Dining Out in Yellowstone Park

Today is hubby's birthday....everybody sing the birthday song for him.  We celebrated by planning a special evening in Yellowstone Park.

To be honest, we mostly lounged around today in my dorm room.  It was his birthday and that's what he wanted to do.  He kept asking for the remote control, so I had to remind him that we are without many comforts.

I made dinner reservations at the Grant Village restaurant for two reasons.  One, I have been working at the Old Faithful Inn for two months and I needed a change of scenery and two, I needed to track down number one son before I leave the Park.

We left early and headed toward the south entrance of the Park.

Here we are in front of Lewis Falls.

Lewis Lake is in the southwest corner of the Park.

This is what Lewis River turns into on the other side of the road.

Farther down the road, the river goes through a deep gorge.

As we got closer to the south entrance to Yellowstone, the road was straight as an arrow.

This doesn't happen often here.

Before we went into the restaurant, hubby had to put a finger in Yellowstone Lake.

It was cold just like he thought.

Good thing he didn't try this at the geysers.

Here's the restaurant.

And here's the son.

I am so proud.  Can you tell?

The food was great, of course.  I had salmon.  Hubby had fish and chips.  He's a cheap date.

We topped it off with huckleberry ice cream.

Right now, hubby is curled up on his single bed, dreaming dreams of dancing girls and foot rubs and war movies and other things he likes.

Tomorrow he has promised to go on a short hike. 

Secretly he's praying for rain.

My parting advice for the day is this.  If you're planning to visit Yellowstone, make dinner reservations.  This is a busy place and one thing tourists like to do is eat. 

So for now, I'm listening to the gentle snoring of hubby and trying to keep my eyes open past 9 p.m.  It isn't working.  Until tomorrow.

Good Living in Yellowstone Park

It was a rainy, gloomy day in Yellowstone Park, but I got to spend quality time with the oldest son.  He officially reported in to the human resources office at Gardiner.

You see Old Faithful down at the bottom left side of the map.  We had to drive to the North Entrance.

Back through the road construction.

I was just there on my search for the dentist.

The trip hasn't gotten any shorter, but at least I had the company of one of my favorite people. 

The lady on the road crew almost got her hand nipped by a vicious terrier in the car ahead of us.

And she was worried about bears. 

I waited outside the human resources office, like the good mother who should remain invisible and not embarrass her son.  

I occasionally behave...I'm really trying...They keep rolling their eyes at me...I need to try harder.  Not.

It was cold and rainy as you can see.  The bus had brought in some new homeless people to work for Yellowstone.  (Actually, they pick people up from the airport and bring them to Gardiner, but some of them did look homeless.)

It was fun watching the rookies in their shorts, flip flops, resort wear, and other inappropriate attire getting off the bus.  I could see their goose bumps from the car.  One man looked like an aging surfer dude...sun glasses on top of his bleached blond hair, Hawaiian shirt, baggy shorts.  Please, please don't put him in our dorm.

We did have a wonderful breakfast at Rosie's Diner.  The waiter served me coffee in a MUG, not a plastic glass.  And he came back often to fill my cup.  The food was served on plates, not cafeteria trays and it had FLAVOR!  Someone waited on ME.  I sat down.  I didn't have to clear my own table.  I was in heaven.

Check your map again, class. 

After a nourishing meal and a stop at the grocery store for supplies, we headed to Grant Village where oldest son will be working.

It is another half an hour past Old Faithful.

Back through the construction.

Past the same bison and elks.
This is his dorm.  That's snow, not sand.  It is still winter here, folks.

I stayed in the car again, pretending to be a Yellowstone Park shuttle bus driver.  When he came out of the building he was grinning and chuckling to himself.  "Wait until you see my room," he said smugly.

First, this is the view of the lobby from the second floor balcony.

They have chairs and tables.  See the pool table?  Those big windows in the back look over the woods.

There was a coffee pot and a microwave off to the side.

This is the library area on the second floor.

That's exercise equipment in the background.

There's a ping pong table on the other side.

It was clean and fresh and welcoming.

Then we got to his room.  He has two medicine cabinets and a huge counter with storage underneath.

We don't have a medicine cabinet.

We can barely shut the door to our bathroom without standing in the tub.

Two women are trying to get ready in a bathroom the size of a phone booth and oldest son has this.

It gets better.  The beds are built in as you can see, and they are long enough for the 6'5" son who is still looking pretty smug.

There is another bed on the same wall.  He is refusing to let me hide out there on my days off.  Something about it being creepy to have your mother hanging around....in the same room.  Oh pleeeeeeeaaaaaase, Erik.  I hate my room.

He wouldn't give in.  Something about ruining his image with the ladies.

That black thing on the wall is a shelf for a television.

Behind him is a desk and built in closets with drawers in them and another desk.

They have electric baseboard heat instead of the radiators in my room.

There are about 20 outlets in his room.  We have 3 and you can't reach them without becoming a contortionist because the furniture is smashed up against them.

I can't go on.  The pain is too great.  I am sooooooo happy for him, yes I am.  He is my pride and joy and he deserves this, so good for him and my fingers are crossed behind my back because I am insanely jealous.

I am living in a closet, a nursing home room, a cheap, shabby apartment on the wrong side of town and the son is vacationing in a high end condo.  That's how it feels and I'm red faced to admit this, but you are my friends.  You do understand don't you?

Well, it was very windy there and very cold and he has to walk a very long way through the bear infested woods to get to work.  That will teach him to be smug.  Did I say bears?  I take it back.  Listen, bears, this son is thin and bony.  He wouldn't even make a snack for you so leave him alone or you will have to deal with me...the biggest mama bear of them all.

So this is the latest from Yellowstone Park, my temporary home.  I'll try to regain my composure by tomorrow.