Is Yellowstone Park Really the Land of Oz?

I have less than two weeks to work in Yellowstone Park or the Land of Oz.  Why am I making this comparison?


The most striking similarity is...
I am convinced that two of my managers trained under the Wicked Witch of the West.  They have all of her charm and people skills.

Neither one speaks to the front desk staff unless they have something negative to say.  Have I pointed out that we make $7.75 an hour, minus room and board, we stand on our feet 8 hours a day and work shifts that change daily?  Stop rolling your eyes behind my back.  I know I am repeating myself, but I don't have television and there isn't anything else to occupy my time.

Yesterday, I came close to grabbing one of the managers by the ears and slamming her face into the outdated computer monitor.  I believe we can play Pong on it.  With great effort, and I mean dangerously high blood pressure effort, I controlled myself.

You know what relieves stress when the boss pushes buttons you never even knew you had?  Try this game.  http://whackyourboss.com/.  When I played it, there were 17 ways to "whack" or "off" your boss.  Now they are up to 20 ways.  Can't wait to give the other 3 a try.  It isn't pretty, it's dark and gruesome and I love it.  Don't go there unless that last big red button, hidden in the reptilian part of your brain, has been pushed by your Wicked Witch. 

I feel better now.  Thank you.

To balance the universe, let me share some things that I will miss.

My early morning walks around the Old Faithful geyser basin are therapeutic.  Better than an hour on a psychiatrist's couch.

It must work since my managers are still alive and the rangers haven't hauled me off.

The tourists swamp the area later in the day, but in the morning, they're too busy packing or buying over priced lattes to get out on the walkways.  Thank the gods for that favor. 

This morning, every time I turned around, one of these little chipmunk fellows was staring at me.

Don't let the cute fool you.  They have beady eyes.

There were beautiful little yellow flowers next to the brightly colored rocks next to the rushing river...

Uhhhh....there he is again.

What?  I don't have any food!

I sat my Morning Glory Pool and listened to the birds and the geysers.

The geysers sort of sound like waves pounding on the beach. 

A peaceful sound in the morning.

I did not take this path.

If the Wicked Witch works here, her flying monkeys live down there.

But I did take another path that looked perfectly harmless and found this.

Sorry if you are eating breakfast or dinner right now.

I'm all alone on this path, by the way.

I couldn't resist taking a photo before I made a frantic dash down the boardwalk. 

I was singing my bear songs..."Here I am in the woods...no one knows I'm here...I love the friendly bears...they never shed a tear."  I think I was singing this to the tune of "Blue Skies" an old song that anyone younger than me won't know, but the point was to make a lot of noise so that whatever chewed this carcass would decide to run the other way.

Bears are quite sensitive to poor singing.  They run off and stick their head in a geyser if it's too bad.  It's called "suicide by geyser" I believe.  Happens all the time.

He's back.

Stop staring at me with your little beady eyes.

I know you've seen this on YouTube,  but it can't hurt one bit to see it again.



That always makes me feel better.  How about you?

Until tomorrow, I promise to control myself....if I only had some courage or a brain.  Must visit the Great Oz.  He can tell me what to do.

Contest time in Yellowstone Park: Poo for You

Surprise, surprise!  It rained again today in Yellowstone Park.

I went for a walk around the Old Faithful Geyser Basin in between downpours. 

I noticed that there were some new trees down.

It would seem that the roots are very shallow as there isn't any real dirt here, just obsidian.  The wind blows, the ground is wet and thar she goes.

I know how these trees feel.  My roots are pretty shallow and damp at the moment.

No one warned me that May in Yellowstone is Winter, June is Spring and about the time I leave, Summer arrives. 

I did manage to see a few more geysers...











This is Grotto Geyser...

This is the Morning Glory Pool.

There is a sad story here.

The colors are fading because people are throwing items into it.

The pool is at the end of a path and not many people walk far enough to see it.

I guess that gives them the idea that throwing coins or rocks into it is acceptable. 

Sigh.  Humans are disgusting creatures at times.



Since I couldn't dig up much trouble today, I decided it was time to run my contest for the bison poo Christmas ornament.

Do I sense some excitement?

Let me read you the description on the back.  Ahem.

"Buffalo Poop Holiday Ornament"
This ornament is molded with real buffalo dung paper pulp, hand-decorated with two authentic "Jingle-Berries"and adorned with yarn made from real bison hair.  The defecation decoration.

Want to visit the web site?  www.dunganddunger.com

Isn't that adorable?  Dung and dunger.  Wish I had thought of that.

There is a runner-up prize.

A magnetic book mark with Old Faithful on it.

I'm sure you all want the ornament, but someone has to be a runner-up.


Here's the deal.  In the comments section, tell me why you deserve the buffalo poop ornament and reassure me that it will have a valued spot on your tree.

After I pick the grand prize winner, the rest of your names will go in a hat and I will draw for the book mark.

You have until Wednesday midnight to convince me that this ornament will go to a good home.

And nut lady...you know who you are...you don't have to enter cause I'm bringing you one anyway.

Let me know you're out there.  I know you're reading even if you don't comment.  I have telepathic powers. And I do want to hear from you.  It gets lonely here in the wilderness.

Time to wring out my clothes and brush the mildew off my shoes.  Ta ta for now.