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Published: June 12th 2016
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Much going on since last time! Most everything opened up toward the end of May, and as soon as the roads were open, it seems everything was full. All the days of private viewing of gorgeous scenery and animals are over until October!
I started working at the post office about a month ago. So much to learn! But, I have the basics down and the job is going well. Pat is great and I enjoy working with her. Being at the post office, there is so much more contact with employees from all the different concessionaires and the park service. Pat knows everyone! I know very few in comparison!
In May we had a lot of rain and snow, especially overnight. It seemed that it would start raining right as we were getting off of work, and be nice all day while we were working! We broke down and bought a satellite dish and pay-as-you-go service from DISH network. It is working good, and should be a great thing for any other travels! (but just like home, there is nothing on tv….)
At the end of May, our great niece Sierra came out to visit for a few
weeks. It has been wonderful having her here, and it is an answer to a long ago prayer for her to be part of our life. God is faithful! She has decided to apply for a job out here, and it is looking like this will be happening for her. Our cozy home in Providence now contains a teenage girl! We are figuring out storage so she doesn’t have to live out of a suitcase on top of the dinette until the end of the season! This will be a great experience for her, and thanks to her folks for sharing her with us and allowing her to stay!
Yellowstone seems to be super crazy this year, and it is only early June! This is the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, so visitation to all the national parks is expected to be high. At this point, visitation to Yellowstone is up 15% from this time last year, and as I recall, last season was a record breaker. If you pay attention to news, you may have seen several articles about things happening in Yellowstone. Things I recall off the top of my head…. People arrested for walking
in the Grand Prismatic hot spring, petting bison, putting a bison calf (my precious red dogs) in to their car and taking it to the ranger station because it was cold, a death in Norris geyser basin of someone off the boardwalk who fell into the extremely hot water (and the remains were unable to be recovered), a couple others off boardwalk in the Old Faithful area air cared out due to severe burns, gosh, I can’t even think of them all. Those are only some of the NEWS items. It doesn’t even count the ones that we see on a daily basis that aren’t caught or don’t result in harm- like the folks we saw sitting on the berm of the road, watching a black bear 20 feet away (whose 2 cubs were up a nearby tree…so cute! But that isn’t the point…). I read that bus traffic in the park is up 48%! I believe 2 tour busses have overturned. One woman was hit by a car while crossing a road and killed. It is crazy! It is horrible that people just refuse to follow the rules, that they don’t understand the risks, or they don’t believe them...
on day on a busy trail a family came down, the kids were running and climbing on the rocks. The parents saw, and read the sign saying stay on the path and the mom said “oh they’re alright there”. Now, this was not a dangerous area, the area was for revegetation, but still, there is such blatant disrespect! Ok, I am done ranting….for now.
I feel like we haven’t done quite as much yet this year as last. I guess we have been to Bozeman twice…once to shop for the satellite dish and once to pick up Sierra from the airport. Bozeman is usually an overnight stay for us, since it is a 3, 3 ½ hour drive and traffic can even make it longer now! So we usually enjoy a Xanterra discount at local hotel and free wifi! Did a short hike to Storm Point one day last “weekend” and hung out there for a little bit. Sierra really liked it out there, and wishes she could just go back on her own to lay on the rocks and overlook the lake, but that is a no-no. I’ve seen people, know people who hike out there solo, but
I am a rule follower and it is bear country. And last year someone died after being gored by a bison there!
We went on the Roosevelt cookout one evening. I think I am done with it. It is nice, but I have heard all the jokes, all the stories until I can repeat them myself, and while the food is ok, it is expensive just to go for the steak especially when I can go to Cody for a better, and cheaper one!
We’ve taken Sierra around the park, so she could get a glimpse of it and know her way around a bit. She and I went over to Old Faithful, walked around the boardwalk for an hour or so until the next eruption of Old Faithful which we watched with a thousand of our closest friends. SO CROWED over there. We couldn’t even get to Grand Prismatic, parking lots full, people parked on the roads (illegally, I might add…). So, assuming she is staying, we will go back there maybe in September! If not, I will get her happy butt up at 6 in the morning to get over there! She went on a horseback ride
at a ranch a few miles outside the park with a friend and really enjoyed that. Sierra and I are wanting to go to Pryor Mountain in southern Montana/northern Wyoming. There is a wild horse range there in Lovell WY. We are also wanting to get down to the Tetons. Will probably do one of those things on our upcoming “weekend”. Hopefully, her work schedule can match ours somewhat!
Got news recently that family friends Chad and Ashley and their girls are passing through for a couple days at the end of the month. Jack was able to get them a spot here at the LERV, so they don’t have to stay a long distance outside of the park! Looking forward to seeing them! After they leave, we will be happy to see Roger, Dylan, and John for a week or so. Those are the only scheduled visitors! It is possible that Sierra’s folks will come out if she stays here, and my best monkeys Rox and Desiree are trying to come up with a date and flight for the fall. Trying to get out to see Christine and Jim when they make their annual trek to Douglas WY
in a week or two, so I guess things will be a little busy!
Enjoy the pics of some of the things we have seen out and about in the park and nearby areas. I will try to be better at writing. I often think of things I want to write about, or do things I want to document, but by the time I sit down to do that, they are gone from my head!
God bless you all! We will do this again later!
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