay for more than one day.

Too bad the Obamas didn't see more of Yellowstone. A lot of tourists take a similar whistle-stop tour. They drive through the park and stop at Old Faithful, watch it erupt, and leave. Maybe they take a look at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone or Mammoth Hot Springs while they're at it, but don't take the time to really experience the wonder and beauty of the Park.

Four years from now, hopefully Mr. Obama will be out of a job. Maybe, Lord willing, he'll have lots of time on his hands, and he will take the opportunity to visit Yellowstone with his family again. Then he'll have time to spend a week or more in the park: maybe do some hiking or horseback riding; relax in the lobby of Lake Hotel and enjoy the beautiful view of Yellowstone Lake while listening to the string quartet that plays there almost every night; spend some more time practicing his fly-fishing; or spend hours waiting for some of Yellowstone's biggest geysers to erupt, like Grand Geyser or Great Fountain Geyser. Those will be memories that Sasha and Malia will treasure forever.