Woke up for a breakfast shift and this was the view leaving my dorm. The building silhouette is Old Faithful Inn. Worked a double today so this was the highlight of the day.
Also, the bear is a poster Johnny and I put up in our room. Its a grizzly cub gettin big. Killin it. We need a name for this guy and a quote to put in a bubble/cloud above him.... any suggestions are welcome.
My heart is still racing. Johnny and I came within 15 feet of slaughtering a family of bison…. and Lola. I think Lola would have got the short end of that deal. We were driving back from West Yellowstone, we didn’t drink at all thank god. It was about 1030pm, lightly raining, taking it slow. We came around a slight bend doing 35 or so and I noticed a disruption in the yellow dividing line. I couldn’t even tell it was bison until I was slamming on my brakes and noticed the lighter colored calves in the herd, you could only tell that there was something blocking the road and better stop like 100 feet ago. It was so close. I was convinced we were going to hit at least one of them. There were probably 40 bison, all in the road. Lola stopped about 10 or 15 feet from the herd. I can relate to heart attack survivors. Holy shit. I think I was more scared than the herd of bison combined. My car came to a slightly crooked, abrupt stop, they just hung out for a minute, then walked right next to my car and beyond off into the night. I am so sick of these things. I found out tonight at the bar/restaurant where we watched the game that there are over 4000 bison in Yellowstone. Neat. Maybe we could cage them at night? Or put some reflectors or glow sticks around their neck? I wonder how many bison are hit every year…. Or how many cars are totaled hitting bison…. Or how many quills a porcupine has….. (30000, another trivia question from the menu where we ate) Next purchase = new headlights. Oh, and President Obama is coming to Yellowstone sometime this summer. He has to come to Old Faithful. Has to. How can the pres come to Yellowstone and not check out its biggest attraction with the fam? And you know they are gonna be hungry. Maybe they stop by one of the most iconic lodges in the nation for some lunch. Maybe I will clear his plate or refill his water, sneak a handshake in there and ask him what his thoughts are on the current situation in Pakistan, suggest that we offer them some bison at no charge, maybe that will get me an earpiece and a corner office in the white house..... Maybe……. Apparently Air Force One has been to West Yellowstone airport 4 times already in the past month or so to do…. something I assume.
Worked a dinner shift and had 7 people from Indiana sit in my and Brett’s section. Brett is a really great guy from Georgia. He and his wife Brittany are here serving tables together at the Inn and plan on moving to Portland OR after the season in Yellowstone is over. They are both so nice and really cool. I didn’t really understand the dynamics of the Indianian geology group, I think one of them was a doctor of geology and it was some sort of field trip for them, not really sure, Brett talked to them more than me when they explained that part. They were the last table in the restaurant, and Brett and I were glad they came in, they were such good people. They started asking about what the employees do for fun, and the employee pub came up. This sparked their interest. I was meeting Robbie and Johnny up there anyway, so I told them how to get there and to call me if they were going to come. 3 of them did. It was the doctor of the group, and a brother and sister. I don’t think they were supposed to be in the pub, but surprisingly no one seemed to mind, so we all had some beers and hung out for an hour or so getting to know each other. After a couple beers and good conversation, Johnny, myself and our 3 new friends decided that the best plan of action was to get Johnny’s bottle of Captain Morgan and go wait for Old Faithful to erupt by moonlight. We all agreed that sounded awesome and set out. The pub is about a 10-15 minute walk from The Inn/OF/our dorm and for the most part, the walk is well lit, not unlike a college campus. The 5 of us stopped by our room to get more layers of clothes, booze, etc. At this point it was probably 2am. The original plan was to hike to observation point and watch the geyser erupt, but that trail was closed for maintenance, so we decided just to hang out by OF and the other geo thermal pools around it. It was basically a full moon, and its so bright out when the moon is that full. You really dont need flashlights or anything as long as you stay on the trails. I cant wait until I get to observation point on a clear night with a full moon and watch old faithful erupt. Boo. Yah. Observation point is where I was standing in those pics striking my sexy pose. So we waited for OF to erupt for about 45 minutes, listening to music, talking, good times. The only bummer came about 5 minutes before OF went off. Clouds rolled in and covered up the moon. It got a little darker, and the geyser wasn’t as clear, but it was still awesome. Afterwards, we all walked around and checked out some of the geo thermal pools using my headlamp to get a better look. The 3 of them really seemed excited to be in such a diverse geological area, even though we couldn’t see as well once the clouds rolled in. We dropped them off at the Inn and went back to our rooms to crash. This place just draws good people. If my new friends from IN are reading this, I really hope you all had a great time, it was really nice meeting and hanging out with you all, keep in touch!
I worked a dinner shift tonight then met my Robbie and Johnny at the employee pub. No big story but I made sure to get a pic of some of us to show you all. The guy on the far left is Garrett, the guy kneeling down is the guy who tore his ACL after going up in the crows nest and C walking all night, the guy laughing really hard with glasses is Robbie, and the guy in the back is my roommate Johnny. I know the picture sucks, but it is the only one you can really see anything in. There will be more (and better) pics of us, and apparently there is a video of the 4 of us boxing in Jason (ACL C walker) and dancing all over him that night, once I get a hold of that video, Im pretty sure I can post it on here..... if I can I will.
Bad news. The warehouse job I was supposed to get seems to have up and vanished like a fart in the wind. The manager over there told me to change my uniforms so I could start working in the warehouse. My current supervisor says the warehouse is fully staffed and she wont let me go over there if that’s the case… so I guess Im stuck in the restaurant. Oh well, more $ for KP.
My life has been a little boring to write or talk about the past few days. Working, the weather has made quite a turn for the worse, and Ive not been feeling the greatest. Put all those things together and you get a pretty boring few days. The weather has been cold and windy for the most part, nothing over 50 degrees for almost a week. The other night a foot of snow fell overnight. By noon of that day, it was all gone. Then the next day, it snowed all day and nothing stuck. And we arent talking flurries, I mean it was SNOWING. It really takes the explorer out of you when it is 40 degrees, snowing sideways, and super windy. Not ideal hiking weather. Not ideal "anything outside" weather. Lets just say my room is clean and my laundry is caught up.
May 23 was my "saturday", and Robbie and I had cabin fever, and the weather was clear enough, so we decided to drive all over the park (bear hunt). We drove north to Mammoth, then to Roosevelt, Tower, Canyon (artists point, yes I know the pic of the canyon looks fake but its real, so amazing), then around the lake where snow was falling on the lake but not on the road, back home to Old Faithful, pics above. The loop we took is about 120 - 130 miles and it took us about 5 hrs to drive. A lot of different elevations, lots of different terrain/views, every kind of weather (sunny on the way up, cloudy for a bit, snowing at lake, mix falling at home), no bears. Unreal. And Debbie, we drove down Dunraven Pass. Just unlucky I guess. At one point in the mountains, the snow was chest high and it wasnt from the plows, it was untouched snow next to the roads and you could see the layers in it from the different times it had fallen, should have taken a picture. Some roads are still closed, and after that drive its easy to understand why.
My roommate Johnny’s bday is today. I was supposed to work breakfast and dinner, but I got out of my dinner shift to hang with Johnny and Robbie for his bday. He wants to go to Bullwinkles, so that’s where we are going again.
As I left for work at 545am, Im glad I was awake enough to look around. To my left about 50 - 100 ft away was a herd of buffalo. Maybe 20 of them. I hope they didn’t read my blog from a few days ago about how boring they are. That could have been awkward. Its just strange to walk literally 50 - 100yds to work, between 2 buildings, and run into a herd of…. anything. I think working breakfast is my favorite. People are getting up to start their day in the park and are so pumped, except the kids. They are annoying. Oh, they’re excited, hence why they are annoying. Yes, I see you are so ready to see a bear (so am I), so go ahead and throw that scone on the floor and write your name on the table in syrup. People are chatty about things that I don’t have to fake interest in, and if you bring coffee, they wanna have your baby. So I just walk around with carafes making instant friends. After breakfast, Johnny and I went and played basketball again. I took a pic of the rec center, its like a big cabin for sports.
I was walking to my car later in the day, and same thing, about 5 elk just hanging out like 50 – 100 ft away. They just looked at me like “Oh. Its you.” and went on eating their grass. I guess Im not as intimidating as I thought.
We went to Bullwinkles, thats Johnnie in the pic above in front of Bwinkles. Robbie and Garrett ended up hitch hiking to get there, long story. They were hiking, we were supposed to pick them up at a road junction as they were getting dropped off after a hike, no cell service, they were not there and we waited an hour, they got there really late, they made a bad decision to still get dropped up 14 miles from the Bullwinkles even though they didn’t see us at the meeting point…. They got there safely so all is good. We ended up going to the employee pub and playing foosball and pool, it was really dead in there. No dancing fools this time. We got home around 130am, in just enough time to fall asleep for the fire alarm to go off at 230am. We had to get up, go outside in 30 degree weather and wait for almost an hour for the fire dept to get there, check every room, ugh. We all went in the laundry building, most people were pissed, but Johnny, Robbie and myself couldn’t stop making stupid jokes and laughing. At least I didn’t have to be at work at 6am the next day…. well, that day.
Today is my Monday as far as work goes. Yeah. 5 straight days of “Does this dressing have sucrose in it?’ No worries. Talked to the warehouse again today, and they are saying that I can start whenever, now its just up to my current supervisor. Sweeeeet. I am probably going to be doing some truck driving around the park, which is what I wanted from the beginning (get paid to drive around Yellowstone all day).
I didn’t have to be in to work til almost 5pm, so Robbie and I decided to act like tourists. We went out on the mezzanine/balcony on the second floor of the inn. They have coffee and drinks out there and its totally open and overlooks old faithful, pic above. We sat and had some coffee and just relaxed in the sun and 65 degree weather waiting for old faithful to go off. Then I went to work. Its getting pretty busy already. I think we served over 700 meals tonight, and that is just out of the kitchen (does not include buffet). They say when the restaurant is in full swing we are serving 1100+ dishes out of the kitchen a night plus whatever the buffet does. I wont get to see it, Ill be chillin in the warehouse. Booyes.
Youre going to have to trust me here, but there is a bear in one of those pictures. It looks way off in the distance, but it wasn’t THAT far away. I still don’t feel the hunger to see bears has been satisfied, but at least I can say I have seen one now. It was a black bear, and according to a civilian bear expert we stood next to, it was about 500 lbs. Looked more like 550 to me.
Today was the best weather day yet. 70s, light breeze, sunny, heavenly. I felt a lot better when I woke up today, so I went and played basketball for a while with my roommate, then went for a 2-3 mile run. The paths/trails are getting more crowded everyday. That’s good and bad. Its good so I don’t get eaten, but it sucks bc I have to run around people gawking and/or being general morons. I guess that is to be expected when you live in a national park with crazy shit all around.
I saw the bear when I was heading to West Yellowstone with Robbie. We were going to watch the Lakers Suns game. He is from LA so I assumed he was a Lakers fan, but he is a Suns fan. He is not from Arizona and never lived there. Go figure. So we were heading out there and saw so many bison. Let me speak on bison for a second. Bison, you are boring. Yes, you are large and not common to most folks, but cmon. Travel in smaller packs, stay off the roads, move faster, do more cool things than eat grass and/or look stupid.... So after seeing 2636868 bison with cars stopped to do their moron gawking, we approached yet another cluster of cars. I said to Robbie, “this better be a f@$%ing bear.” And for the first time in almost 3 weeks, it was. I almost started running at it. I was so pumped. But then I saw it was a black bear, not a grizzly. I guess it was a little disappointing. I don’t discriminate, just saying grizzlies are so badass and black bear seem like the sloths of the bear family. Still a bear, so Im not complaining. The bear was alone, which I thought was strange, so I kept turning around expecting to see a group of bears terrorizing the parked cars. But no such luck, it was just the solo bear and he/she wandered back into the woods as more people arrived to scare it off. So Robbie and I chatted up this older couple for a minute then got back on the road to west Yellowstone when we saw 2 bald eagles in the same tree. You can see them better than the bear pic.
We went to a bar called Bullwinkles in west Yellowstone. It was just like you would picture a bar in nowhere Montana. Small place, local people talking about local things, as many slot machines as bar seats, we stood out for being young, clean, and moderately educated. I envisioned that moment more than a few times before I got here… Sitting at a bar in the middle of nowhere Montana. Not sure why I looked forward to that, but I did, and as I was sitting there it caught up to me. It was a pretty cool feeling. We had a couple local beers and I sat and watched TV for the first time in probably a month. I mean I have watched a couple things on my computer and movies, but hadn’t said “Im gonna watch some tv” in a really long while. Moving, no access to a tv, etc. It was weird, I saw commercials for movies I didn’t know were coming out and I think they were already playing in theaters and I don’t feel like Ive been out of the loop that long at all. Sportscenter. Forgot how entertaining that is. I cant imagine how out of the loop Im gonna feel in Oct.
Yuck. I feel worse than I did yesterday by a mile. Not super bad, but not good enough to camp out. I decided to not to camp near Jackson, and just jump on some roads in GTNP that looked promising. First I had to meet with the warehouse manager. Did that, everything went really well. He said I should talk to my current supervisor. Did that too, she wants me to stay but understands, the 2 of them will talk, I will know more Tuesday when I go back to work.
This place knows how to do it. You can write your name down on a list at the EDR (employee dining room) for to-go meals (bagged lunches) if you are going camping, on a road trip, whatever. You can get up to 4, and you pick what you want from a list. I thought that was so awesome. I got 4 bc I had heard there were motels in Jackson that let Ystone employees stay at a discount or even free sometimes, so maybe I would stay the night there. I got some names of motels that have done it in the past, and set out for Jackson.
It was around 70 and sunny all day. Windows down, sunroof open (I have to be careful with the sunroof up here, the sun is pretty intense on my albino skin at sea level, bring me 8000 ft closer….. yikes.) The drive was amazing. Lots of forest, obviously mountains, and landscapes you see in movies and wonder where they shot that. Unreal, pics above, some of the way there, some of the way back. On the way there I opened 1 of the 4 bagged lunches for a snack. This was an official bagged lunched. This thing had a PBJ, doritos, a bottle of OJ, an apple, oreos, not sure why but they put some mustard and mayo in there, I almost wrecked I was so pumped (not about the mustard and mayo, but the bagged lunch on the overall). And I had 3 more of those babies in a little cooler sitting shotgun.
Jackson is a really cool town. They have everything. All different types of restaurants, shops, I really liked it there. I went to a few motels and asked about the discounts, apparently they don’t do the employee discounts anymore. I didn’t want to pay, at least not what they were asking. I even went to a hostel by the ski area about 20 miles outside Jackson and got the same story…. Im not sure they know this or not, but ski season is over. They should be giving those rooms/beds away. No big. Decided to drive the 1 ½ -2 hrs back to Yellowstone for a free night of good rest. Listened to some miles davis almost the whole way back and got in before the sun went down. Good day.
Today I woke up not feeling so great. It wasn’t just that it was 530 am when I woke up, it was the throat/headache/general not feeling so good combo. And I had a breakfast and lunch shift in front of me, so that was great. The restaurant is getting busier everyday as the weather gets better and more roads open. I have met a lot of people over the last few days who live right around the park. They all say the same thing: “We wanted to come now before it gets crazy.” I find that funny bc people coming in for dinner now have to wait up to 2 hrs to eat as it is (with reservations), cant imagine what July will bring. Maybe things will run more smoothly by then.
After my lunch shift today, I was starting to feel like I should sleep… until I went outside, I hadn’t been outside since 545am. Unreal. It was 65-70 and sunny. No way did I just work 5 doubles in a row to sleep through perfect hiking weather. Greg was going to observation point (overlooks the old faithful inn/geyser area) and I decided to join him. It was a good call. It was so nice out. We were walking by old faithful and asked a ranger when it was due to erupt, she said any minute. We started running up the trail. We ran maybe a ½ mile up the winding trail towards the top of the hill in hopes of seeing old faithful go off from the perfect vantage point. We (I) ran out of breath pretty quick, so we walked the rest of the way. We were almost to the top when it went off. We had a really good view on a clear day, just wish we could have made it to the top first, no worries. We watched for a while, then finished our hike to the top, then we just plopped down on a couple rocks and chilled. Didn’t really say or do much, just relaxed and took it in. I of course was in full pose in the pics above. Greg and I were talking to some people at lunch the other day who have been here for a few yrs, and they said the best time to be at observation point is when there is a full moon. Hike it by headlamp/flashlight (apparently the moon is so bright you don’t even need them), hang out and wait for old faithful to do its thing under the stars and blue light provided by the full moon. The hiking club does full moon hikes all over the park. You just sign up and go with whoever else did the same. Everybody says they are the bees knees. I think the first one is at the end of the month, hopefully my schedule will allow.
Holy Doubles. I have worked 4 doubles in a row with another tomorrow. What they said is true, you really don’t know what day of the week it is bc they are all the same. Time does fly though. Last time I checked it was Tuesday, now its Friday. It is amazing here right now, the pic is out the window of the room I am typing in. Its about 65 and so nice out, and apparently its only gonna get nicer for the next couple days. Boo. Yah. I have no legs though, I have been working 12 hr days for 3 days straight. No big, my body just isn’t used to being on my feet for that long. Wanna go for a run so bad, but I have a double tomorrow too. I am off Sunday and Monday, so I think I am going to bring my camping and running gear to grand teton nat park and do some running, and if I feel like staying, oh, heres my camping stuff. The south entrance opened today, so it should only take a couple hours to get there, maybe less. Wish I had more to say, but I have lived in the restaurant for the past 3 days. Meeting lots of people from all over, Poland, Rolla MO, just about every state on the map, just trained a guy at work from Malaysia who goes to school in Singapore, lots of UK folks, Native Americans, and complete and total weirdos. This place draws quite a mix. The other night I met Johnny and Robbie at the employee pub after I got out of work, it was my first time. Its strange, I rode my bike up there and had to wear my head lamp bc its so dark along the path, but the stars are ridiculous. I had 2 tallboys of some Montana beer. As we were sitting there watching people on what is supposed to be a dance floor, there was one guy who used to be in the marines C walking (kind of, it was more like skipping) and on the other side of the dance floor (yes, im dead serious) was a guy doing Riverdance (he later tried to teach a girl how to Riverdance, super entertaining to watch) and another guy in the corner just killin it. I mean he was into whatever that dance was called. I cant even describe it really. High knees, Flailing arms, intense face, killlin it. He didnt care who was around, what song, who was watching, he just wanted to break it down. Hard. I don’t remember the song, but none of the genres fit, but I was so grateful. Thank you C walking marine who got arrested later that night for sleeping in the crows nest in the inn (major offense, jailed and fined $400 and had to pay $150 for a ride back from the jail in mammoth, not to mention he twisted his ankle really bad bc he was still so wasted as the rangers were escorting him out of the crows nest, he doesnt remember a thing), and thank you chef who Riverdanced his ass off to every song that came on, and a special thanks to the anonymous guy in the hoody who didnt give a F. You have made the last few days bearable. Ha, bear.
Please notice my dork pose.Today I went for a hike with Greg and Garrett, just met Garrett today, he is from NY and a server in the restaurant as well. We set out to hike Purple Mountain. The weather was a little overcast, but the sun was obviously on its way, so it started pretty well…. Until we saw a sign that said “YOUR SAFETY IS NOT GUARANTEED.” Swell. So we reviewed our bear safety (which consists of clapping and talking loudly before blind corners) and started our 3 mile, 1000 ft incline hike. Not a long hike, but definitely a tough one bc of its incline. The ground was a little wet, but for the most part the first 40 minutes of the hike were great, even with the pretty steep incline, we kept shedding layers bc we were moving rather quickly. About 1.5 – 2 miles into the hike, we hit snow. It started pretty harmless, but before we knew it, we were knee to waist deep. No snow shoes. Greg, again, wearing shorts. One of us fell through the snow a little bit and found himself standing on a fallen tree that we couldnt see until we stepped on it. It just wasn’t supposed to be hiked that day, at least with our gear. No trace of bears. I talked to one of my managers, and he was telling me about his hike. He went out with what sounded like Bear Grylles himself, and the 2 of them were within 5 – 10 ft of a black bear, a big one. No thanks. He said they turned a corner on the trail and there it was, it noticed them, and went right back to what it was doing, so the gingerly walked by it, then came across a large group of grizzly bears at about 100-200 yds later in the hike. Every guest that comes in to the restaurant talks about the bears they saw. This is getting totally ridiculous. So the hike… We decided to turn around. We checked the map for trails at lower elevations to dodge any snow. We found one nearby called Cougar Cabin Trail. Well, we found it on the map. We couldn’t find it driving though. We ended up near the West Entrance, so we decided to go into town and get some stuff that we needed that you can only get in town. We ended up driving around the park just looking for different stuff, but it was surprising how the short hike we did take pooped us out. Im sure there was a better way to say that….. I have 5 double shifts in a row for the next few days, so I don’t think I will write about how many empty glasses I can fit on a tray, or how mad I get when I hear people who just drove into the park talk about the 25757364786 bears they saw, hugged, and had their picture taken with. I did talk to the manager of purchasing for the park, and he said they will make a spot for me in the warehouse at Old Faithful if I want it, but I would have to get out of my current job, which doesn’t sound like an easy task. I think I would like it better bc I would work 7 – 330 5 days a week, good physical, mindless work, know when I get off work everyday, and if I want to talk to visitors, I just walk around and talk to the ones I want, rather than the ones that are plopped in my section. I meet with a manager on Sunday to discuss it, so we will see. I actually like the restaurant bc of the people, but the pressure is unnecessary, and the difference in $ is worth losing the stress. And if I cant switch, oh well, I will make more $. Win win. The only loss still remains... no bears.
Thanks Debbie, once that road opens up that way, I will be all over it. Most people who have seen bears have come from the north end like you said, but there have been some around here. Apparently there is a grizzly around old faithful called “the bison killer” for obvious reasons. They say he is over 1100 lbs and his paw print is about as big a basketball or bigger, one guy who works here has a pic of the bear's print with something next to it to gauge it. Not sure I wanna run into that guy.
Off today. Finally able to sleep in…. until 830. I was hoping for at least 10. I always feel like I am behind on sleep up here, but I am consistently getting 7- 9 hrs a night. I think I wake up a lot and don’t remember it bc the walls here are paper thin and most of my neighbors seem to be oblivious to this at all hours. So today I told Johnny and Robbie about the drive Greg and I took, and I wanted to go again and they were into it, so we went to Fire Hole Canyon before they had to go to work. So much laughing with those 2. I mean laughing that hurts. Wheezing. So good. It was a great drive, good sunny weather again. Took them back for work, and I relaxed, went to dinner, and decided to go explore again. I hadn’t been west, and that road was open, so booyah. I drove out to West Yellowstone. I actually left the park bc I saw some gorgeous mountains in the distance and just kept following roads until I got close to them. I ended up in Montana next to a mostly frozen lake as the sun was starting to go down, picture above. I got out of the car and just stood there for a while (Lola running, not taking any chances out there). I think I drove by some celebrity homes. The homes I am referring to just didn’t seem to fit in with the few other homes I encountered along the way, by quite a large margin. Robert Redford? Just drove back with plenty of daylight left, for a nice quiet evening. Tomorrow Greg and I are gonna go for a hike in some seriously wooded areas. Enough cute shit bears, Im coming.
Opening Day. Lack luster. Not many people at all. I think I had 7 tables total on my lunch shift. People drove from Tennessee who were coming by way of the Grand Canyon, Massachusetts, a couple about my age that were just roadtripping across the US together, this was their 39th day (or maybe it was their 39th state) on the road, I think they said they were coming from Seattle before they got to Yellowstone. They weren’t even staying in the park, just passing through. Ha. So awesome. It was actually somewhat nice today, really sunny all day, the wind wasn’t too bad, and I bet it made it up to 45 degrees. I talked to a lady today at lunch and she was trying to tell me that moose are really hard to find. BS, Lady. She said she has been here a few yrs and never seen one, and has really tried to find them. I will see a moose. And many bears. Its become somewhat of an obsession to see a bear. If bears were as elusive as moose, I’d cry. The rec center opened today for employees, they organize so much stuff for us, I cant wait. They have bear and wolf seminars next week, there is a hiking club, climbing classes, sand vball, so much more, so pumped. They really know how to do it right up here. Johnny and I have met people from other locations in the park who have been here for yrs who will show us around parts we aren’t familiar with (Mammoth, Roosevelt, Lake), so that will be nice to have a guide instead of going in blind when the time comes to explore those parts of the park. The road is still closed, so not yet...
Its weird bc some people are already leaving (going home) who started working when I did. WHAT?! Look around! Yeah, the money isn’t gonna be all that great for a few weeks (or at all depending on your job, but you had to know that coming in bc you signed off on your wage in the ppwk), and its cold now, and you do live in a dorm (again, knew that coming in) but perspective son!! In a month its gonna be packed with people from all over the world and you can do anything you want outdoors… Idiots.
Its Friday. I have been told when you work here, you never know what day of the week it is bc all the days feel the same. There is nothing to differentiate a Tuesday from a Saturday. There are always tons of people here, everything is always busy, doesn’t matter what day it is. Its strange bc its not even busy yet and I have lost all feeling as to what day of the week it is. Today really could be a Monday, I couldn’t tell you. Gotta be at work at 615am, I still have cell service as of now, so feel free to call whenever.
The picture above has nothing to do with anything except that it has a bear in it, and it makes me laugh every time I look at it.
Today was shake down, the practice run with all the employees of the hotel eating in the dining room. It went well. 4 of the managers were seated in my section. When they were about to leave, they asked me a bunch of questions about my restaurant experience, said I did a great job and made a point to talk to me later as well = server = more $$$. Not saying that’s what I want, but if Im gonna be working in a restaurant, I would rather make more money doing similar work. I was also able to go up in "The Crow's Nest" in the Inn, it a like a tree house 50 ft up inside the all wooden inn.... back in the 30's, 40's and 50's it was the perch where the orchestra sat and played all night while the guests were in formal attire dancing on the main floor. They dont use it anymore since an earthquake in 1959 I think, and rarely open it up at all for anyone to go up there, but I got to go up, pic above. I went for my first run today since I have been here. I ran about 2 miles, it felt great. I brought my knife with me, bc people have been seeing bears recently, and you never know where cougars or bison might be. Not that a knife would do me any good against any of these animals in the wild, but I have cabin fever, needed to get out, it was relatively nice out, and at least I felt more safe with it. Once more visitors start showing up, the trails will be packed and the animals wont come around as much, so I wont have anything to worry about. Today however was a little tense. I only saw a total of 4 people on my run, and I think I saw 1 of them twice. I went about a mile and half from Old Faithful then turned around and ran most of the way back, then walked for a bit. On my outbound 1.5 mile, it got pretty spooky. I was all by myself with a lot of open land, but it also had a lot of trees and bushes and things. You never really know whats around the bend or behind that bush. However, the only things I saw were some hot springs, a couple robins who I scared the shit out of, and bird that is so blue I didn’t think it was real. I had seen one a few days ago, but not this close. No big game though. Im actually a little disappointed. I wanted to see a bear, from a safe distance of course. I really don’t wanna run into a mountain lion at all. Not even through binoculars. I get the feeling that if you see one of those, the chances are, it has already seen you, and they are pretty unforgiving, where bears I hear are more likely to let it slide. Tomorrow the madness begins, the Inn opens for the season, wish me luck.
I gotta be honest, my life is gonna be pretty boring for a little while here, almost exclusively due to the weather. Training/work starting at 7 or 8 am, break for lunch, more work or training, dinner, watch it snow with the roads closed around us, cabin fever. I did get my schedule today though, looks like I am going to be off Sundays and Mondays. The first shift the restaurant is open is lunch on Friday, and I will be working that, then a breakfast and lunch shift on Saturday, then off for 2 days. Hopefully the weather will turn around for those days I am off. I really just want to go for a run and see how I react to the elevation, but most of the trails around here are iced over, snowy or sloppy, so I just cant get out there yet. Last night, Johnny, Greg and I started making a list of things we want to do in the park before we leave. One of the first things we want to do is go to Grand Teton NP. Along the way there is a set of hot springs that turn into falls called moose falls (picture above) with a 20 foot cliff you can jump off = warm water, beautiful surroundings, camping, hiking, etc. So we said that is the first thing we will be doing once the weather gets decent. I will just live in that thought while the weather sucks.
Today we started training. Yawn. Here are the fire extinguishers, wear your uniform, dont expose your nipples at anytime. We get it. I was free after 1pm, but since it was 40 degrees and windy, there weren’t many options. A lot of the park’s roads are closed around us due to snow, so we are limited even more so. I hadn’t seen old faithful erupt yet, so I decided to layer up and take that in. I took the 10 minute walk to OF, and took a seat at one of the benches. I have to mention the amount of feces everywhere. I mean everywhere. In the parking lot, sidewalks, landscaped areas, everywhere. It has to be bear or bison based on its size. It doesn’t stink, but that might change in a couple months. It was shocking to me, but the animals really do roam EVERYWHERE. I have heard some stories from people who worked here previous years. One was about a moose standing on its hind legs against the dorm wall, so when he woke up and looked out his window on the second floor, he saw a moose looking at him. Another story, unrelated to roaming animals but really entertaining to me….. I must say this first… this is a national park, so anything you do here is a federal offense, that being said….. Last year, a couple seasonal employees got really drunk at the pub designated for seasonal employees. They decided to do the unthinkable… pee into old faithful. And they did. The only way they got caught, surprisingly enough, was that a guy in Kansas was watching the webcam of the geyser at the time and informed authorities. Busted. Federal offense. AND, they both got 2nd degree burns on their weenz from the steam coming out of the geyser. I guess if that guy in Kansas didn’t blow the whistle, those boys would have needed to go to the hospital anyway, catch 22. I bet those guys were happy to get caught so they could get medical attention. I cant imagine. They are awaiting trial the guy thought, but he is facing some serious, SERIOUS time. Most offenses here are felonies bc its federal, so I’m sure those guys are hating themselves. Last night somebody got busted in our dorm with shrooms and pot. He is in a cell in Mammoth, not sure whats gonna happen, but if he gets charged = felony. Back to my day, which will now seem really boring after those stories, I should have saved those for the end…..You really don’t realize how crucial good gear is until a moment like sitting in a flatland when its cold and windy in elevation. I had to sit and wait about 20 minutes for OF to erupt. It was sunny out, but that was
trumped by the wind. I was warm when a lot of people weren’t. OF was strange to see in person. You see it and hear about it so much before that, it was just strange. The water spirals when it comes out of the ground, didn’t know that. Also didn’t know that there are a few other geysers around there that rival OF. They went off a little later when I was just walking around and I was like, “huh, why doesn’t anybody talk about these guys?”
Me and my roommate talk about how awesome its gonna be once everything is green and its warm out. They do a softball league for seasonal peops, basketball leagues, day trips, whitewater rafting, hiking, camping, all kinds of stuff once its nice. We have been told by more than one person that we are lucky to see everything covered in snow bc most seasonal employees don’t get to see it, and I do feel lucky to see it bc its so pretty, but I was getting real comfortable with the weather in stl before I left. Its like rolling the clock back 3 or 4 months. Today I met some people from Bulgaria, the UK, Atlanta, KC, and I think I heard some tourists speaking German, and nothing is open here yet. The big opening is this coming Friday, so this place is gonna turn into a zoo T-minus 5 days.
Right now I am sitting in my dorm room with my roommate Johnny, hes really cool, hes from florida but lives in arizona now, we get along like we’ve known each other for a while. We are getting snow absolutely dumped on us right now. It has literally gone from sunny to snowing heavily 3 times each today. Now its starting to stick because its been pretty cold for the past few days. I have training all week within walking distance and im all moved in, so it doesn’t bother me. The people working here said we are lucky bc most summer employees don’t get to see the park covered in snow and its so beautiful. They are 100% correct.
Today started really well. I was in bed early at the Super 8, slept well, and woke up right before my alarm went off at 5:30am. At breakfast I met a wiry guy from California, he had white hair, a healthy pony tail, really nice guy, turns out he is working here too and I will be working with him. His name is David and he will be in the kitchen at Old Faithful Inn. I knew the age range was wide, but I guess its different when you see it.
Check in started at 7am so I got there right before 7. The building was tucked away in a valley of snow capped mountains and rolling hills serving as a buffer on both sides. I was still not in the park, and it was amazing. I went through a couple of corrals for an hour or so, got the ID, the nasty burnt orange uniform, info, etc. Then it was time to enter the park for orientation. Boo MF yah. 25.5 hours of driving. Snow. Rain. Traffic. Finally.
Literally, the first bend I came around, there was a herd of bison blocking the road, maybe 30 of them, no other cars in sight. I laughed out loud. They were like a welcoming committee. How close should I get? Can I drive through them if I have enough room for my car to get through? I just sat back and let them do their thing. A van came up and passed me and maneuvered through them, so that answered my questions. As I followed suit, I could have reached out my window and pet a couple of them. They didn’t seem to care that Lola and I were there at all, even at an arms length away. They just went on marching to whatever they were after. It was sunny at this point and I had to follow a windy, climbing road to Mammoth Springs for orientation. The views just kept getting better and better.
Orientation was really informative, especially about bears. Every statement about bears started like this: “We’re not saying this to scare you…” As I looked around, they definitely scared some people. Once they said that you are 7 times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a bear, I was cool. I thought, “Yeah, that might be true….. for people who don’t live amongst bears.” Whatever…. the people giving the talk have done this for over 20 yrs and never seen a case of a bear attack. Liars.
After orientation, which was at the very north end of the park, we had to meet at old faithful to get roommates and move in. Old faithful is at the southern end of the park. So I got to drive through 50 miles of Yellowstone. It was sunny, then snowed, sunny, then snowed, then sunny, all in 50 miles. Hot springs, everything lightly covered in snow, waterfalls, road construction, waterfalls, coyotes, bison, elk, fox, no bears. That’s really all I wanted to see. I would have settled for a moose. No moose either. I guess in time. The 50 mile drive took about an hour and a half. Good to know when I have to work and I am at the other end of the park.
When I finally found the dorms, I was assigned a roommate. I started moving my stuff into this room and the other guy was done and not there. It was weird. It didn’t feel right. I had been hanging out with this guy Johnny a bit before orientation and ate with him after, he is cool as hell. As I was transporting stuff from my car, I saw Johnny and he said he didn’t have a roommate yet. I about flipped. We went into the office and got it changed so I could move to his room. Johnny and I are roommates now and its awesome. We hung out all day yesterday and this is gonna make the experience even better. We like a lot of the same things and are looking to do a lot of the same activities while we are here. I still haven’t seen the guy I was assigned to room with…. And its right across the hall. Just saying, glad I switched.
The food for the employees is actually good. After Johnny and I ate dinner, we explored the old faithful inn. No visitors are staying here yet, so it is still empty and disorganized. All the rooms were open so we just checked everything out. I cant wait to see that monstrosity in full swing. People who have worked here before said that old faithful inn is where you can make some $. Good to know, but I am more concerned with seeing a bear.
