When a Bison Messes Up Your Family Plans at Yellowstone

Sometimes camping trips turn out differently than you imagined.

This past weekend, my family was in Yellowstone with Janan's mom and dad. Thursday and Friday were great, and after checking out Old Faithful and driving up to Lamar Valley (two tourist hot spots), we returned to camp. As we sat by our campfire on Friday evening, I noticed a teenager sprint toward us from another campsite.

I figured he was just playing around, but then we noticed a bison strolling through the area. I later learned he was known as the camp bison and was there most days grazing among tents and vehicles. If you’ve ever been to Yellowstone, you know this isn’t out of the ordinary. Bison are everywhere, and on our drive back to the campsite that night, we passed one casually strolling down the road.

The general rule of thumb is don’t be an idiot and stay at least 25 yards away. While I have a hunch that someone, at some point, violated both of those rules, everyone I saw was doing their part to give him space. Still, he was clearly annoyed and indiscriminate in who he targeted.

In this video, you can see what unfolded next.

Our white van shows up at the five-second mark, and only by watching this clip late last night did I realize how close we were. Because we were at our campfire on the other side, we didn't see him coming, and the first glimpse we had of him was when he started rolling around in the dirt. Assuming he was still angry, we loaded our kids into the van. That’s when the rest of it unfolded.

A grandfather in his seventies happened to be walking by and stopped to look at the bison with his grandson. But it seems the truck in the video only agitated the bison further, and with a man standing directly behind it, it was just a case of terrible wrong place/wrong time.

After chasing him around the tree, the bison lifted the man over eight feet into the air. I’ve heard there is already a trove of memes and funny videos coming out of this clip, but watching it in real time was frightening.

When the man hit the ground, we could hear him groaning, and at that point, we weren’t sure how serious his injury was. Fortunately, everyone around started yelling, and I think this helped distract the bison enough so it trotted off into a neighboring field, allowing the man to receive medical attention.

Thankfully, he was in good spirits and was taken to a hospital. The news said he has a broken leg in several places and is in for a lengthy recovery. The incident was a reminder that life is unpredictable and also gave us an opportunity to talk to the kids.

A Chance to Talk

A couple of them saw everything, and my guess is that the image of a grandfather cartwheeling through the air is seared into my oldest boy's brain. It certainly changed his view of bison, and when we lay down to sleep that night in the van (instead of the tent), he opted to leave his stuffed toy bison outside our vehicle. My guess is that this grudge will continue for some time.

We are far from perfect parents, but one of the things Janan and I have always tried to do is provide space for our kids to talk. That night, before bed and after assuring them we were safe, we talked through their fears and their questions. And then we talked through how to respond when bad things happen.

When the bison attacked the man, Janan was inside the van and immediately started praying. This was something the kids did as well—not only that night, but the days since. Each time we've sat down for a meal, my youngest girl remembers to pray for him. And I can see how God has used a difficult situation to bring some beauty.

I was especially reminded of this on our trip home to Nampa yesterday. We did a small pit stop at Craters of the Moon on our way to Nampa. If you've never visited, it is a large volcanic landscape filled with ancient lava flows, caves, and cone-shaped craters.

What struck me about that site was not the rock itself, but the beauty fighting to grow. Among the crevices, you can see tiny plants sprouting up and trees doing everything they can to survive. They are a reminder that even in tough settings, good can spring forth.

The same is true in life.

Make God Part of Your Everyday Life

As we go through this Family series in July, if you're a parent, I challenge you to pay attention to the pivotal moments that impact your kids. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says:

⁶ These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. ⁷ Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

In other words, make God a part of your everyday family living.

If you're a parent, some of the most formative training experiences your kids will experience will come on the heels of events you did not expect. A friend does something hurtful, a nice neighbor moves away, or a bison nearly kills someone next to you.

We do not wish for these moments or seek them out, but they come. And when they do, they are the times when you have an opportunity to see what your kids are really thinking, to listen to their toughest questions, and to point them to Jesus—the one who has overcome death and gives us freedom over fear.