A Trip to Yellowstone National Park!

This is going to be a long one, probably the longest so far. I am planning to narrate it into three or four parts. I am highly excited about this as I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. After being there, I realized that this place is so close to my heart, a feeling that was not guaranteed when I set for the journey. I have heard from people about the specialty of this place, but least did I believe that I will be left marveling after visiting there.

When Shailesh told me that we were going to Yellowstone, I was a little excited for the fact that I am going to see something new, a change of place, new people and so on. I had many office chores that I had to finish before preparing for travel, but the travel preparations were running in the back of my mind, though I did not initiate it practically until the day before. We ran a whole lot of laundry, made a pot full of idli batter, scoured the stores hurriedly for essentials, gathered snacks and baby essentials, borrowed stroller, emptied the refrigerator. We did this in one single day. I wasn't even sure whether we will make it the next morning, but somehow we got them all packed up and rolled them to the door before we went to sleep. The last thing I did before I went to sleep was CURD RICE! My kids love it, and me too... I packed it in a beautiful Indian stainless steel container called thookku, and left it in the fridge ready to be picked as we set out.

I woke up to the alarm at 4 AM, and started making idlis. I packed them all, while Shailesh was getting the kids ready. The flight was at 7:25 AM, and we left home at 5:45 AM, expecting that we will be on time. Reached the airport, and realized that there are many early birds. We got the car seats and two suitcases checked in, with only a million things in hand to be carried on. We were restlessly patient, waiting for our turn to go through the security check. After reaching the security, we were turned down saying that we did not have a boarding pass for the little girl. Shailesh rushed to the check in counter to get one, while I and Shivank went through the security check. The moment we were out, Shailesh and Shrika joined us. We were again stopped by the security to get a clarification regarding the food that we were carrying. I did not know that the curd rice could be of so much trouble to keep up their security tags. They asked me what went into it. I patiently explained them, basically the whole recipe for curd rice. After my explanations, she asks me " So, do you have more than three ounces of yogurt in it?". I said "Yes". She consulted another senior security officer to let me know whether the curd rice has passed their security guidelines. The final say was "No". That was it! I had a big reason to get upset. They gave me two choices, either I can leave the container with curd rice or I can empty the container safely somewhere in the airport and take the container along. That was a tough decision!!!! I just went with the first one, gathered all my belongings from the trays and started racing towards the gate.

Shivank was on his own with a back pack of Shrika's stuff. He was keeping upto my pace, and at one point he was gasping so much. He never said "No" to running, but as a mother, I could see that my baby was unable to do it. I grabbed him, and put him on the trolley with my carry on baggages, and started racing again. I was carrying both the strollers in the trolley, and they were long and protruding from either side. While I was trying to pass through a narrow passage, the strollers were tripped, leaving everything on the trolley to the floor, including Shivank! He was embarassed, and I felt terrible. I cannot explain how terrible I felt when that happened. I apologised to him thousand times, but he told me"It is ok, Amma, let us move on". I felt more terrible for being so irresponsible. The gate number was E13, and I was 300 meters away from Shailesh and Shrika, and they were at least another 200 meters away from the gate. As I neared them, I heard "Last call for Flight No. blah blah blah to Denver". Before we even could get a sight of it, the gates were closed. We ran to the attendant, requested him to let us in, but all in vain. Yes, WE. MISSED. THE. FLIGHT. He actually contacted the flight's captain, but the captain turned down the request. He was helpless, and so were we! We were broken, shattered, disappointed and what not. What else would you expect when schedule a travel on 13th, the Friday with a Full Moon. The gate number was also 13. I had nothing to blame on, but the worst day.

Courtesy: South West Airlines Website

We went for re-booking the flight. Luckily, there was a flight in the evening at 6 PM. They didn't confirm the tickets, and that left us with the only choice of staying in the airport the whole day. We were quiet, numb and introspecting for a few hours. We didn't even discuss with each other about what happened. There was a spell of silence for a long time between us. All that we concentrated upon was to get the tickets confirmed. We were helplessly staring at the flight, which was standing still at its place, unmoved even an inch. It was literally tantalizing to open the gate and get on to the flight saying a "sorry". Fifteen minutes after all this happened, at around 7:25 AM, the gates reopened, and we saw a man  (a passenger) asking for some directions. He was on the flight, and he wanted to grab his wallet he left in some store. The looks on his face explained that he was given a short while to finish his task and get back. I saw this man run like a sprinter in the airport. Luckily, he got his wallet and returned in time. I was so happy that he made it. We did not go for asking whether they could still let us in, for I know we will be turned down! I saw the gates open and close twice after we reached the gate, but still we were not able to make it. This left an impression, a philosophical one, on me! What would you call this? An ill-fate or an admonishment (rather a punishment) for starting late from home? May be both... I was not baffled as this was not the first time I was left alone at crossroads. There were many such instances, brutal and cruel, where I felt terrible and helpless. All that I realized at the moment was "A few things are meant to happen in life, no matter how much you try to deviate away from it". A few are successful, and the rest fail at many a times, leaving an impression that they are inefficient and incompetent. The only way to handle such terrible feelings is to move ahead positively, forgetting that such things ever happened. Basically, be shameless and proceed ahead!

We waited and waited until it was 6 PM. We finished almost all idlis by then. The kids were behaving as if the gate and the associated area were their usual playground. They were entertaining, happy, troubled, restless, sleepy, uncomfortable, funny, all in a go. Finally, we boarded the flight at 7 PM. Hang on.... We are not there yet. After boarding, we heard an announcement that they did not get clearance to move. There were some papers to be signed by some officials, a medical emergency kit to be replenished and an equipment problem to be rectified. We were concerned about the delay as we had to catch another flight from Denver to Salt Lake City. Remember, we were not the only people who missed the flight, there were 15 others who missed that morning flight. So, there were suggestions from the captain and the flight attendants saying that people who cannot make it to the connecting flight can get off the flight and consider re-booking options. Shailesh checked for the status of the flight from Denver to SLC, and it was delayed by an hour and 35 minutes. The captain told us that there are still chances of making to that flight. So we decided to travel. The others who were sure of missing the connecting flight got down. Finally, the flight took off at 9:20 PM from PHL to Denver. Everyone in the flight was thoroughly troubled by a delay of 3 hours and 25 minutes. We traveled by South West Airlines, and the captain and crew were extremely hilarious. Here goes the captain, "So, the message of the day is never travel on Friday the 13th with a Full-moon. I know that you all must be thinking that you could have had your travel plans with US Airways, but trust us, we are not that bad. We promise you that we will be better than US Airways. Hang on, have a nap and we will be in Denver soon. For people traveling with kids, please try your best to maximize your potentials. We will consider giving you all some rewards at the end of the journey, which will be a few extra sachets of peanuts. Thank you for choosing South West, while you have many travel options (he chuckles!!!!)".  While the flight took off, and when it was at a 45 degree inclination, we saw bags and bags of peanuts sliding away from the cockpit. The captain was sliding them through his door, and they reached all the way to the tail of the plane. It was hilarious! He sung a song to put us all to sleep.

They actually requested everyone in the flight to give way for people who were catching the next flight. Though many were inconsiderate, a few were understanding and helping. We rushed through the airport, again racing to the next gate at 11:30 PM. Shivank, again, proved himself to be a good sprinter. We could hear all our names being announced in the airport, and when we reached the gate, the captain and a few other crew members made us feel comfortable. They were smiling, cooperative and receptive. They helped us settle in the flight. I asked with the person who was seated near me, "How long have you all been waiting for us?" He said with a smile on his face, "Don't worry about it, just 45 minutes!". I was emotional. If God shuts one door, he delays, but opens the other door with all kind people welcoming you! The fellow passenger gave me a good company, asked me about our travel plans, got excited with Indian food, exchanged email ids and gave a good company.

Finally, we arrived in SLC, half past 1 AM, left to the Hotel room we booked, ate the few idlis that were left and went to sleep. We woke up fresh the next morning, and set for our journey to Big Sky, Montana, only 391 miles away from SLC!!!!!

Hang on, this is just the beginning. I will be back with the fun, scenic part soon.