JULY 14. 2014
We are without a computer right now but hope to resume blogging in the near future. Lots to post and a few good pictures to share.
Please be patient with us. We miss sharing our times with you all.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
A Full Week
June 22, 2014
We finished a full week of work for Bud. He has been fighting a virus then a sinus infection since we arrived on June 5th. I guess I had it when we left Nashville thinking it was "allergies" from visiting North Carolina. I got a little better and then it hit again like a torpedo. (We spoke to a nurse in Nashville who had this virus and she described our symptoms to a "T". Said it had been going around Nashville and it was really bad - takes about 3 weeks to run it's course). Bud was about 8 days behind me in his symptoms and it hit him right at the beginning of our training. We visited the Mammoth Clinic and they said it had to run it's course and he was acclimating to the elevation at the same time. A week passed and he was no better - maybe even worse. So on Monday the 16th we drove to Livingston and saw a doctor who was a little older and very attuned to Bud's needs. He gave him Levaquin and a codeine cough syrup. He worked Tuesday thru Saturday and each day was a little better. Everyone we work with here is so helpful and have done everything they can to make life easier for Bud.
So between working from 1:30-10PM these past five days, slow internet service and Bud being under the weather - our blog time has taken a beating!! I think the best we can do this year is once a week and hopefully from here on out we can be more consistent.
We are running over with bears this year. We have two families of blacks. One mama has 2 cubs - they come to the small valley below the store just about every day a few times and usually stay for an hour or so. They draw a crowd, for sure. The other mama had 3 cubs abd one is cinnamon colored. We haven't seen her yet but understand she dominates in the opposite direction from the store about one-quarter from the store mile toward Roosevelt. There is a big grizzly in the area as well - probably old "Scar-face". Wolves have been seen out the Lamar Valley along with a grizzly bear mama and two cubs. She took down a fawn out on the gravel road near the Slough Creek camp ground. Wolves were also seen half way between here and Mammoth Hot Springs near the Self-Guided walk right off the main loop road. The weather is cool so hopefully that will keep them in the area a while. When it gets hot they will travel a little north from us.
We are tremendously busy in the store. We have sold 30% over the companies projected goals. The lines never end. We have 4 cash registers going all the time. We have only 8 cashiers with another coming next week from Taiwan. We ring up sales, wrap mugs and pottery, and very often have to leave our registers to find boxes to put the pottery in. It is very amazing the amounts of money people spend on gifts and souvenirs.
We meet a variety of people everyday from all the world. There have only been a few "duds" in the masses. Most people are so happy to be here. A lot of families vacation together in Yellowstone and that is always great to see. We are amazed at how many International travelers visit us and the amount of time (and money) they spend while they are here.
Our friends from last year that returned are Jean & John from Mississippi, Tom & Alice from PA, Janet from Texas, Poppi & Brenda from Florida, Danny from Arkansas, Kevin & Robin from Texas, and Brian (our Manager from Florida. There are new folks from Boston - Jack & Jill, Karen from upper state NY, Bob from Virginia (both Karen and Bob work at Roosevelt), Naomi and Jimmy who work at Roosevelt, Chuck. All but two have worked in Yellowstone before so they know the park and the system. THAT HELPS!!
We are going on a picnic today - don't know where but it will be fun wherever and whatever. Taking our books, camera and binoculars and just having a day of rest.
Tomorrow we will go back to Bozeman (I hope for the last time for a while) and get haircuts and pick up a few necessities.
Not too many pictures to post since we have been stationary fro this week.
The "Grizz"
BELOW: A Chuck wagon heading back in from a cook out.
A young elk
Mature Bison attempting to scratch off their winter coats
A young Bison calf.
Some of the snow covered mountain tops in Yellowstone.
BELOW: One of our favorite picnic spots at Soda Butte
A helicopter rescue or a practice run - not real sure which.
One of the pretty color striations of the mountains heading our of Gardiner toward Paradise Valley.
The water is so high this year along the Yellowstone River
There are still 5-6 foot drift along the road up to Mt. Washburn
Pete the Pelican. (From the road he looked like a Trumpeter Swan.
A beautiful view from our picnic site.
The view from our picnic table on Sunday at Yellowstone Lake
A young bull elk in Hayden Valley. Still has his velvet.
Hayden Valley. This is the most water we have ever seen in the valley.
We finished a full week of work for Bud. He has been fighting a virus then a sinus infection since we arrived on June 5th. I guess I had it when we left Nashville thinking it was "allergies" from visiting North Carolina. I got a little better and then it hit again like a torpedo. (We spoke to a nurse in Nashville who had this virus and she described our symptoms to a "T". Said it had been going around Nashville and it was really bad - takes about 3 weeks to run it's course). Bud was about 8 days behind me in his symptoms and it hit him right at the beginning of our training. We visited the Mammoth Clinic and they said it had to run it's course and he was acclimating to the elevation at the same time. A week passed and he was no better - maybe even worse. So on Monday the 16th we drove to Livingston and saw a doctor who was a little older and very attuned to Bud's needs. He gave him Levaquin and a codeine cough syrup. He worked Tuesday thru Saturday and each day was a little better. Everyone we work with here is so helpful and have done everything they can to make life easier for Bud.
So between working from 1:30-10PM these past five days, slow internet service and Bud being under the weather - our blog time has taken a beating!! I think the best we can do this year is once a week and hopefully from here on out we can be more consistent.
We are running over with bears this year. We have two families of blacks. One mama has 2 cubs - they come to the small valley below the store just about every day a few times and usually stay for an hour or so. They draw a crowd, for sure. The other mama had 3 cubs abd one is cinnamon colored. We haven't seen her yet but understand she dominates in the opposite direction from the store about one-quarter from the store mile toward Roosevelt. There is a big grizzly in the area as well - probably old "Scar-face". Wolves have been seen out the Lamar Valley along with a grizzly bear mama and two cubs. She took down a fawn out on the gravel road near the Slough Creek camp ground. Wolves were also seen half way between here and Mammoth Hot Springs near the Self-Guided walk right off the main loop road. The weather is cool so hopefully that will keep them in the area a while. When it gets hot they will travel a little north from us.
We are tremendously busy in the store. We have sold 30% over the companies projected goals. The lines never end. We have 4 cash registers going all the time. We have only 8 cashiers with another coming next week from Taiwan. We ring up sales, wrap mugs and pottery, and very often have to leave our registers to find boxes to put the pottery in. It is very amazing the amounts of money people spend on gifts and souvenirs.
We meet a variety of people everyday from all the world. There have only been a few "duds" in the masses. Most people are so happy to be here. A lot of families vacation together in Yellowstone and that is always great to see. We are amazed at how many International travelers visit us and the amount of time (and money) they spend while they are here.
Our friends from last year that returned are Jean & John from Mississippi, Tom & Alice from PA, Janet from Texas, Poppi & Brenda from Florida, Danny from Arkansas, Kevin & Robin from Texas, and Brian (our Manager from Florida. There are new folks from Boston - Jack & Jill, Karen from upper state NY, Bob from Virginia (both Karen and Bob work at Roosevelt), Naomi and Jimmy who work at Roosevelt, Chuck. All but two have worked in Yellowstone before so they know the park and the system. THAT HELPS!!
We are going on a picnic today - don't know where but it will be fun wherever and whatever. Taking our books, camera and binoculars and just having a day of rest.
Tomorrow we will go back to Bozeman (I hope for the last time for a while) and get haircuts and pick up a few necessities.
Not too many pictures to post since we have been stationary fro this week.
BELOW: A Chuck wagon heading back in from a cook out.
BELOW: One of our favorite picnic spots at Soda Butte
Monday, June 9, 2014
First Weekend in Yellowstone 2014
June 8, 2014
After working on Friday, reacquainting ourselves with the store and going through a refresher course on the register, we were pretty spent. We were glad that we were given the weekend off plus Monday (3 days) to catch up on our rest and slowly acclimate to the altitude. Both of us had sore throats and generally felt lethargic and tired. We decided that getting checked out at the Mammoth Clinic at Mammoth Hot Springs was a good idea, so Saturday morning we headed west. The Nurse Practitioner gave us an all clear on being contagious and told us it was allergies. It seems that the Pine pollen s heavy here and we need a good rain to clear the air. Lots of other things blooming as well. So we got some Claritin and started taking it. Today is some what better.
The most burning question we have had so far is - "How is the food this year?" We are happy to report so far, so good. Our cook is Nelson. He is from upper state New York. A really nice guy and a good chef. He has cooked for DNC before and loves that he has only 40 people to cook for. His nephew Josh came with him and he is the 2nd cook and dishwasher. Both nice guys and are pleased that Bud is a Yankee fan. We have had just a couple of breakfasts so far and he offered to cook our eggs any way we wanted them (nice change for the scorched offerings we had last year). He made a great corned beef the other day for lunch and pork chops yesterday. We have our big meal at lunch everyday and then lighter fare for dinner (pizza, soup, salad, sandwiches, hot dogs, etc). The dining room is set up a little differently this year - it seems more efficient. Looking forward to Bud putting on a few pounds and me NOT.
We have two families of black bear this year. One momma has 3 cubs and another momma has 2 cubs. So cute!! We saw the two cubs climbing the trees below the store on Friday late afternoon. Didn't have the camera handy. (This year the smaller camera will stay in my pocket for such occasions as this.) We saw a big grizzly as we passed over Dunraven Pass. He was quite a crowd stopper. As a matter of fact, one lady tried to do a U-turn to go back to see him and the front end of her car dropped off the road into the soft, shifting dirt and the bottom of her car was flat on the pavement. A very large man tried to put his weight on the trunk of the car to " teeter-totter" it, but too much road was under the car. TOW TRUNK - BROKEN AXLE - OH, MY!!
We will try to highlight a different co-worker with each blog so you can get to know everyone by name and position. Thirteen of us are return employees from last year and many of our co-workers are returners from other stores and some from years past.
Snow pile at Canyon.
Snow drifts goingup toward to Mt. Washburn over Dunraven Pass
Our first grizzly sighting going through Dunraven Pass
Empty Chuck Wagon heading away from Roosevelt
After working on Friday, reacquainting ourselves with the store and going through a refresher course on the register, we were pretty spent. We were glad that we were given the weekend off plus Monday (3 days) to catch up on our rest and slowly acclimate to the altitude. Both of us had sore throats and generally felt lethargic and tired. We decided that getting checked out at the Mammoth Clinic at Mammoth Hot Springs was a good idea, so Saturday morning we headed west. The Nurse Practitioner gave us an all clear on being contagious and told us it was allergies. It seems that the Pine pollen s heavy here and we need a good rain to clear the air. Lots of other things blooming as well. So we got some Claritin and started taking it. Today is some what better.
The most burning question we have had so far is - "How is the food this year?" We are happy to report so far, so good. Our cook is Nelson. He is from upper state New York. A really nice guy and a good chef. He has cooked for DNC before and loves that he has only 40 people to cook for. His nephew Josh came with him and he is the 2nd cook and dishwasher. Both nice guys and are pleased that Bud is a Yankee fan. We have had just a couple of breakfasts so far and he offered to cook our eggs any way we wanted them (nice change for the scorched offerings we had last year). He made a great corned beef the other day for lunch and pork chops yesterday. We have our big meal at lunch everyday and then lighter fare for dinner (pizza, soup, salad, sandwiches, hot dogs, etc). The dining room is set up a little differently this year - it seems more efficient. Looking forward to Bud putting on a few pounds and me NOT.
We have two families of black bear this year. One momma has 3 cubs and another momma has 2 cubs. So cute!! We saw the two cubs climbing the trees below the store on Friday late afternoon. Didn't have the camera handy. (This year the smaller camera will stay in my pocket for such occasions as this.) We saw a big grizzly as we passed over Dunraven Pass. He was quite a crowd stopper. As a matter of fact, one lady tried to do a U-turn to go back to see him and the front end of her car dropped off the road into the soft, shifting dirt and the bottom of her car was flat on the pavement. A very large man tried to put his weight on the trunk of the car to " teeter-totter" it, but too much road was under the car. TOW TRUNK - BROKEN AXLE - OH, MY!!
We will try to highlight a different co-worker with each blog so you can get to know everyone by name and position. Thirteen of us are return employees from last year and many of our co-workers are returners from other stores and some from years past.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
On the Way to Yellowstone - 2014
June 4, 2014
We left Nashville on Sunday morning - pretty early. We made it to Syracuse, NE( 30 miles from Lincoln, NE ) by evening. Our longest day of this trip. We stayed at a wonderful off the road hotel and checked in just in time to miss a pretty bad thunderstorm with threats of tornadoes. On Monday we drove to Laramie, WY and stayed at our old faithful EconoLodge - this must make our 12th time to stay there. Of course, the next day was a long and monotonous ride for us along the south part of Wyoming - I-80. It goes on forever before we make our turn north on Highway 191. We ALWAYS stop in Farson for homemade ice cream - it's part of the experience. Then within a few miles we start viewing the wonderful snow capped mountain of the Wind River Mountain Range to the east and then the Bridger-Teton Mountain Range. Our trip ended in Driggs, Idaho and as we drove over the Teton pass outside of Jackson, we soon arrived at an elevation where we were level with the snow. Here are a few of the pictures we took once turning north toward Jackson, WY.
We arrived in Driggs, Idaho last night and enjoyed a refreshing nights sleep. After breakfast we walked around town - slowly acclimating to the elevation. The altitude here is very close to the elevation of Tower Fall - so far so good. We ate lunch at the Warbirds Cafe that sits off the runway of the airport in Driggs.
We found a Tennessee and Cookeville connection on the wall of the Warbird Resturant in Driggs, ID. A plaque to World War II aircraft that included one about the "Memphis Belle". In addition to her combat record one of our own- - Cookeville's AND First Baptist"s Dr Hamp Morrison- - flew the craft home to the USA after the war. 
Our lunch was great. Bud's not a Warbird but a lean, mean Marine. LOL The Warbird Cafe was unique with a lot of memorabilia and an attached Museum of aircraft. It was a great way to enjoy the day and relax.
Tomorrow morning we get up early and make our 90 minute drive to West Yellowstone to sign in and pick up our uniforms. This time tomorrow - Lord willing - we will be in our little room, our home away from home. It will be good to get settled for the summer.
We left Nashville on Sunday morning - pretty early. We made it to Syracuse, NE( 30 miles from Lincoln, NE ) by evening. Our longest day of this trip. We stayed at a wonderful off the road hotel and checked in just in time to miss a pretty bad thunderstorm with threats of tornadoes. On Monday we drove to Laramie, WY and stayed at our old faithful EconoLodge - this must make our 12th time to stay there. Of course, the next day was a long and monotonous ride for us along the south part of Wyoming - I-80. It goes on forever before we make our turn north on Highway 191. We ALWAYS stop in Farson for homemade ice cream - it's part of the experience. Then within a few miles we start viewing the wonderful snow capped mountain of the Wind River Mountain Range to the east and then the Bridger-Teton Mountain Range. Our trip ended in Driggs, Idaho and as we drove over the Teton pass outside of Jackson, we soon arrived at an elevation where we were level with the snow. Here are a few of the pictures we took once turning north toward Jackson, WY.
We arrived in Driggs, Idaho last night and enjoyed a refreshing nights sleep. After breakfast we walked around town - slowly acclimating to the elevation. The altitude here is very close to the elevation of Tower Fall - so far so good. We ate lunch at the Warbirds Cafe that sits off the runway of the airport in Driggs.
Our lunch was great. Bud's not a Warbird but a lean, mean Marine. LOL The Warbird Cafe was unique with a lot of memorabilia and an attached Museum of aircraft. It was a great way to enjoy the day and relax.
Tomorrow morning we get up early and make our 90 minute drive to West Yellowstone to sign in and pick up our uniforms. This time tomorrow - Lord willing - we will be in our little room, our home away from home. It will be good to get settled for the summer.
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