Playing Tourist in Yellowstone Park

We're going to make this fast.  The hubby and I have things to do, places to go and people to see before we get out of Yellowstone Park.

We saw a double rainbow which has to be special in anyone's book.

You don't see this in Ohio.

We posed in front of thermal features.

Hubby loves them.

We're playing tourists in Yellowstone Park.

We saw Beehive Geyser go off.

It's just down the path from Old Faithful.

We both like it better than the Big O.  It sort of looks like a fire hydrant gone bad.

This is my friend, Aleta!

We went to college together back in, well, a long time ago.

She lives in Minnesota now and we haven't seen each other in years.  Wouldn't you know that we would hook up in Yellowstone while she was on vacation?

Hubby in front of Castle Geyser.

If he looks frightened, it's because we're going for a walk.

Hubby doesn't like walking, but he can't find any other way to see the thermal features he loves.

A big atta boy for my old man.

Remember how peaceful my Park used to be?

This is the crowd waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.

Too, too, too many people for me.

That's all I have for now.  Hubby has promised that I get to go to the bar like a real person and have some Moose Drool.

Someone is going to wait on me.

If I don't post tomorrow, don't worry.  I work at 4 p.m. and like I said, we have miles to go before we sleep.

Yellowstone Park and the Hubby

Saturday.  8:18 p.m.  Hubby gets off the plane in Bozeman.

Not a good picture, but I only had one chance at this and the setting was wrong. 

It really is the hubby, though, not some random tourist.

We hugged.  We kissed.  All the normal stuff.

You had to be there.

For some reason, I couldn't sleep in that nice motel room.

Two months of listening to my room mate's night terrors and the drunks outside my window have skewed my sleeping pattern.  I need noise!

Hubby claims that I was spacey yesterday...about an 8 on a scale of 1-10.  Thanks goodness he was driving.

On the way to West Yellowstone, I saw this sign.  Something I haven't shared with you all is that I grew up in a town of 300 people (no, I didn't leave out any zeros) and the name of the town is Harpster.  One of them escaped, obviously. 

Just down the road, we saw this Veteran's Chapel.  There were American flags lining the long drive.

Services had just started, but we didn't go in.  Something else you don't know about me (true confessions Monday) is that I was raised/forced to attend church when I lived in Harpster.  I even played the piano and the organ.  If you tell anyone, I will hunt you down and rip out your tongue.

The point is that I still, to this day, get cold sweats when I get near a church. 

I'll get therapy for this someday.

Here's the hubby checking out the scenery.

A noble profile, huh?

He did all of the mandatory tourist things...ooooooo, lookey there, wow, where are the bears?

Forgot to mention that his luggage went to India or somewhere.  We were able to get it before we left Bozeman.  Hubby has a way of letting people know that he expects service and that he takes no prisoners.  Must have been all of those years raised by the Colonel. 

Here's hubby in his new hat...no comment.

He's standing in front of the snow bus that takes visitors into the park in the winter.

West Yellowstone locals said that some winters, the snow is so deep, they don't even plow it.  They just drive on top of it.

We spent some time in West Yellowstone but hubby got anxious to see Yellowstone Park.  We drove in and got stuck in this traffic jam.

I was expecting a bison jam.  I wanted hubby to see one.  Not this.

I don't know what happened, but a car hit the RV on the other side and an ambulance passed us as we were driving toward the accident.

Right before this accident, we had picked up a hitch hiker who I recognized as a young man who lives in my dorm.  I knew he was strange, but everyone in my dorm is, so I thought to myself, "How bad can it be?"

Bad.  Real bad.  We were stuck in traffic with creepy boy for about 45 minutes.  He told jokes.  Really bad jokes and whined about not being able to pick up chicks.  He never quite grasped that we live in the same dorm.  I let it go at that.

We finally made it to Old Faithful and slowed the car down enough to push him out.  No, that was just a fantasy playing in my head.

Something was erupting when we dropped him off. 

I've never seen this one go off.  Got to check it out later.

It sort of looked like a fire hydrant that had been run over by a truck.

On the way back to West Yellowstone, hubby got to see a few thermal features that he loved.

He saw his bison.

He saw the weather change from warm to cold to rainy all in a few minutes.  He is confused about what to wear in Yellowstone.

We got stuck in the traffic jam again on the way back.

I slept great last night which means hubby is in for trouble today.  He already looks worried and it's only 6:00 in the morning.

It's great having hubby with me now.  I'm already tearing up about leaving my wacky world, but I know that more weird and wonderful things are waiting for me there. 

You'll hear from me again tomorrow whether you like it or not. 

We're Not in Yellowstone Toto!

Today was the big day.  I left the imaginary world of Yellowstone Park and traveled to Bozeman to pick up hubby.  I think of Yellowstone as imaginary because the business end of it only exists for a few months out of the year and disappears like a slightly disturbing, somewhat pleasant dream.

I left early so that I could get a much needed haircut, shop and lounge in our motel room which is twice the size of the room I have been living in  for two months.  Returning to my house should send me into total shock.

The first thing I did when I hit the Holiday Inn was check out the bathroom.  It was a long trip.

Not bad.  It doesn't smell moldy like the one in my Yellowstone dorm.

I remember how this works.

You get two beds in a motel room.  Big beds with lots of pillows.

If hubby plays his cards right, we'll only need one bed.

And this is a..........what do you call it in your country?

A box with talking pictures?

Oh yeah.  It's a television.

I approached it with reverence as you can see in the mirror.  I needed to record an image of it before I touched the remote.

There are strange things going on outside here too.

Bozeman has flowers!  These are lilac bushes outside the motel.

I smelled something familiar and realized that this place has grass.

I wanted to just roll around on it.

I know.  I should have at least taken my shoes off and wiggled my toes.

Probably do that later.

Even though the familiar things of my back home world are here, the mountains remind me that I am still out west.

I think I could live here.

Bozeman has Walmart, Target, Border Books, Old Navy...all the good material stuff and yet nature dominates the scenery.

It's always strange leaving Yellowstone.  We are pretty basic there.  Our clothes don't match.  We wear hiking shoes.  We go to breakfast with bed head.  We walk to work with bison and try to avoid their poo.

Even in Walmart, I felt like a mountain woman coming into town to buy provisions. I'll have to remember to dress a little better when I get home.

Nah.  I'm comfortable being a mountain woman.  Things may not change.  Sorry hubby.

I promise pics of hubby getting off the plane, but since he won't be in for a few hours yet, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. 

I have plans to take a looooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg hot shower.  And no, there will be no pics of that.

Until tomorrow, remember....don't take your shower for granted. 

Mystic Falls, Moose and Yellowstone Park

It was another one of those perfect Yellowstone Park days.  Cold in the morning.  Comfortable in the afternoon and evening.

I talked Grizzly son into one last hike before hubby gets here tomorrow.

I had been wanting to see Mystic Falls which is only a couple of miles from Old Faithful.

It's a short hike...1.4 miles to the Falls.

Notice the smugness?  It's only a 3 mile round trip.  You would think I was a veteran hiker.

The trail starts out like this.

Not much of a challenge so I know you're not impressed.

Yet.

Hang on.  Here's the Firehole River.

And here's Mystic Falls.

All uphill, by the way.  Not too bad, but I did pant and puff a bit.

Here's a closer look at the top of the Falls.

This was the view behind us.

See....I was really there.

After hiking up to Mystic Falls, we drove farther down the road to the Grand Prismatic Hot Springs.

Our goal was to climb the hill so we could look down on it which is an awesome sight.

This was as high as I was getting.  I've straightened up since the 60's.

At this point, we discovered that mosquito season has started. 

They're big here and numerous and I was afraid our entire blood supply would be drained if we stayed longer. 

On the way back to Old Faithful, we saw a ruckus ahead.  Tourists were pulling off the road, heading into an open field.

We actually saw a MOOSE!  A rare sight around here as most of them are in the Tetons.  Grizzly son went crazy as his goal has been to spot one and photograph it.  He got a picture of it before it disappeared into the woods.  I hate to mention this as he is still in a deep funk, but the picture came out blurry for some reason.

He will recover.  I think.  Hopefully soon.  There will be other moose, son.

He graciously shared a couple of his best pictures.

This picture of a bald eagle was taken on a recent trip to Bozeman. 

I think this is an incredible picture.  Prize worthy even.  Good job son.

This picture of a wolf was taken near West Yellowstone.

According to Grizzly, he was the alpha male protecting the kill.


So tonight I am a happy woman.  I've had a hike.  I saw a moose.  Roommate is off with some people in Cody and I have the room to myself.  I get to go to Bozeman tomorrow to pick up hubby and enjoy civilization for a couple of days.

All is well.

The Ever Changing Yellowstone Park

I'm in Yellowstone Park and it's June 17th, right?

It was warm yesterday, as I recall.

I dashed out to work this morning in a sweat shirt jacket and BLAM!

I was knocked back a foot by gale force winds and snow.

I snapped a few pictures outside the Old Faithful Inn.  Cripes!

Throw another log on the fire Lars.

The word is that it usually snows every month in Yellowstone Park. 

I'm not complaining.  I know you find that hard to believe, but the hubby tells me that it's 95 in Ohio.

I'm not pleasant when I'm sweating.

The Old Faithful Inn was hopping with guests...many in shorts and flip flops. 

Got to love people who don't check the weather before they travel. 

Since I've discovered how to use YouTube, here's a video of the Old Faithful Inn, my soon to be ex place of employment.




Now just imagine the place with about a thousand tourists in it and a noise level way above the safety standards. 

Here are the characters of the day.

Ronnie works in housekeeping at the Inn.  This jovial fellow is from Ohio.  Not giving him my address.

His favorite word is "groovy."  Haven't heard that one in a while.

As odd as he can be, the man is sweet and plays the piano like a dream.  The Inn has a piano on the second floor where he regularly entertains guests. 

Ronnie wanted me to sit on his lap for the picture.  Not an option.

Michael, a 20 year old from Miami, Florida, usually works behind the desk with me.  Today, he was working as a bellman.

Michael is either going to be a sniper or the ruler of the world.  I have warned him to use his powers wisely.

He is a born wheeler dealer, schmoozer, con artist and politician all rolled into one.  He knows everyone and gets invited everywhere.

I love the "man/boy" as one of the managers called him the other day.

So that's the news from Yellowstone Park where the word  "normal" is seldom heard. 

An Author in Yellowstone Park

This is the only big news from Yellowstone Park today.

C.J. Box, who has written a series of mysteries, was at the Old Faithful Inn signing copies of his new book, "Nowhere to Run."

I got a close up personal moment with him.  The other women didn't, so I was quite smug.

I bought his new book which cost me a day's pay, but it's signed which is special.

Check out my cute cowboy at his website, http://cjbox.net.  I firmly, absolutely, totally believe in supporting authors.  Writing is tough work.

I worked the mid shift, 9-6:30 which pretty much guarantees your day is shot.  Tomorrow I work from 7-3 and the day after I work 6:15-2:30.  And then, on Saturday, it's off to Bozeman to pick up hubby at the airport.

I'm so excited that I can barely sit still.  I get to spend a couple of nights in hotels that have hot running water.  I can get a hair cut.  I can go to Walmart. Wait...let me clarify...

Really, truly and sincerely, hubby dearest, I am excited about seeing you, but all that other stuff just pushes me over the edge.  Hot water! 

It will be like Christmas in June or getting out of boot camp or living like a civilized human being again.

I'm all aflutter. 

It was more of this today.

Cold, wet weather.

Nothing happening.








So, how about some more YouTube?

Why doesn't something like that happen when I'm around?

Did the bison just want to get to his favorite scratching, rolling place?

Why are people still standing around after this little spectacle?

It would just make my day if I saw bison gone wild.  From a safe distance of course.

So from Old Faithful, where we are all lost in time and space...good night for now.  Something is bound to happen tomorrow.

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.