Dan's Diary: Fargo To Yellowstone

A colorful, winged, helmet-wearing bison proves the Fargo bison community promotes free expression. This one landed in the lobby of the Fargo Holiday Inn.

Preparing to depart from the Fargo Holiday Inn under a beautiful blue sky, June 22, 2006.

A haunting display of greatness at the Roger Maris Museum in Fargo, N.D., on June 23, 2006. Actual home run balls, home run bats, batting crowns and authentic pieces of baseball history flank a slouching Maris.

A stop at Fort Abraham Lincoln near Mandan, N.D., Sunday, June 25, 2006. The site was last home to Gen. George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Calvary. These two tour guides, deep into character, were quite friendly and helpful. It was a scorching summer afternoon, and they were real troopers.

Holy cow! Meet Salem Sue, the World's Largest Holstein Cow. The huge heifer, which stands guard in the cattle town of New Salem, N.D., is 50 feet long, 38 feet tall and weighs 12,000 pounds.

A gorgeous vista of the badlands at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, N.D., on June 26, 2006. Millions of years of erosion and climatic changes have turned these once prehistoric swamplands into a gorgeous landscape of canyons and rock formations.

A picturesque shot of "Winny" resting at the first KOA in Billings, Mont., on June 27, 2006. This KOA site was nicer than my own backyard in the suburbs.

A clear shot of just how many folks came out to the Billings, Mont., KOA to see The Early Show's Dave Price give away another "Great American Vacation." This was easily the biggest crowd yet.

Dave Price shows off his bad-to-the-bone side while cruising on his Hog on June 28, 2006, in Billings, Mont.

Members of the Red Hat Society, a social group in which members wear red dresses and purple hats at their outings, enjoy themselves at the The Early Show's "Great American Vacation" giveaway at the Billings, Mont., KOA on June 28, 2006.

Dave Price hoards delicious Stroopwafels made by "Great American Vacation" recipients Judy and Jan Boogman, on June 28, 2006, in Billings, Mont. Nominated by their daughter Saskia, center. 51 weeks of cookie making plus one week of bakery maintenance equals the Boogmans' schedule, year in and year out.

Treacherous Gibbon Falls in Yellowstone National Park, June 26, 2006. Ninety-six percent of the national park is located in the state of Wyoming, another three percent is in Montana, and one percent is in Idaho.

Here's something you don't see every day: Our park ranger pulled us off the road to get a closer, but careful look at this wild bison during a visit to Yellowstone National Park, Wednesday, June 28, 2006.

Old Faithful blows off steam and scolding hot water as high as 185 feet every 80 minutes or so, lasting one to 5 minutes at a time. The geyser is consistent and performed right on time.

Behold the rare and wild Dave Price as he frolics across a flowering meadow. Actually, Dave's peculiar stride was him tip-toeing in the presence of a very real, very wild bison during a stop for a closer look while at Yellowstone National Park on June 28, 2006.

This postcard photo was taken a few miles outside of Yellowstone National Park on June 28, 2006. I wasn't certain how the view could get any better ... but it clearly did.

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