2. In 1976, my parents took me to Yellowstone. To say I fell in immediate love is to underestimate the power of the emotion the park evokes in me.

3. In 1988, 1.4 million acres of Yellowstone burned.

4. In 1998, I made a return trip with the Tour Manager. Signs of the fire were still everywhere. The Tour Manager promised we’d return in five years.

5. In 2008, the Tour Manager and I will layer up our winter gear and leave the warmth of the Old Faithful Snow Lodge to see Old Faithful’s first eruption of the new year. (yep, five years became ten. Amazing what happens when you blink.)

6. Because we’ll be spending five of our six nights in the park, we probably won’t have Internet access. Or cell phone coverage.

7. Our first morning there, we’ll go wolf spotting.

8. We’re bringing both digital cameras and the laptop, so we can upload the pictures and have empty memory cards to start each day.

9. I have learned more about long underwear than any rocker chick like me ought to learn.

10. We’re going to be surrounded by bison and yet I’m betting that all that will be on the menu is cow.

11. As a result of this, I probably won’t be able to check in while I’m gone.

12. I’d thought about having a friend post entries for me, but given what Trevor’s done around this joint in the past when I HAVE been here, I didn’t think that was wise.

13. But if I can post from Yellowstone, I will. Keep your eyes peeled, and have a terrific New Year’s.