It is with sadness that I post our return home. It was not because we couldn't or didn't want to stay and we were not fired. :) When we left for Yellowstone, Bud had an exisiting Mandibular Infection from Oral Surgery on April 3. We left with Bud taking a megadose of antibitotics everyday and we went out knowing that follow up care in Jackson, WY would be a necessity after 4 weeks or so. We saw an Oral Surgeon in Jackson who was adamant that we come home for further care and suggested Bud NOT see the Oral Surgeon who had done the original surgery. He called ahead to an Oral Surgeon in Nashville, a colleague from Harvard and made Bud's problem known to him. He saw us immediately on our return home. That Oral Surgeon referred Bud to a specialist at Vanderbilt. As of today, Bud has seen the specialist and had a CT scan. Now we are awaiting a surgical date for the cleaning away of the infection and the dead bone that is floating around in his jaw. His jawbone is very thin and he has had to be ever so careful of what he eats for fear that the jawbone might break. At this time we are not sure if part of his jawbone will need to be removed and replaced with grafting and metal support or not. Hopefully, we will know that for sure before his surgery.
We had a wonderful time in Yellowstone and really wanted to stay our contracted time. We tried to compromise with the Oral Surgeon asking to stay until the end of July, but he was not hopeful that Bud's jaw would last that long. So a week ago today - June 20 - we packed up our belongings and headed home. We had a really good time and hated to leave. We loved out jobs and the people we worked with. We loved meeting so many people from all over the world and sharing our National Treasure - Yellowstone National Park - with them.
As always, we KNOW that God had a plan and a purpose. We are realizing day by day that there are blessings in disappointment and that God is ALWAYS in control. We learned a long time ago that when we say - Have thine own way, Lord - it is best to mean it.
Happy to be back home and glad that we are back where we have close family and friend support.
I may post a few more pictures in the next few days - but there is unpacking to be done at the moment.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
A Tour of our Place
Bud is working today and I am here in our little place doing laundry and cleaning. It's been a good day. Bud didn't go to work until 1PM and I met him for dinner at 4:45PM. We have learned how to drive to drop him off and pick him up - about a 2 minute drive in a complete circle since every road in the are is one way. It was good to see him. He got his schedule and all but one day matches mine. He is going to try and change a day with someone so we can have the same schedule next week. (Plus if the schedule doesn't change he will work 5 days in a row ----too much!!
The wind has picked up and you can hardly see 1/4 mile ahead of you and it is blowing everything, everywhere. Our car is a tan color now with all the dust in the air. Now all we need is a rain and we're talking "mud pies".
Not a lot to say today but I am posting some pictures of our room.
This is the entrance into our room We hang our jackets on the back of the door. That is our laundry hamper with a wooden top. It serves also as our coffee station.
This is our little bathroom. To the right inside the door is the sink and to the left is the tub. You can see the first part of the three part unit that houses some of our drawers for clothing. The shelves come in handy too for towels, etc. We hung our mugs up and have a family picture on the shelf.
This is the three piece unit that has the shelves, a small desk for our computer and my wardrobe. Inside there is ample room for hanging things and two drawers in the bottom.
The wind has picked up and you can hardly see 1/4 mile ahead of you and it is blowing everything, everywhere. Our car is a tan color now with all the dust in the air. Now all we need is a rain and we're talking "mud pies".
Not a lot to say today but I am posting some pictures of our room.
This is our little bathroom. To the right inside the door is the sink and to the left is the tub. You can see the first part of the three part unit that houses some of our drawers for clothing. The shelves come in handy too for towels, etc. We hung our mugs up and have a family picture on the shelf.
This is the three piece unit that has the shelves, a small desk for our computer and my wardrobe. Inside there is ample room for hanging things and two drawers in the bottom.
This is Bud's bed. It sits directly in front of the three piece unit. His is a full size bed and is pretty comfortable. He has a night stand and we purchased the lamp so he could read at night.
This is my bed. It is twin size and sleeps good. The mirror is on the door side of the room. That is Bud's wardrobe. It is just like the other one. We use the tops of both wardrobes to put our storage containers.
This is the area between our beds. That is Bud's wardrobe and THAT is our fishing rug from home. It sort of makes the room a little more cozy - at least, we think so.
So that is the grand tour of our room. We like it. It is very quiet. Other than cars in the driveway between buildings and the occasional water running or quiet conversation in the hall, we hardly ever hear a thing. Rather nice, really.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Sunday In Yellowstone
Today is Father's day. After our breakfast in the EDR (empolyee dining room) we drove over to Old Faithful Inn for a church service. It was sweet and we enjoyed the music and the three young ladies that held the service and spoke breifly on John 15:4. The service was held on the veranda of Old Faithful Inn - outside with Old Faithful in our background. It went off while we were singing "This is My Father's World". The service was very sweet.
Bud enjoyed hearing from Greg and Jill today. I would say that made his day. Father's Day wishes are always welcomed. Today he works from 1-9PM and he works those hours tomorrow as well. He will work 4 days in a row, Lord willing. Tuesday and Wednesday from 7:30-3PM.
I work this afternoon from 2:30-10PM. That is closing time, but then there are jobs to be done - sweeping, dusting and restocking. Bud will meet me and drive us back to our room. Even though it doesn't get dark until 9:30PM out here, but 10 or so it is pretty scary walking to our dorm, even with our flash light. There is a crazy cow elk (we've named her Crazy Lula) and there are bear in our area.
I am off tomorrow and will do laundry and clean our room - that should take less than an hour. Probably will read and rest and catch up on correspondence.
We've been told that this week will start the real busy season and we are still learning so much. I pray we can keep up and gain a great deal of stamina and be able to do the job well.
Even though the hours are a little long and we never sit - we are praying that we can complete the contract that we agreed to. When we get a little tired we just get in the car, take a little drive and see the wonders of the park and then we are good for another little while.
An awesome sight like this makes it all worthwhile.
Bud enjoyed hearing from Greg and Jill today. I would say that made his day. Father's Day wishes are always welcomed. Today he works from 1-9PM and he works those hours tomorrow as well. He will work 4 days in a row, Lord willing. Tuesday and Wednesday from 7:30-3PM.
I work this afternoon from 2:30-10PM. That is closing time, but then there are jobs to be done - sweeping, dusting and restocking. Bud will meet me and drive us back to our room. Even though it doesn't get dark until 9:30PM out here, but 10 or so it is pretty scary walking to our dorm, even with our flash light. There is a crazy cow elk (we've named her Crazy Lula) and there are bear in our area.
I am off tomorrow and will do laundry and clean our room - that should take less than an hour. Probably will read and rest and catch up on correspondence.
We've been told that this week will start the real busy season and we are still learning so much. I pray we can keep up and gain a great deal of stamina and be able to do the job well.
Even though the hours are a little long and we never sit - we are praying that we can complete the contract that we agreed to. When we get a little tired we just get in the car, take a little drive and see the wonders of the park and then we are good for another little while.
An awesome sight like this makes it all worthwhile.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Another year passes
Friday - June 15, 2012
This morning I was wished an early happy birthday in song by Bud. He had the day all planned out and it was the best birthday I can remember in a while. We left our room around 6:30 AM to drive to the Jackson Lake Lodge where I was treated to a beautiful buffet breakfast. That in and of it's self is wonderful, but to be seated by a window that looks out to the Grand Teton Mountains - well, that was spectacular!!
We drove on into Jackson where we kept our appointment with the Oral Surgeon. He is a great doctor and we were impressed. He is very thorough and will continue to follow Bud over the next few weeks as he heals. Our new favorite place to shop has become K-Mart. It is the only discount store in the immediate area. There is a WalMart in Bozeman, but that is really quite a drive to get the little necessities we need from time to time. Besides that, I don't think they have a Bubba's there.
We walked around town looking at all the beautiful pottery, paintings, furs and leather goods. Bud got a new belt - Happy Father's Day!! and then we had lunch at Bubba's. Now for those who don't know, Bubba's is a fantastic Bar B Q restaurant out here - sort of synonymous with Jackson Hole. We had a nice sandwich and the waitress brought us a big piece of Chess Pie to share for my birthday. Very Nice!!
By the time we got home and after eating what we felt like had been all day - we settled on our full bed with fruit in hand to watch one of our favorite movies - A Southern Yankee with Red Skelton on the laptop. ( Greg just rolled his eyes I know:)!!
Saturday - June 16, 2012
We are off from work again today and weighed out what we really wanted to do. There is Pow Wow Day in Cody or there is fishing near West Yellowstone. You guessed it - fishing near West Yellowstone. The drive over was really pretty. It is amazing how outstanding the geysers are on a cold morning (30 degrees) We had West Yellowstone almost completely to ourselves when we arrived. Tourist season officially starts next week. After about an hour things picked up, but we enjoyed going in and out of all the stores. We noticed that many of the shops has closed down and had been replaced by new restaurants - really a needful thing there. Bud hit all the Fly fishing stores and I "shopped" in my head for the first pay check we receive - Look out West Yellowstone!!! After lunch and a shared cup of Huckleberry ice cream we started looking for a nice stream to fish. The winds had picked up quite a bit and were gusting pretty briskly. Bud didn't think it was a good idea to try and fight the wind to fish so we took a leisurely trip back to our room stopping from time to time to check out potential fishing spots for fishing in days to come.
Will try to download a few pictures. Still having difficulty. I don't know if it's me or the computer or Google but here goes----------
.
This is an RV that was looking one way and drifted another way and ended off the side of the road very near Old Faithful. We sat for about 20 minutes waiting for the tow truck to start moving it.
.You may ask "Where do the Bison walk?" Very simply put - Anywhere they want too!!
.
This morning I was wished an early happy birthday in song by Bud. He had the day all planned out and it was the best birthday I can remember in a while. We left our room around 6:30 AM to drive to the Jackson Lake Lodge where I was treated to a beautiful buffet breakfast. That in and of it's self is wonderful, but to be seated by a window that looks out to the Grand Teton Mountains - well, that was spectacular!!
We drove on into Jackson where we kept our appointment with the Oral Surgeon. He is a great doctor and we were impressed. He is very thorough and will continue to follow Bud over the next few weeks as he heals. Our new favorite place to shop has become K-Mart. It is the only discount store in the immediate area. There is a WalMart in Bozeman, but that is really quite a drive to get the little necessities we need from time to time. Besides that, I don't think they have a Bubba's there.
We walked around town looking at all the beautiful pottery, paintings, furs and leather goods. Bud got a new belt - Happy Father's Day!! and then we had lunch at Bubba's. Now for those who don't know, Bubba's is a fantastic Bar B Q restaurant out here - sort of synonymous with Jackson Hole. We had a nice sandwich and the waitress brought us a big piece of Chess Pie to share for my birthday. Very Nice!!
By the time we got home and after eating what we felt like had been all day - we settled on our full bed with fruit in hand to watch one of our favorite movies - A Southern Yankee with Red Skelton on the laptop. ( Greg just rolled his eyes I know:)!!
Saturday - June 16, 2012
We are off from work again today and weighed out what we really wanted to do. There is Pow Wow Day in Cody or there is fishing near West Yellowstone. You guessed it - fishing near West Yellowstone. The drive over was really pretty. It is amazing how outstanding the geysers are on a cold morning (30 degrees) We had West Yellowstone almost completely to ourselves when we arrived. Tourist season officially starts next week. After about an hour things picked up, but we enjoyed going in and out of all the stores. We noticed that many of the shops has closed down and had been replaced by new restaurants - really a needful thing there. Bud hit all the Fly fishing stores and I "shopped" in my head for the first pay check we receive - Look out West Yellowstone!!! After lunch and a shared cup of Huckleberry ice cream we started looking for a nice stream to fish. The winds had picked up quite a bit and were gusting pretty briskly. Bud didn't think it was a good idea to try and fight the wind to fish so we took a leisurely trip back to our room stopping from time to time to check out potential fishing spots for fishing in days to come.
Will try to download a few pictures. Still having difficulty. I don't know if it's me or the computer or Google but here goes----------
This is an RV that was looking one way and drifted another way and ended off the side of the road very near Old Faithful. We sat for about 20 minutes waiting for the tow truck to start moving it.
This is one of the fumaroles near Old Faithful. In the coldness of the morning, they all stand out much more clearly
This fellow is one mean looking dude!! After this picture was taken he decided to run a little. There were three motorcycles and the sound of their motors seemed to be irritating to him.
This is a sight we have seen all over the park. Herds of Bison with their new calves. They are so sweet looking and the mom's are so protective.
We are meeting so many new people. We have made friends with a couple of the ladies that Bud works with and with a few of the Security guard. This really is a nice place to work. We ae praying the Lord will allow us to finish our contract time here.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Dealing with Inconveniences
The most frustrating thing so far for me has been the internet service. It is so slow. And then there is the fact that the format for blogging has changed and loading a picture takes up to 20 minutes at times. AARRGG!! So with my complaintes out of the way I will attempt to procedd.
Bud did not have a password again Monday when he went in to work, so they had him make up a password. He worked with some really nice, knowledgeable people and I think he is catching on better than he thinks he is. He admits he is still a little intimidated with the computer, but I assure him that he can't hurt anything or close down the system. He has a great personality and I know he is a great asset to the Lodge Gift shop. He is working again today from 1-9PM.
I did our laundry on Monday and met a lot of our neighbors here in the building. It is a varied group of folks. We've met some great kids in Campus ministry and we met a Xanterra Executive that lives in Bozeman who is a retired pastor. He comes to Old Faithful on Sunday with his wife and they supervise another ministry that allows young men who have been called as ministers to practice preach while here in the park. He is a really nice man and we hope to join in on one of the 4 services they have on Sunday. The rest of the afternoon I spent reading and waiting for Bud to come back to the room.
In the late afternoon we took a nice ride to the Firehole River area. We went down a marked road looking for the Firehole Lake. It was sort of a phantom lake with a few small geyser. Took some pictures and hope to download them. On our way back we ran into a "bison jam". There was a herd of bison- about 75-100 of them - just slowly walking down the very middle of the road. They had the traffic stopped in both directions. There were two Rangers trying to "motivate" the bison to get to one side and when they were successful the oncoming traffice would move so slow taking pictures that the bison would migrate back over to where they had just left. We felt sorry for the Rangers. I think the Bison were more cooperative than the people (and I think in some cases they are smarter!!!)
Yesterday we had the same day off and slept in. It felt good not to get right up and get to moving. We have our coffee maker in the room, so we drank coffee, planned the day and had our devotions. We drove toward Fishing Bridge, went into the Visitors Center there and really enjoyed the "aquatic" displays. We rejoined the Yellowstone Association and ate lunch at the Yellowstone Store lunch counter. Boy did that bring back memories of times passed. We remembered our trip out here the year Greg and James came with us - the special was some sort of burrito. We finally had to ban James from the burritos. He had the option of leaving them out of his diet or sleeping outside - if you get my drift. Funny memories. We also remember the time the family joined us out here and how we bought the Souvenir glasses so our drink purchases wouldn't be so much. Everyone keeping up with their own glasses was a chore. We have some really good memories of that visit and wish we could do it all over again - this time with Selah Faith.
I work this afternoon from 2:30-closing (around 10-10:15PM). Then I have the privilege to open the store at 7AM. That's a crazy schedule - hopefully, we can change that for the future. Bud works from 9-5PM tomorrow. Friday we have an appointment with the Oral Surgeon in Jackson and we aren't real sure what our schedule is after that.
This is the Nez Perz River. It is so pretty. Lots of bears are in this area. They love the accessibility to the stream/fish. Sorry you have to look side ways - I'm still learning a lot about downloading pictures.
This is the Firehole Lake with one of the small geysers that spews all the time.
Bud did not have a password again Monday when he went in to work, so they had him make up a password. He worked with some really nice, knowledgeable people and I think he is catching on better than he thinks he is. He admits he is still a little intimidated with the computer, but I assure him that he can't hurt anything or close down the system. He has a great personality and I know he is a great asset to the Lodge Gift shop. He is working again today from 1-9PM.
I did our laundry on Monday and met a lot of our neighbors here in the building. It is a varied group of folks. We've met some great kids in Campus ministry and we met a Xanterra Executive that lives in Bozeman who is a retired pastor. He comes to Old Faithful on Sunday with his wife and they supervise another ministry that allows young men who have been called as ministers to practice preach while here in the park. He is a really nice man and we hope to join in on one of the 4 services they have on Sunday. The rest of the afternoon I spent reading and waiting for Bud to come back to the room.
In the late afternoon we took a nice ride to the Firehole River area. We went down a marked road looking for the Firehole Lake. It was sort of a phantom lake with a few small geyser. Took some pictures and hope to download them. On our way back we ran into a "bison jam". There was a herd of bison- about 75-100 of them - just slowly walking down the very middle of the road. They had the traffic stopped in both directions. There were two Rangers trying to "motivate" the bison to get to one side and when they were successful the oncoming traffice would move so slow taking pictures that the bison would migrate back over to where they had just left. We felt sorry for the Rangers. I think the Bison were more cooperative than the people (and I think in some cases they are smarter!!!)
Yesterday we had the same day off and slept in. It felt good not to get right up and get to moving. We have our coffee maker in the room, so we drank coffee, planned the day and had our devotions. We drove toward Fishing Bridge, went into the Visitors Center there and really enjoyed the "aquatic" displays. We rejoined the Yellowstone Association and ate lunch at the Yellowstone Store lunch counter. Boy did that bring back memories of times passed. We remembered our trip out here the year Greg and James came with us - the special was some sort of burrito. We finally had to ban James from the burritos. He had the option of leaving them out of his diet or sleeping outside - if you get my drift. Funny memories. We also remember the time the family joined us out here and how we bought the Souvenir glasses so our drink purchases wouldn't be so much. Everyone keeping up with their own glasses was a chore. We have some really good memories of that visit and wish we could do it all over again - this time with Selah Faith.
I work this afternoon from 2:30-closing (around 10-10:15PM). Then I have the privilege to open the store at 7AM. That's a crazy schedule - hopefully, we can change that for the future. Bud works from 9-5PM tomorrow. Friday we have an appointment with the Oral Surgeon in Jackson and we aren't real sure what our schedule is after that.
This is the Firehole Lake with one of the small geysers that spews all the time.
This is the beginning of the bison Jam.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Busier than I thought we'd be
I AM WAY BEHIND IN JOURNALING. TODAY I AM CATCHING UP ON THE WEEKEND. TOMORROW I'LL WRITE ABOUT TODAY.
June 8th, 2012 - Friday
Today was a busy day. Lots of last minute things to do before starting my first day at work. We are still getting our room set up (pictures to follow). We have been amazed at how quiet it is here in our dorm. We have met some really nice folks, especially those who are new like us. The ones who return year after year are nice too but are in a clique. Guess by the end of summer we'll have our own little "new people" clique. They all eat together and plan their days off together. That's OK - we just go and sit by them and try to be friendly with them.
I went to work at the Inn at 2:30PM. Everyone was great and helpful. My Manager is about 30 years old and very upbeat and positive. He gave me the "Shpill" on customer service and then took off for a three day week-end of camping, hiking and fishing. One of the Assistant Managers got me started with my cash till and then turned me over to a young man from Augusta, GA. I did pretty good I think - everyone was helpful and great to answer my 1001 questions. I logged out of my register at 9:45PM and balanced my funds then returned to the floor to help clean the shop while the others balanced their registers.
Bud was there to meet me and drive me back to our room. He spent the afternoon reading and trying to watch a movie on the computer. He thought I got off at 9 (that's what I had told him) and when I looked up he was standing outside the window to the gift shop. I was so happy to see him.
He had spent time with an elderly couple from California who were having difficulty breathing after making a climb into the hotel in the cold rain. Bud saw the man's distress - short of breath and pale. He got up to help him to a chair. He then summoned another man to get some water and after a few minutes the older gentleman was feeling and looking better. Bud stayed with them for a while and during that time had a great conversation with them. He told them about our summer here and they wanted to meet me. So he brought them in the shop and we had such a nice visit with them. When they started to leave I said "I hope you have a blessed evening" and the gentleman looked at Bud and asked "You're a believer aren't you?" and that opened up another, better door. This 80 year old man, who is a Gideon, stood and gave Bud the biggest hug you've ever seen and said "I just knew you know the Lord". It was so sweet and affirmative of part of our purpose here.
June 9, 2012 - Saturday
Today we got up early, made a pot of French Vanilla coffee and started planning our day. We both work tomorrow from 9AM - 5PM, so we have a trip to make to K-Mart in Jackson for some things we didn't pack (if you can believe that). No really, we needed some bathroom rugs and a nightstand lamp among a few essentials. I decided to get my hair cut while there and we found a nice little shop. After a few minutes in the shop I asked if anyone knew the Oral Surgeon that we had chosen to follow up on Bud's dental problem. Everyone (5 people) gave him a thumbs-up and great comments. We were so glad that we had stopped at that place and that everyone was so helpful with their remarks. It snowed on us right after we started heading north out of Jackson and continued to snow all evening. We kept snug as a bug in our little warm room. We are still adjusting to a new room - and even though it is quiet - it's still a different room with it's unique sounds. We are adjusting yet to the change in altitude and get a little tired quickly and considering we have to work tomorrow, we called it a night early.
June 10, 2012, Sunday
It is a bitter cold (28 degrees), snowy and windy day. It took our breath away to just walk the short distance to the Dining room.
Well, today is the day we have planned for so long - the both of us going to work in Yellowstone. I have a little more confidence than I did Friday, but Bud has the "first day" jitters - just like I did and everyone else who comes to work here. The fear of the unknown has it's effects, even when you're past 65 years old. I guess we never outgrow that.
After getting checked with Management at the Lodge, Bud got his cash till and went to set up his register just to find that they did not have a number assigned to him yet. So he did a lot of observing and stocking. They let him off a little early. Hopefully, tomorrow he will have a number so he can get to doing the full job.
I was very busy at the Inn gift shop. I don't think I left my register except to go to lunch and maybe 3 other times to help a customer. The snow didn't have a negative effect on the tourist at all. My register was at the opening to the shop and I got a lot of traffic from that. I took care of several families from Tennessee - Soddy-Daisy, Chattanooga, Tri-City and Dyersburg. Small world. I handled some unique transactions and luckily the people I needed to help me for each transaction were always close by. It was a good, but tiring day. Again, I looked up and saw Bud waiting for me with sweatshirt in hand and a big smile. It was still cold and spitting snow when he came to pick me up so he pulled the car around as close as he could so we wouldn't have to walk so far in the cold, wet wind.
After dinner, we watched a DVD on the lap top. We haven't been up to the recreation room here in the dorm. We are so tired at night, it's just nice to enjoy the quietness of our room and the company of just each other.
NEWS from the park: We were saddened to hear of the death of the Xanterra employee who fell to her death at Inspiration Point at Canyon on Friday. She was an 18 year old young lady from Russia, and--- according to reports -- she committed the deadly sin of not obeying the signs and walked where no one is suppose to walk. She fell to her death into the Gran Canyon of the Yellowstone. Three years ago when Bud and I were here, the same thing happened to an elderly lady from Idaho. She walked too close to the edge and fell to her death, too. Just as with her, the young lady who fell Friday, had to lay there all night because the winds were so strong and it was getting dark,,,,, so the helicopter could not get to her until Saturday morning.
I'm posting some pictures from the past few days. Hope you enjoy.
We love the ride to Jackson and never get tired of the beauty of the Tetons. It was a gorgeous day Saturday on our way down. We're so glad we took the pictures then and not on the way back. The Tetons were cloud covered and we couldn't see a thing. Did you notice the snow on the mountain tops?
This is some of the snowfall left from the winter and the past 4 weeks. In areas there are 2-4 feet of snow lying by the side of the road. There has been 4 snowfalls in Yellowstone since the 1st of June.
We woke up Sunday morning to another heavy dusting of snow and it snowed all morning, finally ended in rain. The wind was cutting. It was National Parks Day and everyone could enter the park free so there were a lot of folks from Wyoming, Colorado and Utah that visited the park. I asked if they were tired of the snow and everyone said no. They felt the snow gave a different dimension to the park. We agree.
June 8th, 2012 - Friday
Today was a busy day. Lots of last minute things to do before starting my first day at work. We are still getting our room set up (pictures to follow). We have been amazed at how quiet it is here in our dorm. We have met some really nice folks, especially those who are new like us. The ones who return year after year are nice too but are in a clique. Guess by the end of summer we'll have our own little "new people" clique. They all eat together and plan their days off together. That's OK - we just go and sit by them and try to be friendly with them.
I went to work at the Inn at 2:30PM. Everyone was great and helpful. My Manager is about 30 years old and very upbeat and positive. He gave me the "Shpill" on customer service and then took off for a three day week-end of camping, hiking and fishing. One of the Assistant Managers got me started with my cash till and then turned me over to a young man from Augusta, GA. I did pretty good I think - everyone was helpful and great to answer my 1001 questions. I logged out of my register at 9:45PM and balanced my funds then returned to the floor to help clean the shop while the others balanced their registers.
Bud was there to meet me and drive me back to our room. He spent the afternoon reading and trying to watch a movie on the computer. He thought I got off at 9 (that's what I had told him) and when I looked up he was standing outside the window to the gift shop. I was so happy to see him.
He had spent time with an elderly couple from California who were having difficulty breathing after making a climb into the hotel in the cold rain. Bud saw the man's distress - short of breath and pale. He got up to help him to a chair. He then summoned another man to get some water and after a few minutes the older gentleman was feeling and looking better. Bud stayed with them for a while and during that time had a great conversation with them. He told them about our summer here and they wanted to meet me. So he brought them in the shop and we had such a nice visit with them. When they started to leave I said "I hope you have a blessed evening" and the gentleman looked at Bud and asked "You're a believer aren't you?" and that opened up another, better door. This 80 year old man, who is a Gideon, stood and gave Bud the biggest hug you've ever seen and said "I just knew you know the Lord". It was so sweet and affirmative of part of our purpose here.
June 9, 2012 - Saturday
Today we got up early, made a pot of French Vanilla coffee and started planning our day. We both work tomorrow from 9AM - 5PM, so we have a trip to make to K-Mart in Jackson for some things we didn't pack (if you can believe that). No really, we needed some bathroom rugs and a nightstand lamp among a few essentials. I decided to get my hair cut while there and we found a nice little shop. After a few minutes in the shop I asked if anyone knew the Oral Surgeon that we had chosen to follow up on Bud's dental problem. Everyone (5 people) gave him a thumbs-up and great comments. We were so glad that we had stopped at that place and that everyone was so helpful with their remarks. It snowed on us right after we started heading north out of Jackson and continued to snow all evening. We kept snug as a bug in our little warm room. We are still adjusting to a new room - and even though it is quiet - it's still a different room with it's unique sounds. We are adjusting yet to the change in altitude and get a little tired quickly and considering we have to work tomorrow, we called it a night early.
June 10, 2012, Sunday
It is a bitter cold (28 degrees), snowy and windy day. It took our breath away to just walk the short distance to the Dining room.
Well, today is the day we have planned for so long - the both of us going to work in Yellowstone. I have a little more confidence than I did Friday, but Bud has the "first day" jitters - just like I did and everyone else who comes to work here. The fear of the unknown has it's effects, even when you're past 65 years old. I guess we never outgrow that.
After getting checked with Management at the Lodge, Bud got his cash till and went to set up his register just to find that they did not have a number assigned to him yet. So he did a lot of observing and stocking. They let him off a little early. Hopefully, tomorrow he will have a number so he can get to doing the full job.
I was very busy at the Inn gift shop. I don't think I left my register except to go to lunch and maybe 3 other times to help a customer. The snow didn't have a negative effect on the tourist at all. My register was at the opening to the shop and I got a lot of traffic from that. I took care of several families from Tennessee - Soddy-Daisy, Chattanooga, Tri-City and Dyersburg. Small world. I handled some unique transactions and luckily the people I needed to help me for each transaction were always close by. It was a good, but tiring day. Again, I looked up and saw Bud waiting for me with sweatshirt in hand and a big smile. It was still cold and spitting snow when he came to pick me up so he pulled the car around as close as he could so we wouldn't have to walk so far in the cold, wet wind.
After dinner, we watched a DVD on the lap top. We haven't been up to the recreation room here in the dorm. We are so tired at night, it's just nice to enjoy the quietness of our room and the company of just each other.
NEWS from the park: We were saddened to hear of the death of the Xanterra employee who fell to her death at Inspiration Point at Canyon on Friday. She was an 18 year old young lady from Russia, and--- according to reports -- she committed the deadly sin of not obeying the signs and walked where no one is suppose to walk. She fell to her death into the Gran Canyon of the Yellowstone. Three years ago when Bud and I were here, the same thing happened to an elderly lady from Idaho. She walked too close to the edge and fell to her death, too. Just as with her, the young lady who fell Friday, had to lay there all night because the winds were so strong and it was getting dark,,,,, so the helicopter could not get to her until Saturday morning.
I'm posting some pictures from the past few days. Hope you enjoy.
We love the ride to Jackson and never get tired of the beauty of the Tetons. It was a gorgeous day Saturday on our way down. We're so glad we took the pictures then and not on the way back. The Tetons were cloud covered and we couldn't see a thing. Did you notice the snow on the mountain tops?
This is some of the snowfall left from the winter and the past 4 weeks. In areas there are 2-4 feet of snow lying by the side of the road. There has been 4 snowfalls in Yellowstone since the 1st of June. 
We woke up Sunday morning to another heavy dusting of snow and it snowed all morning, finally ended in rain. The wind was cutting. It was National Parks Day and everyone could enter the park free so there were a lot of folks from Wyoming, Colorado and Utah that visited the park. I asked if they were tired of the snow and everyone said no. They felt the snow gave a different dimension to the park. We agree.Thursday, June 7, 2012
We're home in the Big City
First, before I forget -- I'm having a difficult time posting pictures. Working on it and hope to figure it out or go begging for help.
Bud was not feeling well this morning when we got up - a little altitude sickness but has made great improvement during the day. I got to drive from Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful and he was the "sleepy photographer". It was sort of nice trading places. Anyway, we took a few minutes before leaving our trainer to go over a few more transactions and get some things settled in our minds. She is a real sweet lady and we got to know her really well over the 3 days we were with her. Her husband had surgery on Monday and she was real concerned about him during the classes. She confided a lot in us - the age similarity, I'm sure and we felt we had gained her confidence.
We drove the hour+ to Old Faithful and took the grand tour trying to find Personnel. We asked young and old employees where Personnel was and the standard answer was - "I don't know". One young man asked us what Personnel was? - go figure. Anyway finally found a truck driver who drew us a map and we found it perfectly.
Now, may I please thank everyone for their fervent prayers regarding our room status at Old Faithful, (OF). We did get a first floor room with a private bath. We almost shouted we were so happy. We have a twin bed, full bed, two wardrobes and a desk unit with additional shelving on the side. Pretty good storage. I'll add pictures soon. The name of our dormitory is Obsidian and it is known as the "Quiet Building". We have met many of our neighbors - - who also are Seniors and very nice.
We each met our Managers today and they are really nice young men. They will coordinate our schedules starting in a couple of weeks but for right now we are working different days and times. It is a temporary inconvenience. Both of the men fly fish and that is a plus for all of us. The Old Faithful part of Yellowstone is the most heavily visited part of Yellowstone . The Management Team of the Park refer to OF as the "big city" part of the entire Park. Consequently the retail stores are the busiest so we anticipate being busy during our working hours. Literally hundreds of people gather every hour to watch "Old Faithful" spew water up to 200' heavenward every 1-1/2 hrs. After the geyser subsides the people race to the gift shops to make their purchases. The store where Bud will be sold in excess of $25,000 yesterday and the heavy traffic doesnstart until near July 1st etc.
It's been a loooong day and even though it is only 9:15PM and the sun has not gone to bed yet --- we are!! Tomorrow more new happenings
Bud was not feeling well this morning when we got up - a little altitude sickness but has made great improvement during the day. I got to drive from Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful and he was the "sleepy photographer". It was sort of nice trading places. Anyway, we took a few minutes before leaving our trainer to go over a few more transactions and get some things settled in our minds. She is a real sweet lady and we got to know her really well over the 3 days we were with her. Her husband had surgery on Monday and she was real concerned about him during the classes. She confided a lot in us - the age similarity, I'm sure and we felt we had gained her confidence.
We drove the hour+ to Old Faithful and took the grand tour trying to find Personnel. We asked young and old employees where Personnel was and the standard answer was - "I don't know". One young man asked us what Personnel was? - go figure. Anyway finally found a truck driver who drew us a map and we found it perfectly.
Now, may I please thank everyone for their fervent prayers regarding our room status at Old Faithful, (OF). We did get a first floor room with a private bath. We almost shouted we were so happy. We have a twin bed, full bed, two wardrobes and a desk unit with additional shelving on the side. Pretty good storage. I'll add pictures soon. The name of our dormitory is Obsidian and it is known as the "Quiet Building". We have met many of our neighbors - - who also are Seniors and very nice.
We each met our Managers today and they are really nice young men. They will coordinate our schedules starting in a couple of weeks but for right now we are working different days and times. It is a temporary inconvenience. Both of the men fly fish and that is a plus for all of us. The Old Faithful part of Yellowstone is the most heavily visited part of Yellowstone . The Management Team of the Park refer to OF as the "big city" part of the entire Park. Consequently the retail stores are the busiest so we anticipate being busy during our working hours. Literally hundreds of people gather every hour to watch "Old Faithful" spew water up to 200' heavenward every 1-1/2 hrs. After the geyser subsides the people race to the gift shops to make their purchases. The store where Bud will be sold in excess of $25,000 yesterday and the heavy traffic doesnstart until near July 1st etc.
It's been a loooong day and even though it is only 9:15PM and the sun has not gone to bed yet --- we are!! Tomorrow more new happenings
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
We're back in Yellowstone
Yesterday 's check-in at Human Resources went without a snag. We were able to keep the same Employee ID and photos from last year. We came directly to Mammoth Hot Springs in hopes of getting a downstairs room for the few days we are here and met the Personnel Manager. He was very friendly and accommodating and even emailed ahead of us to Old Faithful to ask for a downstairs room for us. He requested a particular dormitory for us that houses married couples and most of those room have a private bath. We continue to pray that we can get that type of room, but we will adjust to whatever we get.
There are four other new employees in our class. One girl is from Idaho, one from Missouri and there are two young men from Macedonia. The two young men will work at the Old Faithful Inn with me.
The lady who interviewd us in January is our trainer. She is very nice, patient and understanding. Yesterday we spent time going over OSHA, Harrassment Policies, Fire Protocol, Hazardous Material, etc. This morning we started Retail information - customer satisfaction, added sales, paper forms, etc. After lunch we actually started training on the registers. There were 6 of us in class and only 4 could train at a time so Bud and I volunteered to come back later in the afternoon for our training. It went good - just the two of us there with the instructor. We will go back in the AM to go over the register one more time and see just how much we remember. Then we will head for Old Faithful. We were told that both of our managers are really easy to work with and they both fly fish.
We will need to pack our car and be ready to vacate our room before 8 AM in the morning and are hoping that we don't wake up to snow like we did this morning. We didn't realize the weather was suppose to turn so cold and with snow. My boots were easy to get out of the car and Bud was able to find a long sleeve shirt in the first box he went into. It was blustery with snow showers (more like ice pellets) until around 9 AM. The snow stopped but the winds continued out of the northwest and it was cold!! It is 7:15PM as I write this and still very light outside. The sun is brilliant - it's pretty unreal. It doesn't get dark until after 9PM.
The Elk are calving right now so we are all on lookout when we open any doors to go outside. They spook easily and will attack without a lot of provocation. To walk between an Elk cow and her calf is life threatening. As we were doing out laundry this afternoon, we saw a girl walking her dog. An elk saw it too and took off - headed right toward the girl/dog. They ran out of site and neither Bud nor I wanted to go and investigate. There were others around watching and taking pictures and after a few minutes the elk came back to her spot in the sun and that was that.
The elk and marmot are plentiful around Mammoth usually. Yesterday they were everywhere, but today we only saw 1 elk and just a few marmot this afternoon after the sun came out bright. I told Bud this speaks well of the animals...they have enough sense to stay in out of the cold and snow!!!
There are four other new employees in our class. One girl is from Idaho, one from Missouri and there are two young men from Macedonia. The two young men will work at the Old Faithful Inn with me.
The lady who interviewd us in January is our trainer. She is very nice, patient and understanding. Yesterday we spent time going over OSHA, Harrassment Policies, Fire Protocol, Hazardous Material, etc. This morning we started Retail information - customer satisfaction, added sales, paper forms, etc. After lunch we actually started training on the registers. There were 6 of us in class and only 4 could train at a time so Bud and I volunteered to come back later in the afternoon for our training. It went good - just the two of us there with the instructor. We will go back in the AM to go over the register one more time and see just how much we remember. Then we will head for Old Faithful. We were told that both of our managers are really easy to work with and they both fly fish.
We will need to pack our car and be ready to vacate our room before 8 AM in the morning and are hoping that we don't wake up to snow like we did this morning. We didn't realize the weather was suppose to turn so cold and with snow. My boots were easy to get out of the car and Bud was able to find a long sleeve shirt in the first box he went into. It was blustery with snow showers (more like ice pellets) until around 9 AM. The snow stopped but the winds continued out of the northwest and it was cold!! It is 7:15PM as I write this and still very light outside. The sun is brilliant - it's pretty unreal. It doesn't get dark until after 9PM.
The Elk are calving right now so we are all on lookout when we open any doors to go outside. They spook easily and will attack without a lot of provocation. To walk between an Elk cow and her calf is life threatening. As we were doing out laundry this afternoon, we saw a girl walking her dog. An elk saw it too and took off - headed right toward the girl/dog. They ran out of site and neither Bud nor I wanted to go and investigate. There were others around watching and taking pictures and after a few minutes the elk came back to her spot in the sun and that was that.
The elk and marmot are plentiful around Mammoth usually. Yesterday they were everywhere, but today we only saw 1 elk and just a few marmot this afternoon after the sun came out bright. I told Bud this speaks well of the animals...they have enough sense to stay in out of the cold and snow!!!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Travels behind us - Adventure before us
Yesterday afternoon we arrived in Livingston, MT after a 4 day trip from Baxter, TN. The first two days on our journey were "short" days, Saturday and Sunday were a bit longer. Needless to say, we are glad to have the trip behind us. We're taking today to rest. We walked around downtown Livingston this morning...very cool and quiet. Tomorrow we will head south to Gardiner to report to Human Resources with Xanterra. We will pick up our uniform shirts and have lunch at Mammoth Hot Springs and spend the afternoon in orientation. All day Wednesday and then again Thursday morning we will be in training class for our Retail positions. Thursday afternoon after class, we will head to Old Faithful to get our room and meet our Personnel directors. This is the plan they gave to us - hopefully when I log back on to blog Thursday evening, there will be no changes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)