When my younger brother Bryan and his family came to visit from Iowa, they made it clear that visiting Yellowstone National Park was a priority.

They were, of course, also coming to renew relationships with cousins and aunts and uncles, but meeting a bear or two, some bison and maybe a few moose was a priority.

So we made a plan. We would go with them as tour guides since it had been about 20 years since my brother had been in the West, and his wife, who's from the East Coast, had never been.

We filled the car with gas, picked up a current map and headed out for the weekend, they in their rental car and us in our SUV.

When we checked in at the ranger's kiosk, I showed the back of the flier about encounters with the wildlife to my sister-in-law.

"Look, Patty," I said. "It says here that despite the stern warnings they give to tourists, every year there are injuries from animals who charge tourists who get too close."

She was intrigued, but I'm not sure the message registered, because a little later when we found a pair of mother bison sitting across the river with their calves, she complained because they were so far away.

"Frankly, I'm glad they are clear across the river," I said. "I think mama buffalo are pretty sensitive about people getting too close to their children."