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"  My two friends Maxey and Gloria are on a road trip in Yellowstone Park. When I first caught wind of this girlfriend getaway, my heart warmed with pleasure.  Today, I imagine them cruising along, windows down, enjoying an unusually warm autumn day. No doubt there is a hint of Fall in the air, with patches of crimson and gold adorning the hillsides. I wonder, will they stop and share a picnic of Fall apples and cheese? Perhaps they will pull over from time to time to snap a picture of bison herds or the majestic elk in the distance. As third generation Montanans, I imagine they will roll their eyes , utter a tsk tsk and shake their heads at the silly ,city folk who get just a little too close to large animals and steaming mud pots.    For sure, they will compare notes on the six boys these wise women have raised. Each brought three sons into this western world in an era when women mostly tended to the kitchen and the garden..... and the men. For both, in different ways, it was a difficult time. Still, both stood by their brood through the skinned knees of boyhood and the bruised egos and jagged challenges that came with manhood. Now the pair glimmer with pride when they speak of grandchildren, that heavenly-crafted gift delivered to fortunate matriarchs of a certain age. I have a special fondness for Maxey and Gloria. I am a keen observer of their journey, for I too have raised three sons.Some say there is a special place in heaven for mothers of only boys. In time, I have come to believe that we are the lucky ones. Without what might have been the powerful distraction of daughterly pursuits, we&amp;#039;ve had the honor and opportunity to help shape young men into kind and loving human beings; men who might one day marry our daughters-in- law and gently nurture our grand children. We can hope that through the years they will help us carry heavy objects, write sweet words on our special days and lift us up as the years pass on.  Yet, I know that for those of us who are mothers of boys and men, we hold our girlfriends in high esteem. Only with our girls, do we share certain secrets, disappointments and dreams. And at times, our deepest concerns, our love and the wonder of our boys. We know well the comfort of that place where judgment never settles.  My pleasure deepens as I imagine Maxey and Gloria, two fine and fit 80-something girlfriends, two who have shared family, hardships, holidays and heartache, winding their way toward their destination in this National Park. It could not be more fitting, more appropriate, or any better tribute to the lives they have crafted, and to the special bond that women share. They will settle for the evening in this special place where time stands still and the heated water, always reliable, pulses steady and strong. Through the night and the day they will be serenaded by Old Faithful.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/parenting/a31594/a-yellowstone-retreat-a-girlfr/>