The last campsite

We weren't sure if we would be able to do Craters and Yellowstone in the same day, so we put off making our decision. But by the time we left craters, we decided to camp in Yellowstone that night. It was a little bit of a race against the clock to make sure we would have enough light to pitch a tent, but we were game. Unfortunately the phone reservation system had closed for the night. When we arrived at the park gates the ranger showed us a big board showing which campsites were full, and which were open. We crossed our fingers and headed in. About halfway around the big loop to a campsite that said "open" on the magic board, I had a vision of us arriving deep in the park to a now-full campsite. So we pulled into the reservation center of the nearest campsite to confirm we would have a space. No, the perky college student said, everything was full. Everything. Unless, oh, if you have a dog that wouldn't work. There we are, 2 hours from civilization, and everything is booked. And it's past our dinner time, and the light is growing dim, and we are still hot and sticky from Craters of the Moon. And as I am pleading our case to the nice lady, she says, "wait, how big is your tent?" because at just that moment a campsite opened nearby, but the spot is really really small. We'll take it, I say. Even though it isn't near the lake, even though a million things. The last campsite in Yellowstone was ours.