Memorial Day Weekend, Yellowstone Park: Part Two

I woke up this morning...eager to have another whole day off in Yellowstone Park.

Wait, wait, open the blinds slowly.

Does the wet cat give you a clue?  Back to rain, sleet and snow.

I lounged with roomy until she got ready for work and decided that I was going somewhere no matter what the weather.

So back to West Yellowstone to visit with David Barnes, the owner of Yellowstone Traders.

He had offered me a job at one time (that was before he got to know me better) and I wanted to see how he was doing.

Did I mention that it was cold and rainy?  Guess I did.

Here's David holding up one of his beautiful buffalo hides.

I hope that's what it is.  It sure looks better in his store than on the buffalo.

I can just picture a roaring fire, a buffalo hide on the floor, useless lap kitty barfing in the middle of it...kitty is ruining the image.

And there are more hides, like cow and alpaca and who knows what else.

Fortunately, David doesn't do this himself.  There are no bloody tracks to the back room.

It's an attractive, clean, blood free store.

He also has fantastic bison leather computer bags and purses.

Hubby will like this because they have compartments for guns.

It is the west...danger lurks around every corner.

For the gentler soul, there are buffalo teddy bears and furry pillows and all kinds of unique items for the West Yellowstone visitor.

O.K., David, that's my advertisement.  I really do like the store and I certainly like the company.  Check out David's website at http://www.yellowstonetraders.com/.

Also check out his blog.  You'll get a feel for what it is like to live right outside the gates of Yellowstone Park.

I have to add that David is originally from St. Louis, Missouri.  He had a nice respectable job at Anheuser-Busch in the digital marketing IT department.  He got caught in some huge layoffs and decided to shake his life up.  He found this business for sale on Craig's List.

Mama Barnes was not happy with the move to the middle or the end of nowhere.  I guess the moral is, don't let your son look at Craig's List.

West Yellowstone has a slew or herd or something of bison statues, decorated in a variety of ways.

Of course, I found the one fish and it was too cold and rainy (I have mentioned the weather, right?) to photograph the bison, so you're stuck with a fish.

Back home in Ohio in the town of Beavercreek, they have painted beavers.

I'm not saying anymore about the topic.

Here is the Ho-Hum Motel.  Rumor has it that a lot of the indigent end up there.

There is even a fund to help put them up.

Now I know where all of the Yellowstone employees go when they get fired.




 

Here I am going through the gate, back to Yellowstone Park.

See the rain?  The cold, cold, rain?

I decided to walk around Old Faithful, just to get a little exercise, and this is what I have to put up with now.

Tourists walking slowly, tourists acting badly,  tourists talking on cell phones, tourists messing with my quiet time.

I thought you needed one more picture of steaming, bubbling things.

I stopped by the Old Faithful Inn to pick up roomy for dinner.

She's the one on the left. 

Have you noticed how dark it is in there?

I'm getting one of those head lamp things that miners wear.  Think it would be against the dress code?

Around 7:00 tonight, the weather cleared up.  The rappers are outside my window playing their favorite tunes.

Did I mention more than once that it rained the two days I was off?  I go to work at 2:30 tomorrow, so technically, I still have some time left.  Stay tuned for Memorial Day Weekend adventures, Part Three.  There may be sun.