Sunday, May 20, 2012
Freedom
Friday, May 18th, 2012
Today was the opening day for the Old Faithful Inn!! Luckily, I didn't have to work:) hehe. I instead got to hike two different glorious trails. In the morning, we hiked to Lone Star Geyser. It was a pretty flat, easy hike. The geyser was neat looking though and I had great company (Francis, Steele, and Emily). We then headed back to Old Faithful for lunch and decided to go to Bunsen Peak (Francis opted out of that one). Even though we were tired and the weather was crummy we still thought we should conquer the peak. We drove about an hour and a half to get to the trailhead for Bunsen. I couldn't have asked for a better hike. I like hikes that are uphill and there is a viewpoint at the top. Going up Bunsen we could see for miles across Yellowstone. We even saw some elk below us in the valley. I'm glad I was hiking with Emily and Steele because we came upon some snow that blocked the trail... so we followed someone else's tracks across and made our own trail, too. We also saw some very fresh bear tracks in the snow (Steele always brings his bear spray!). We saw a grizzly bear driving to the trailhead so hoped maybe the bear that left the tracks had already gone down the mountain. We finally reached the top though and it was absolutely worth it. No picture I took with my camera captured the amazing view. The more time I spend in Yellowstone, the more I just want to walk out into the wilderness and live.
We stopped by Mammoth for dinner and Steele surprised Emily and me with some ice cream for the drive home. I was driving Steele's truck so he could sleep a bit (he works nights) so Emily was spoon feeding me the ice cream from the back seat. It was fun and hilarious. Emily and I also discovered that we both like singing. We sang Steele to sleep and occasionally he'd join in if he woke up. We drove by a mamma grizzly and her two cubs. People were out of their cars and wayyyy too close to the wild bears... later we saw the rangers zooming with their lights on... probably to make sure the people backed away from the bears.
When we got back Steele had to work so Emily and I showered up and decided to watch a movie. We watched Snow Day and relaxed. It was a great ending to a great day:)
Saturday, May 19th, 2012
Emily, Francis, Steele, and I decided to hike Garnet Hill Loop...the first hike Steele, Emily, and I tried to do together but lost the trail because we were trying to dodge bison. Before the hike I woke up and went to shoot some hoops at the rec center. Then Nick, a guy I danced crazy with at the pub, came in and shot with me. It was great to see him! I hadn't seen him since the crazy dancing night so it was good to reconnect:)
When we finished the two hour drive to get to the Garnet Hill Loop trailhead we immediately set out on the 8 mile hike. Emily said it rather poetically when she said something like this trail was more about the journey then the goal of getting to a peak... and what a wonderful journey. The trail goes up and around Garnet Hill and never goes to the very top, but still provides amazing views. It took us 3 to 3.5 hours to finish the trail and was completely worth it. I have found that there is another way I like to run. I used to tell people the only way I like running is when I get to chase some sort of ball haha. Running in general I hate, but I love short sprints on trails. Running in the wilderness, surrounded by beauty and wild animals makes me feel free.
We saw some great views, wildlife, and bones on Garnet Hill Loop. We saw marmots and pikas... a coyote crossed our path less than 30ft away towards the end of our hike... we saw bison and their red dogs (that is the slang term for a bison calf...one was running around like crazy... I decided that one was me), and pronghorn. When we passed the bison on the trial it freaked me out because we were a safe distance away, but then they started all getting up and moving towards us at first. And a bison with their red dog are not very friendly! We stepped up our hiking though and they veered off.
On the drive up and back we saw a grizzly and black bear, another bear that was just chilling under a tree that we couldn't identify, elk, and bison. Apparently, it's mating season for bears so they should be out a lot!
In total, we hiked about 18 miles in the past two days.:)
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Assimilation
It has always amazed me how quickly humans can assimilate and adapt to new
situations or areas. As more people come to work here and I meet new people it
just amazes me that we are making this our new home for the next four or five
months. It doesn't matter where any of us came from.... we are all here
together. We are adapting to our new home and new people.
This entry is going to be a little bejumbled because I did not write anything down about these past days. So some dates and activities might be off, but at least I'm writing them down now:)
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
I forgot to mention one thing about Frisbee yesterday. Jenny threw a low pass to me and I caught it just in time... but after I picked up my hand I found a big pile of bison poop underneath! That was a close one;)
Anyways, I left Mammoth today. It was a shame to leave because I really liked it. The people were nice, seeing the hot springs, and elk and bison so close were great. But I did not know what awaited me at Old Faithful so after a quick morning overview of the cashier register, I decided it was time to head out... especially because it started to rain as I was in training. So I rushed out of my room for the drive to Old Faithful... and it started to snow! I was warned about this... it can snow anytime in the park. As I was driving I saw a bunch of cars pulled off to the side (big indicator that there is something good!) so looked to my left to see a glimpse of a female grizzly bear! I quickly found a spot to pull off and Francis (who I found out is from Texas) did, too. We just missed seeing the bear when we got out of our cars! There were a couple rangers there keeping people a safe distance away and they said she had been there all morning so would probably come back, but Francis and I decided to move on.
When I arrived at Old Faithful I immediately went to the personnel office to check in and get set up. I am in Laurel dorm right behind the Old Faithful Inn... which I have heard from multiple sources is the worst one and is a party dorm hahaha. But it hasn't been bad so far and it is a 3 minute walk from my work compared to the half mile walk some people have. My roommate's name is Cassie (from Idaho) and we're getting along great. I actually didn't meet her for most of the day because I went to find my manager (Mike) and worked that afternoon. I met my co-workers, who seem great, and one of my assistant managers (Danielle) is from Snohomish! Someone that actually knows where Wenatchee is haha.
Friday, May 11th, 2012
We worked all day. The hours are a little off right now and we don't have a set schedule because we are just setting up the store, which I am grateful for because I am learning where everything is. We unloaded a truck full of product and supplies and then tried to put all the supplies in the right place. I did mostly name knives and Christmas Ornaments (we celebrate Christmas here on August 25th).
After work Barb, Francis, and I went on a walk around the geysers. Geysers are fascinating to me. All the turmoil and power coming from deep inside the Earth is pretty amazing. As we were headed back to our dorms, we saw our local coyote. I've seen him 3 times now around here. He/she is a beautiful little thing with grey color and black, beady eyes. We stayed a safe distance away from him, but were close enough to see him. It is important to remain a good distance away for both the animals and humans safety. We don't want animals to get used to people's presence and start getting closer and closer to humans until there is an attack, or they have to remove the animal from the park... which is sad because we are in their home. When I got back to the dorm I met up with Tisha and Sasha. Sasha I met in the bathroom at my dorm... I've actually met a lot of girls in the bathroom haha. We had a fun night and were starting to watch It... the scary clown movie... but then realized how lame we were and played games and went out to the employee pub. 18 and above are allowed in the pub but only 21 and above can get alcohol. The pub is a nice area where people play corn hole, pool, eat pizza, and hang out. It's a fun atmosphere.
Saturday, May 12th,
We worked a bit today, but finished early so had most of the day to have fun. Laurel dorm got a ton of new people that work in the Old Faithful Inn. I met Trisha (also met in the bathroom haha) and invited her to go on a bike ride with Francis and me. I also met Greg and Bernie (from Georgia) playing basketball. We have an employee rec center which is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is made of logs, but inside is a full size or close to full size basketball court. My heaven. There is also a place for presentations, ping pong tables, and some weights on the side.
We had a dorm meeting at 7 and after Greg, Bernie, Marty, and I were all showered up we hung out a bit and went to the pub. I saw my co-worker, Alan, who was describing me as SheHulk because I was lifting so much at work. It was a great night. I met tons of people and ended the night looking at the stars. The stars here are awesome, but I have to admit I think jungle stars are better.
Sunday, May 13th
I woke up early Sunday morning to go out into the park with Barb and Francis. We started driving south from Old Faithful towards West Thumb. West Thumb is breathtaking. There are geysers right next to the frozen lake with snowcapped Absaroka Mountains in the background. There were also three Elk very close to us while we were there. We continued to do a 9 hour tour around the lower part of the grand loop. The scenery in Yellowstone is amazing. It really puts me at peace. Even at work, if I'm tired, I just remember I'm working in this wonderful place and smile. I'm so glad I'm here.
When we got back, I was exhausted and was going to just chill... but got invited to go to the rec center to play basketball... which I couldn't say no to haha. We had enough people to play 5 on 5 full court. I was the only girl, but was doing pretty well. I just need to get my lungs used to the altitude and then I'll really be SheHulk:)
Later, I went to the pub with Herman (he's from Mississippi and has a strong accent... I love accents!), Mike, and some other guys I played basketball with. We played corn hole and had a pretty chill night.
Monday, May 14th, 2012
I woke up early this morning to go on a hike with Steele (yes, that is his real name... awesome!) and Emily. I love the way you meet people in life. I met Steele when I first met my roommate in my room because they were going on a hike. I met Emily in the basketball gym and she is Taylor (girl from Wenatchee's) roommate. We didn't know we would have such a blast together. We got lost from the trailhead on two different hikes, but still had an amazing time. At Sheepeater trail we found a perfect spot to chill and read a book right by a river...far enough away from people to have utter peace. We hiked along the river until we couldn't find the trail anymore. We stopped at a part of the river that was raging. We decided that if anyone was going to fall in they would probably die. We were really careful, but when we decided to head back...I slipped down a rock and my arm slid down the rock and got scraped up. I luckily fell feet first into a part of the river that was two feet from the raging part. Anyways, I learned my lesson. I am not invincible haha. On our way back to my car I was trying to convince Steele and Emily to jump in the river (a calm part). I jumped in the river right away. It was refreshing and made me miss my beloved Columbia River. Steele said he was going to go in too, but found that the river was a little too cold for his liking. So as he turned to get out he accidently started falling and slid gracefully into the chilling river hahahaha. It was quite a sight:) Throughout our hike Emily spotted everything... including many different bones in various location on our hike. Steele was the Nature Man on our hike because he knew so many facts.
When we headed back to Old Faithful and after dinner, Steele, Jason (a guy in my dorm from Tennessee) and I went looking for the softball field here. The employees have a softball team in the summer... only the field is obsidian... so don't slide! We possibly have a Frisbee golf field, but I haven't been able to find it.
Here is a list of animals I've seen so far:
Mamma grizzly bear and her two cubs, other female grizzly, tons of bison, tons of elk, pronghorn, marmot, pika, osprey, eagle, sand hill crane, trumpeter swans, coyote, rabbit. There is a pretty bright blue bird around that I'm not sure what it is, but I want to find out.
Since I have been here I have heard many horror stories. One was about a dog and a man. Dogs don't know hot water from cold water so will jump into a geyser. That is why dogs are not allowed on the boardwalks. A man died because his friend's dog jumped in a geyser and started yelping so the man jumped in to save it. Both the man and dog died.
Common sense and following the rules is a key concept here. People get fired frequently for doing stupid things like giving alcohol to minors, walking right up to Old Faithful, hiking closed trails, etc. Geysers have been altered and other natural features destroyed because people are ignorant. As far as being safe... the rules are there for a reason so I would follow them.
Tuesday, May 15th
After work Steele, Emily, Barb, Francis and I all ate dinner together. Dinner turned into a competition between me and Steele eating disgusting combinations of food... such as water, salt, pepper, and peas all mixed with ice cream residue. It was hilarious though and we were all laughing so hard... I might have eaten some napkin, too. After dinner Steele and I walked around a bit and then headed to Barb and Francis's dorm to play the card game named golf and drink wine. It was funny because I hadn't seen Barb or Francis yesterday and missed them... even though it was only a day.
There is a creek right outside my dorm and no AC or heater so Cassie and I always sleep with the window open. It is pleasant and soothing listening to the sounds of the creek as we fall asleep. There is also a bison always around our dorm. Steele was walking me home tonight and we barely saw Henry (the bison mascot of Laurel) because the bison absorb light really well. The only reason I really saw him was because I saw the reflection in his eye. I have decided I will never drive in Yellowstone at night!
Wednesday, May 16th
I allowed myself to sleep in because I have been coughing for about a week now and I just want to get rid of it. I missed breakfast (they have certain times when they serve food in the EDR... Employee Dining Room), but luckily have the leftovers from the sack lunch I ordered for the hike.
I went to work and shortly after went to a BBQ at Mike's (my bosses) apartment for the Inn gift shop employees. The food was delicious (I didn't have meat because I'm a vegetarian) and it was great connecting a bit with my co-workers. When the BBQ was done I stopped by the pub and danced the night away with some friends:)
Thursday, May 17th
I woke up early this morning to do some laundry and hike with Emily. We headed toward Blacksand Pool which is AWESOME! It's a geyser that thumps (sounds and feels like a strong heartbeat) before it starts erupting. Emily came up with a good story that the thumping sound is all the Sheepeater Indians who fell into the geyser and now are banging on their drums. Pretty legit:)
After work (today was our last day before opening! and finally the Christmas ornaments were completely done... I did them 3 days in a row because people kept wanting to change them hahaha) there was a shakedown at the Inn restaurant. A shakedown is where the employees get to eat in the restaurant for free so the restaurant employees get to practice serving people. I went with Francis, Emily, and Steele and filled myself to the brim with delicious food. I had lentil cakes and a Gouda soup. In reality... if we had to pay for all we ate we would have spent over $100 on everything! Being an employee has it's perks;)
Thank goodness I'm finally caught up for the blog! I can truly say I am having a blast here. I am fortunate to have met and connected with the people I have. I miss my family and friends though and hope you all know that you are in my thoughts and heart no matter where I am.
This entry is going to be a little bejumbled because I did not write anything down about these past days. So some dates and activities might be off, but at least I'm writing them down now:)
I forgot to mention one thing about Frisbee yesterday. Jenny threw a low pass to me and I caught it just in time... but after I picked up my hand I found a big pile of bison poop underneath! That was a close one;)
Anyways, I left Mammoth today. It was a shame to leave because I really liked it. The people were nice, seeing the hot springs, and elk and bison so close were great. But I did not know what awaited me at Old Faithful so after a quick morning overview of the cashier register, I decided it was time to head out... especially because it started to rain as I was in training. So I rushed out of my room for the drive to Old Faithful... and it started to snow! I was warned about this... it can snow anytime in the park. As I was driving I saw a bunch of cars pulled off to the side (big indicator that there is something good!) so looked to my left to see a glimpse of a female grizzly bear! I quickly found a spot to pull off and Francis (who I found out is from Texas) did, too. We just missed seeing the bear when we got out of our cars! There were a couple rangers there keeping people a safe distance away and they said she had been there all morning so would probably come back, but Francis and I decided to move on.
When I arrived at Old Faithful I immediately went to the personnel office to check in and get set up. I am in Laurel dorm right behind the Old Faithful Inn... which I have heard from multiple sources is the worst one and is a party dorm hahaha. But it hasn't been bad so far and it is a 3 minute walk from my work compared to the half mile walk some people have. My roommate's name is Cassie (from Idaho) and we're getting along great. I actually didn't meet her for most of the day because I went to find my manager (Mike) and worked that afternoon. I met my co-workers, who seem great, and one of my assistant managers (Danielle) is from Snohomish! Someone that actually knows where Wenatchee is haha.
Friday, May 11th, 2012
We worked all day. The hours are a little off right now and we don't have a set schedule because we are just setting up the store, which I am grateful for because I am learning where everything is. We unloaded a truck full of product and supplies and then tried to put all the supplies in the right place. I did mostly name knives and Christmas Ornaments (we celebrate Christmas here on August 25th).
After work Barb, Francis, and I went on a walk around the geysers. Geysers are fascinating to me. All the turmoil and power coming from deep inside the Earth is pretty amazing. As we were headed back to our dorms, we saw our local coyote. I've seen him 3 times now around here. He/she is a beautiful little thing with grey color and black, beady eyes. We stayed a safe distance away from him, but were close enough to see him. It is important to remain a good distance away for both the animals and humans safety. We don't want animals to get used to people's presence and start getting closer and closer to humans until there is an attack, or they have to remove the animal from the park... which is sad because we are in their home. When I got back to the dorm I met up with Tisha and Sasha. Sasha I met in the bathroom at my dorm... I've actually met a lot of girls in the bathroom haha. We had a fun night and were starting to watch It... the scary clown movie... but then realized how lame we were and played games and went out to the employee pub. 18 and above are allowed in the pub but only 21 and above can get alcohol. The pub is a nice area where people play corn hole, pool, eat pizza, and hang out. It's a fun atmosphere.
Saturday, May 12th,
We worked a bit today, but finished early so had most of the day to have fun. Laurel dorm got a ton of new people that work in the Old Faithful Inn. I met Trisha (also met in the bathroom haha) and invited her to go on a bike ride with Francis and me. I also met Greg and Bernie (from Georgia) playing basketball. We have an employee rec center which is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is made of logs, but inside is a full size or close to full size basketball court. My heaven. There is also a place for presentations, ping pong tables, and some weights on the side.
We had a dorm meeting at 7 and after Greg, Bernie, Marty, and I were all showered up we hung out a bit and went to the pub. I saw my co-worker, Alan, who was describing me as SheHulk because I was lifting so much at work. It was a great night. I met tons of people and ended the night looking at the stars. The stars here are awesome, but I have to admit I think jungle stars are better.
Sunday, May 13th
I woke up early Sunday morning to go out into the park with Barb and Francis. We started driving south from Old Faithful towards West Thumb. West Thumb is breathtaking. There are geysers right next to the frozen lake with snowcapped Absaroka Mountains in the background. There were also three Elk very close to us while we were there. We continued to do a 9 hour tour around the lower part of the grand loop. The scenery in Yellowstone is amazing. It really puts me at peace. Even at work, if I'm tired, I just remember I'm working in this wonderful place and smile. I'm so glad I'm here.
When we got back, I was exhausted and was going to just chill... but got invited to go to the rec center to play basketball... which I couldn't say no to haha. We had enough people to play 5 on 5 full court. I was the only girl, but was doing pretty well. I just need to get my lungs used to the altitude and then I'll really be SheHulk:)
Later, I went to the pub with Herman (he's from Mississippi and has a strong accent... I love accents!), Mike, and some other guys I played basketball with. We played corn hole and had a pretty chill night.
Monday, May 14th, 2012
I woke up early this morning to go on a hike with Steele (yes, that is his real name... awesome!) and Emily. I love the way you meet people in life. I met Steele when I first met my roommate in my room because they were going on a hike. I met Emily in the basketball gym and she is Taylor (girl from Wenatchee's) roommate. We didn't know we would have such a blast together. We got lost from the trailhead on two different hikes, but still had an amazing time. At Sheepeater trail we found a perfect spot to chill and read a book right by a river...far enough away from people to have utter peace. We hiked along the river until we couldn't find the trail anymore. We stopped at a part of the river that was raging. We decided that if anyone was going to fall in they would probably die. We were really careful, but when we decided to head back...I slipped down a rock and my arm slid down the rock and got scraped up. I luckily fell feet first into a part of the river that was two feet from the raging part. Anyways, I learned my lesson. I am not invincible haha. On our way back to my car I was trying to convince Steele and Emily to jump in the river (a calm part). I jumped in the river right away. It was refreshing and made me miss my beloved Columbia River. Steele said he was going to go in too, but found that the river was a little too cold for his liking. So as he turned to get out he accidently started falling and slid gracefully into the chilling river hahahaha. It was quite a sight:) Throughout our hike Emily spotted everything... including many different bones in various location on our hike. Steele was the Nature Man on our hike because he knew so many facts.
When we headed back to Old Faithful and after dinner, Steele, Jason (a guy in my dorm from Tennessee) and I went looking for the softball field here. The employees have a softball team in the summer... only the field is obsidian... so don't slide! We possibly have a Frisbee golf field, but I haven't been able to find it.
Here is a list of animals I've seen so far:
Mamma grizzly bear and her two cubs, other female grizzly, tons of bison, tons of elk, pronghorn, marmot, pika, osprey, eagle, sand hill crane, trumpeter swans, coyote, rabbit. There is a pretty bright blue bird around that I'm not sure what it is, but I want to find out.
Since I have been here I have heard many horror stories. One was about a dog and a man. Dogs don't know hot water from cold water so will jump into a geyser. That is why dogs are not allowed on the boardwalks. A man died because his friend's dog jumped in a geyser and started yelping so the man jumped in to save it. Both the man and dog died.
Common sense and following the rules is a key concept here. People get fired frequently for doing stupid things like giving alcohol to minors, walking right up to Old Faithful, hiking closed trails, etc. Geysers have been altered and other natural features destroyed because people are ignorant. As far as being safe... the rules are there for a reason so I would follow them.
Tuesday, May 15th
After work Steele, Emily, Barb, Francis and I all ate dinner together. Dinner turned into a competition between me and Steele eating disgusting combinations of food... such as water, salt, pepper, and peas all mixed with ice cream residue. It was hilarious though and we were all laughing so hard... I might have eaten some napkin, too. After dinner Steele and I walked around a bit and then headed to Barb and Francis's dorm to play the card game named golf and drink wine. It was funny because I hadn't seen Barb or Francis yesterday and missed them... even though it was only a day.
There is a creek right outside my dorm and no AC or heater so Cassie and I always sleep with the window open. It is pleasant and soothing listening to the sounds of the creek as we fall asleep. There is also a bison always around our dorm. Steele was walking me home tonight and we barely saw Henry (the bison mascot of Laurel) because the bison absorb light really well. The only reason I really saw him was because I saw the reflection in his eye. I have decided I will never drive in Yellowstone at night!
Wednesday, May 16th
I allowed myself to sleep in because I have been coughing for about a week now and I just want to get rid of it. I missed breakfast (they have certain times when they serve food in the EDR... Employee Dining Room), but luckily have the leftovers from the sack lunch I ordered for the hike.
I went to work and shortly after went to a BBQ at Mike's (my bosses) apartment for the Inn gift shop employees. The food was delicious (I didn't have meat because I'm a vegetarian) and it was great connecting a bit with my co-workers. When the BBQ was done I stopped by the pub and danced the night away with some friends:)
Thursday, May 17th
I woke up early this morning to do some laundry and hike with Emily. We headed toward Blacksand Pool which is AWESOME! It's a geyser that thumps (sounds and feels like a strong heartbeat) before it starts erupting. Emily came up with a good story that the thumping sound is all the Sheepeater Indians who fell into the geyser and now are banging on their drums. Pretty legit:)
After work (today was our last day before opening! and finally the Christmas ornaments were completely done... I did them 3 days in a row because people kept wanting to change them hahaha) there was a shakedown at the Inn restaurant. A shakedown is where the employees get to eat in the restaurant for free so the restaurant employees get to practice serving people. I went with Francis, Emily, and Steele and filled myself to the brim with delicious food. I had lentil cakes and a Gouda soup. In reality... if we had to pay for all we ate we would have spent over $100 on everything! Being an employee has it's perks;)
Thank goodness I'm finally caught up for the blog! I can truly say I am having a blast here. I am fortunate to have met and connected with the people I have. I miss my family and friends though and hope you all know that you are in my thoughts and heart no matter where I am.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Ancora Imparo- I'm still learning
So....as I wrote in my last blog, titled "Peru!" I am awful at punctuation and grammar and don't really care to make it too correct because this blog is like a version of my diary... meaning it's mine and I can do what I want with it:) I also decided to start a new blog because my last blog, as I mentioned, was titled something way different then I would have liked to write in for my Yellowstone experience and all future traveling experiences (I hope there will be many!). I titled this blog one of my favorite sayings (I've considered getting a tattoo of this saying for many years), which is I'm still learning, or ancora imparo in Italian. I didn't want to title it the Italian name because I thought if I told others the blog title it wouldn't be easy to remember. The name means a lot to me because I believe in it. I am learning everyday no matter what I am doing. I love learning through adventuring (ex: coming to Yellowstone!). Every experience allows me a chance to learn and grow as a person.
Okay... enough of that boring introduction stuff. Today is my third day in Yellowstone and my second day having orientation to become a Retail Sales Associate in the Old Faithful Inn gift shop. I already have too many stories to tell and I know I won't remember all of them! I feel as I've been here a week... in a good way though:)
I'll start with Money, May 7th, 2012. I left my Grandpa and Grandma Williams' house in Idaho Falls at about 10 in the morning (after a wonderful breakfast they treated me to at Smitty's) because I called the Forest Service and an automated recording said snow tires were required on the roads I needed to drive on to get to Gardiner, MT to check in. Well, my Grandma is awesome and said I should check in with the forest ranger at the West entrance to Yellowstone and ask what's up. So I did! and he said the roads I needed were clear, but if I got in an accident or was stopped and didn't have snow tires I'd get a ticket. I decided to risk it and am SO glad I did! From West Yellowstone to Madison Junction I saw bison and elk! My first animal experiences of the summer:) I was so close to the bison (just driving by it... humans are not allowed to be within 75ft of bison and elk because they can be dangerous... we saw a video of a bison attacking people in the park... and there is a $120 fine if a ranger sees you). Plus, the scenery is BEAUTIFUL! Holy cow (bison) I can't even describe it and the pictures I take do not even do it justice. After, I saw the first bison... you can say I was addicted haha. I had a place to go, but decided to adventure! I stopped at many road side stops. Saw a waterfall. Decided to drive to canyon (not at all in the direction I was supposed to go), watched the canyon falls and immediately wanted to hike all the trails near it (decided I should wait another time), drove back and saw a coyote, drove around more amazing scenery, bison, and elk until I finally arrived at my hotel in Gardiner, MT. I spent the night being rather boring and studying facts about Yellowstone and ironing pants for orientation. But the day’s events had me so happy I didn't care.
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
STARTING DAY! I woke up early to get checked in to start my work:) A bus load of employees was coming around nine so I was advised to get there before that, but it was still busy. I received a packet of stuff I needed to read and complete. I decided to ask a girl that was by herself at a table if I could sit by her. She said yes and seemed to be nice so I continued the conversation to ask her name and where she was from... her name is Taylor and she is from WENATCHEE!!!!!!! What the heck????? I was shocked. The world is so darn small! I was delighted though and we were talking about who she knew and I knew. She actually knows my little sister, Candice, (today she said I acted just like her... I corrected her and said I'm older so Candice acts like me;) jk sis). It was a great start to the day. After I got checked in I had about 3 hours until I needed to be at the next location... Mammoth Hot Springs, which is 5 miles away. So I took my sweet time and stopped at nearly every roadside place there was to stop. I saw two longhorn and the 45th parallel (the exact halfway line from the equator to the North Pole!), more amazing natural sights, did some official things like get my car registered, checked into employee dorms (my roommate is from China!), and observed the copious amounts of bison and elk around every corner (we were warned to open a door to the outside cautiously because you never know if one could be right outside... I experienced this later, but luckily there was a barrier between us and the bison). I had orientation from 1 until about 5 I think. It was alright, but it was neat meeting people I'm going to work with. I met Jon from Singapore, Stephanie from China (she will be at Lake so I won't see her much after this), Barbara (we call her Barb from Georgia?), Francis (somewhere in the U.S. haha), Phil (U.S.), and had already met Taylor. Everyone is really nice. Barb (who could be my mom), Francis(who could be my grandma), and I walked to the Mammoth Hot Springs after training. WOW... had never seen anything like them... or smelled anything like them. The rotten egg smell coming from the hot springs, fumaroles, mud pots, or geysers is hydrogen sulfide gas... and smells gross. Barb, Francis, and I spent most of the evening together and I couldn't have asked for better company. We laughed and had fun, but also covered some serious topics. They are good women though and we were all appreciating each other’s friendships (we had all had the scary thought that we might not meet anyone here... silly us;). Later, we decided to go on a walk... which turned out to be quite comical. It was almost impossible to avoid being by an elk or a bison. We were trying to remain a safe distance away, but instead of being trapped between a rock and a hard place... we were trapped between a bison and an elk hahah. Multiple times we changed our route only to be confronted with more wild beasties! It was funny though. On our walk we saw a bison scratching himself by forcing his massive body on a tree. It was interesting to watch, but since we were trying to not get attacked we maneuvered around him. We then went to the employee pub. I believe each location has them. Mammoth's had some pool tables, foosball, darts, other games, beer, and food. I'm trying to save money this summer though (just took out my first student loan... ouch) so am being frugal. I noticed the longer I hung out with Barb and Francis though the more certain words of mine took on a Southern accent hahaha
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
Today, was mostly orientation until about 3. I do have to say though... I cannot complain about the food. Lunch was fried eggplant with marinara sauce, onion rings, and many other delicious foods! I'm a vegetarian and each meal has a vegetarian option which is GREAT! With the employee food plan it comes out of my paycheck, but I can eat as much as I want:)... I'm not sure if this is good or bad yet haha. After, our training though we all (except for Phil) decided we wanted to go on a hike. We hiked to Beaver Ponds (took two and a half hours and was probably around 3 miles?? we didn't follow the right trail at first because we were confused haha). We didn't see the wildlife we were seeing back in town, but saw an elk that was stubborn and wouldn't get out of our way. He was growing his antlers again and they were brown and fuzzy. In order to scare away bears (there have been many recent sightings) we were making lots of noise as we walked around parts of the trail when we couldn't see what was up ahead. We were told to do this by rangers and the staff here. The hike was beautiful (this word is quickly getting overused...ooops;). After, we were famished and dinner ends at 6:30 here so headed straight for the lunch room. I filled up on salad... and because I had salad I assured myself I could also have a piece of carrot cake, a piece of chocolate pie, and two glasses of chocolate milk (thanks Hanna for getting me into the milk!). mmmmmm yummmmyyyy. Once dinner was over I asked Jon if he would like to throw the Frisbee around. Stephanie joined us later (it was her first time) and they both improved significantly over the time we did it! I met Jenny, Glen, Joe, and Pete throwing the Frisbee around and I was out there for probably two hours. We disbursed, but I was soon distracted by the basketball court they have here and started shooting. The rec center guy (Chris) saw me and informed me that there will be 3 on 3 basketball tournaments and leagues here! SO looking forward to that. When I was sufficiently sweaty and tired I headed to my car to get my laptop to start this blog... that's when I realized my battery in the car was dead. I think I must have bumped my head against the light that was on earlier in the day. I saw Francis, asked if she had any jumper cables, which she sadly didn't. But the gentleman she was talking to did! and luck was on my side because he was parked exactly to the left of me! We got me all hooked up and started again. Man, I lucked out really. Especially, because I am leaving for Old Faithful tomorrow morning after training. Anyways, I am exhausted, but wanted to get the first few days on here:) I am meeting people from all over and thoroughly enjoying my time here. We'll see how work goes when I start:)
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