My first trip to the area was probably in the early 80s. My family went down for an over night trip. I remember seeing all of the main things you would want to see at LBL.
My 5th grade class from Utica Elementary School went there for a weekend trip too, which was a lot of fun.
There used to be a cool observation area at the top of a silo. I remember going there on those first couple of trips. There was a wooden walkway leading to the top of the silo which was very cool. Sadly, this is no longer accessible as people were setting things on fire, and tossing them down the silo. Here is a little more about the silo.
On this trip, we mostly just drove around and took in the scenery.
One thing we always do while here is go to the Elk and Bison Prairie.
It's $5 a car to go in to the Prairie area. Once inside, you drive slowly around a long road and look for elk and bison.We did not see any elk on this day, though we did hear the elk bugle. This mating call is actually kind of scary if you don't know what it is.
We made a lap around and did see a LOT of bison. They were big and numerous! They also seem very comfortable around vehicles.
At one point, they very slowly surrounded my car. One literally put its head on the hood of my vehicle. I really wasn't sure what to do about this.... so I just waited.
The bison's eyes looked heavy, and I thought for a moment that it was going to take a nap, using my car as a pillow (see third photo from bottom). I did back up... a little, but there were bison behind me too.
This whole exchange lasted probably 45 minutes. I felt excited about this bison and its friendly attitude towards us, but I also felt some concern, as I just bought this new car a few weeks ago.
Our friendly bison finally moved on... slowly. I looked at my car later. There were no dents or damage- just a furry dusty chin print and some bison slobber.
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