advantage of Yellowstone's hiking trails is out of the question on this visit. (See sidebar below for kennels near the park.)

If boarding your dog is not in your budget, don't let that prevent you from visiting this national treasure! Weather permitting and with adequate ventilation, pets may be left in vehicles while you view attractions near roads and parking area--which includes everything we saw during our visit.

Departing Yellowstone via the stone arch at the northern entrance, The Boy laments not seeing a bear, as his grandmother did here years ago. Something to look forward to the next visit--when he's old enough to hike.

Neither Carmen nor I had thought much about the next leg of the trip: the 55-mile drive north up I-89 through Montana to I-90, which we would take east to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. So what a delightful surprise to find the route as breathtaking in its way as U.S. 89 north of Jackson. I thought I understood the concept of a "big sky" when driving through Texas, but this is something even grander, especially in the late-afternoon light.

We spend the night at a pet-friendly Red Roof Inn somewhere west of Little Bighorn. Dogs are not permitted on the battlefield grounds (they must stay inside the car), and since The Boy is too little to appreciate the meaning of the place (and the need for quiet), this is not a major stop for us. The clouds spit rain as I dash in and out of the Sequoia, taking photographs for a planned kids' history section of Chaucer's website.