Minnesota motorcyclist has close encounter with bison at Yellowstone

Stopping the car for an up-close view of bison at Yellowstone National Park is a common activity for the park’s 4 million annual visitors. But imagine being on a motorcycle, surrounded by 3 of the 1,400 lb. animals, then finding yourself face-to-face with one of them.

That was the experience of Kelli McDaniel of Cottage Grove, Minnesota during a ride through Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley on Aug. 8. McDaniel was in the middle of a two-week motorcycle trip out west when she found herself frozen, face-to-face with a bison.

“I could actually hear him coming from behind me before I could see him,” she said.

McDaniel had already seen a herd of bison earlier on her trip, and had been waiting 30 minutes for the road to clear before this encounter.

“I didn’t move, didn’t breathe. I just waited,” McDaniel said. “It seemed like an eternity.”

Watch it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/N3gRMCktJ78