May 2: Old Faithful

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 2^nd 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.