Give 'em the Pickle!

Give ‘em the Pickle!

So it has been a week or so and I think I have settled back down to life in the mountains. Today was a beautiful, warm spring day. Cooper had fun playing out in the meadow. It was all fun and games until she found something very old and very gross to eat just outside our building. Muy yucky. Sigh, dogs huh?

Not much has happened since I last wrote but yesterday, on my day off (comp time baby woot!) Bob Owens and I went to W. Yellowstone for VUA (Visitor Use Assistant) training. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it’d be. There is road construction from Norris to Madison (the northern loop of the park) with at least half hour delays so we elected to take the southern route (the northern loop to west is shorter and the southern is longer) but with the construction, it would have probably been one half dozen of another, something I tell people as well! ;P

We learned quite a bit about the role of the fee booth and that there was actual legislation passed that gives us the right and the power to collect fees. Though each park gets to set their own fees, we are legally allowed to do it. We watched a video, which was slightly amusing, on what to say to difficult people. There are, we learned, magic words to use: I’m sorry… and …for you? It was pretty standard information, but good ways on how to deal with troublesome guests/visitors/tourists etc…

Then we watched another really funny video called Give ‘em the Pickle and the story is of this man who owned a restaurant and he received a complaint one day from a customer who wrote in saying how he has always loved the restaurant and enjoyed their pickles as they are the best pickles he had ever had. Upon asking the waitress for another pickle she charged him for it, something he had never experienced in his long time of patronizing that establishment. Well, the man in the video said that had become the battle cry, Give ‘em the pickle! Which means really, give the customer that small thing to make them happy. It doesn’t cost you much and it just might mean a repeat customer. The analogy I came up with is our maps. Technically we are supposed to charge fifty cents per extra map per car. Honestly… no. They make for good souvenirs and they are something people like to keep and, now that I have watched the video, it is our pickle.

Maybe you had to have been there.

This past weekend was fun, it was a fee free weekend for all national parks. Now, you might think we had a ton of people come through but, surprisingly-no. I did, however, have three people declare their love for me. They were all men… and married. Naturally I doubted the veracity of their declarations of adoration, especially since, come Monday, they’d have to pay.

But all national parks are going to be free the third weekend of June, July and August so that would be a perfect time to head up to Yosemite if you don’t have a pass ahem mom ahem. And sorry dad, but you’re too young for the senior pass, so don’t ask.

And once more, I nearly forgot something. On our way to the VUA training, we came across a herd of buffalo with calves. They were sooo cute!!! As you will see by the pictures. They reminded me of cow calves and how they are so much cuter than the adults. I also saw a bald eagle sitting in a nest, and, on our way back, 3 big horn rams where they were not supposed to be. Way cool. I didn’t get to get a picture of the eagle or the rams but I did see them.

We had a few days of thunder showers where everything just got drenched. Coops had to be shoved outside to do her business. She hates the rain! But it did make things look lovely!

Oh, and if you are planning on coming, just gotta let me know. In my building, there is an empty 2 bedroom apartment above me that we have set up for visitors. They have sheets and everything so those who visit have someplace comfortable to stay. Hey, beats a hotel by a mile!

We are going to have a goodbye party for Candace and Ryan who are leaving East to go to South. Ryan is getting a better job and Candace just might be able to get a supervisor’s position in South as the current one might be retiring. This means then, that her winter position is going to be open. I have already told my boss I would love to have it. Haha, could you imagine me in the kind of winter wonderland they have up here?

This would mean shoveling snow everyday, taking a snow-machine down to Pahaska Teepee where the cars will be parked so we could go into town to do our shopping. They will plow up to Pahaksa but no further, thus the snowmobiles.

It’ be and adventure but a cool one. Literally.

Anyway, that is all the news I have on this front. Oh, I am going to crack open a couple bottles of mead so I’ll let you know how the found it.

The First Few Days

Cooper and I left Sacramento on 6-10 about 2:30 in the morning and, yawning headed east on our flight towards Yellowstone. She had been quite annoying while I had been packing the car, not too sure if she was going with me or not. She knew Mommy was up to something and became excited and highly suspicious when I put her pillow, her favorite toy and her food in the car. She just wasn’t sure what it was about. But, so long as she is with her mommy she is fine and dandy…. Mostly.

The sun had not yet begun to rise over the eastern sky when we encountered road construction from Colfax, CA to the Nevada border. I was heartily glad that we had then left as early as we had, I shudder to think about traversing that stretch of road while many others were on it as well. About 5 Am we hit the Nevada border and sped as quickly as we could through Reno. In the late morning we hit Mills City, NV. Coops and I stopped to get some food and gas. Last year, on our way east, we had stopped there and I had won $40 from the nickel slots. I got some diet coke and, because there wasn’t any real food, grabbed something to munch on and on we continued.

We took stopped at the Bowawe rest stop in Nevada where coops and I had stayed the night on our first trip to Yellowstone. It was good to get out of the car and empty our bladders. Within fifteen minutes we were back in the car and heading east again. The afternoon saw up getting into Utah. Coops and I stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats rest stop. We went beyond the “pet only” area and went onto the salt itself where I unhooked Coops and let her run around. And she did. I let her run around for half an hour while I took pictures of her having fun. But the road was calling and I didn’t want to spend too much time out of the car.

The late afternoon, early evening had us arriving in Salt Lake City and Coops and I, who had not yet had a proper meal, were getting hungry. We stopped at a Del Taco (now I wish we had waited for a carl’s jr.) and shared a lunch. I didn’t really want to get off the freeway about the city since people were starting to get off of work and the weather had turned lousy. But we made it through the tangled web of off ramps in and about the city and finally got to the point where the freeway once more reduced to two lanes.

We crossed into Idaho an hour or two later and, as I was tired, but not so tired where I couldn’t drive for a bit more, I decided Idaho would be a good place to rest for the night. But, in true Oates style, I passed by rest stop after rest stop after rest stop telling myself I was fine, I could go a bit longer and well… I did. I wanted to get past Pocatello, ID and once I passed that I decided then I would rest for the night. I also felt that it would be retarded to stop when it was still quite light outside. My sister agreed.

Cooper and I stopped at the rest stop in Blackfoot, ID. It is a nice rest stop and inside there was a large map that conveniently showed where all the rest stops in the state were. As I was getting off of I 15 and getting onto 20, I needed to figure out where a good place to rest for the evening was. As it turned out, there were no more rest stops between where I was and where I wanted to go. So, at 7 PM MST, Coops and I bunked down and tried to get some sleep.

Granted, she had a much easier time sleeping than I did seeing as she is much smaller and had her bed with her. But, as she had slept all day I think she took guard duty most of the night. At least, each time I woke she was wide awake. It could be that the things that had woken me up were the same things that had awaken her as well. I let her out a couple of time so she could run around (she tried to tell me she had to pee, which wasn’t always the case) and I have to admit to being quite surly about it. Anyone who knows me knows that I get cranky when I am tired.

I didn’t sleep well but at one point my phone began to buzz at me to wake up. Taking the same queue I had taken when leaving Sac, I had set the alarm for 2. The rest stop conveniently had vending machines and I was able to have my first hit of caffeine in the form of a cold bottle of diet coke. After I strapped cooper into her seat belt, we headed down the road. We turned onto 20 and hit the Montana border and followed it until the forest boundary gave way to Wyoming. Cooper and I arrived at the west entrance of Yellowstone at 4:40 AM and got to watch the sun rise as we headed east towards our destination.

We hit the east entrance about 7 where our timing must have been just immaculate as Dennis, the boss, was just coming down to open up for the day. He gave me some keys he thought would open the apartment. I drove up the building and tried them. Of course they didn’t work so Coops and I walked down to the office and traded in those two keys for the entire box of keys. And, of course, none of those, upon trying them worked. We went back down to the office and Dennis sent us to go and speak to Candace who had given him the keys. She told me where to look, I told Dennis and sure enough… there they were. I spent the next hour unpacking the car and getting stuff into the apartment.

We met our next door neighbor, Sue who showed us a moose cow just behind our building. I saw 4 bulls and 3 cows in and around our building that morning. Not a bad way to start your day! Despite my fatigue and a deep desire to just sleep I forced myself to go into Cody, Wy (the closest town to us) to buy groceries. I went straight through town and headed to Albertson’s (seeing as I prefer that to the grocery department at the wal-mart). And then it was home we went. Food put away cooper and I just relaxed.

I spent the next day putting away the clothes I hadn’t put away the day before, cleaning dishes that had not been used in far too long and basically setting up house and reading. Saturday I would start work. A little before 7 I walked out my front door and found a buffalo taking up the road. He seemed unconcerned that he had made me 10 minutes late to work because he was standing there, where I needed to go. Saturday was a day of training-well, rather, re-training. There were a few differences from last year but it seems as if I had not forgotten what and how to do what to do.

Sunday and Monday were long days as we are working 9 hour shifts. Long days. Tuesday Cooper and I slept in. I read the sixth Harry Potter book. At one point Sue found Cooper and I enjoying the outdoors in the front yard and asked me if I would like to go to Pahaska Teepee for dinner that evening. Nancy, another seasonal was going to get done at 6 and we were planning on leaving at 6:30. Candace and her fiancé Ryan met the three of us there and we had a nice time chatting. I had a bison burger and it was quite yummy. It’d have been better had it been seasoned but… alas. It was, however, very juicy and I will definitely be pleased to order it again. After dinner we went to look for the fox who had become habituated to the residents of Pahaska. A mama fo had some kits. She is almost tame, probably from the number of people who willingly feed her. Her kits, however, never came out from their den. But she was a really pretty red headed fox. We came home and I stayed up until I finished reading the 7th Harry Potter book

And one Wednesday we went up to Lakes Sylvan and Eleanor seeing as there is still snow up there. Coops loves the snow and I wanted her to have a little time in the snow before it went away all together for the summer. She seemed to enjoy herself and even walked into the water of Lake Eleanor itself! That water had to be cold, there was still snowmelt feeding it. But we are back home and I have laundry and dishes to do. A chicken is boiling so I will have yummy chicken and potato soup to eat over the next few days.

Tomorrow I get to go up to Mammoth and do all the paperwork and hiring stuff I got to do last year. This includes my NPS ID card and proof that I am legal to work inside the US. Good thing I have a Social Security card seeing as how my passport is expired.

But this is all I have to report for now.

Much love,

ehm

I have completely forgotten in the previous stuff! I saw a grizzly bear on Monday! I was done for the day and about to head home when I saw a ton of cars pulled over to the side of the road. Well... I know that this can mean only one thing: Bear.

And, because people were blocking traffic, a definite no-no, I dropped my bag and went out to both get people moving and to take a gander at it meself. It was a grizzly about 2-2.5 years old, not very big not very old. It was a twany golden brown and yes, I do have a picture of it! I can't believe I forgot to grab it to post!

I shall try and do that sometime tomorrow, add the picture of the bear. You can tell it's a bear but it was across the river and my camera isn't exactly the best for taking close up shots of animals a 1/4 of a mile away.

But ya, wicked cool!

Finally!!

So yes, the time is finally come and I am once more heading to Yellowstone.  I will still have email and there will actually be blog updates.  But then, when I am not someplace cool then what's the point huh?

So... for those of you too lazy to look for it, here is my contact info:

Emily McKeighen

1 North Fork Highway

Cody, WY 82414

Party line phone number for the seasonal housing:

307-587-9875

Just make sure you ask for me when you call.

And if you are planning on heading my way to visit, do call first.  :)

Love you,

emily

On the road again

Well, not quite.  I will, however, be heading back to Yellowstone in a week or so.  I'll keep you all posted about my activities.  Don't worry, I won't head out to WY without letting you know when I plan on leaving.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's time for the wearing of the green and remembering that far off Isle where magic and mystery are still very much alive.

So make yourself some Irish Soda Bread, a bit of Irish stew or even the popular Corned Beef and have at it.

And remember to save some Guinness for your friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah

It is that time of year again where people sit down and open presents from St. Nick and enjoy the comforts of the season, good food and loving family and great friends, even if they're not all in one place.

My brother is off in Norway with his girl and her family and as we will miss him this year he has family there too now.

Merry Christmas everyone and, for those of you of the Jewish persuasion, Happy Chanukah, may all your days be merry and bright.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Love you all,

Mhe

Monday/Friday

Monday sucks, honestly, doesn't it? You have your weekend and then bam, monday comes and ruins a perfectly good weekend. Friday however, now friday is something to look forward to, especially when the following day is payday, ain't no day finer than that.

But what happens when monday is your friday? Today is monday and I am heading into my weekend, tuesday and wednesday. Thursday becomes my monday and ya know something? It isn't so bad. Maybe everyone should have thursday be their monday.

Anyway, I am planning on going into cody to just do stuff online, like watch videos. Do stuff I can't do here. And tomorrow is payday. Either that or I'll go into the teatons or head up to mammoth. We shall see, I have not yet fully decided. But it's almost 5 and I've been here for 8 hours and I am tired and coops needs to go outside and pee.

14 more days until COB (close of business) and I am done here.

As always, love you all

Ehm

Snow, Snow, Snow Snow!

There was supposed to be a fifty percent chance of rain and snow today. I think we should make that a hundred percent chance of snow. We had a few drizzles of snow on the sixth but today the skies turned white and down came the snow. I have been taking pictures like a fool. As soon as I get home I am going to let coops out (after I put on her sweater) and see how she likes the snow. I am so excited about this I can't even begin to tell you guys.

The worst part is, is that I've had Christmas carols stuck in my head all day (notably the refrain from Let It Snow) and it's not even Samhain (Halloween, All Hallows Eve for those of you who don't know). I am already enjoying the snow and I've gotten snow all over me. hehe, this is a blast and a half.

They were calling for snow tires on the southern road to the teatons and then, about 4 this afternoon, they were calling for snow tires on Sylvan Pass (which is the road that leads west into the park from our entrance) and then, about twenty minutes later or thereabouts, they were calling for the pass to be closed until they could get a plow on the road. All of Yellowstone is under snow.

And it's supposed to be worse tomorrow.

They're calling for winter storm warning conditions from friday morning to saturday evening with 5-10 inches of snow tomorrow. Our meadow is just covered in snow, it is just simply beautiful. I am taking pictures and well, I will, hopefully, at some point in time, get pictures up.

Heck, this is cooler than the Buffalo Bill Museum.

And that was kinda cool. Maybe I'll talk about that at a later time. I had meant to on tuesday (when I went) but I had forgotten to. Maybe I should start making lists of things I do and need to post about.

Anyway, I am for home and I am going to make sure the heat is up in my apartment, gonna get the sweater on coops then watch her react to the snow. I am prediciting that she is not going to like it too much. I think her poor toesies (not rosies) are gonna get cold and she's not gonna like it so much.

We shall see.

As ever, love you all and give extra kisses to the Froglet who is, of course, the important one right now. :P

Ehm

A missing check, a day off and presents

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my days off. Yesterday Cooper and I went into Cody to buy food because I have finally gotten paid.

I was supposed to be paid last Tuesday but when I checked my bank balance, Nada. So my boss sends out an email basically saying umm...Emily didn't get paid. The quick response is that there was a problem with the routing numbers (?) and so I had a hard copy that is up at mammoth (north end of the park and I am at the east) but they'd send it out ASAP.

Four days later I still do not have it.

More emails are sent and we eventually learn (several days later) that the check has been at lake for several days-no one bothered to send it along. So Sunday Dennis says that I will have my check by Monday come hell or high water. Later on Monday afternoon Dennis returns and asks if anyone got the mail. As I had taken that happy job, I was able to assure him I had not received any mail.

This was not news he wanted to hear. Lake had mailed it to east. Yes, through USPS. Although there wasn't an envelope for me, there was one for the East Entrance and inside that envelope was my check.

So now I have a few bucks and all I have to do is deposit it into my account. So I head into Cody on the look out for Wells Fargo. Only there is no Wells Fargo...yet. The First Shoshone National banks will become WF, but not for another couple of weeks. But, the kind souls that they are, they are willing to cash a check drawn off of the national treasury. I suppose they can assume the government's good for it.

So Coops and I spent a whole day in Cody, did some shopping and had a nice evening relaxing at home.

Today we took our time getting up and, letting cooper out to pee, I started my laundry. a dollar to wash a dollar to dry. I have a roll of quarters I remembered to get from the bank. And I had a sovereign mission while I am here in Yellowstone and that is to get people stuff.

I like to buy stuff. Fishing Bridge is the closest general store (a place where I can buy goodies and stuff for people-whoohoo)and, as it is closing next Monday, I thought it would behoove me to get my backside over there today to go and buy the stuff people have requested.

So Coops and I got into the car and drove. We stopped at Sylvan Lake, took some pictures, drove up a little further, stopped at an overlook and took some pictures of Lake Yellowstone and some pretty impressive verga. A nice drive through Pelican Valley and finally we reached Fishing Bridge.

And what did I find?

A whole section of stuff 50% off. I am a girl and things were on a killer sale. I am weak and I needed to buy Christmas presents. I came, I shopped I conquered. Although, I did manage to resist a $5 item cashier was trying to get me to buy. I was not that weak. I was proud of myself. ha! I do have willpower! Go me.

I had fun.

And now it is the end of the day, I have a chicken boiling in a crock pot and it has made the inside of my apartment smell all so delightful. Cooper is whining to get out of the entrance station and so I think I will say goodnight.

We shall see what is in store for me next weekend. I am going to try and get to the Buffalo Bill Museum and there is a rodeo in Cody every evening at 8. Who knows what can happen. :D

as ever, love you guys.

Ehm

My Yard

What? you can't see the buck in the first one? Sorry, I further than the 25 yards one is required to be away from wildlife when I took a picture of him. And I don't have a great camera for taking close ups. oh well. the second one is the side yard. yeah, cooper and I walk down to the road almost on a daily basis, even if it's just to get the mail. It's great fun for her to run along the path and smell stuff.

Anyway, I am sorry I have not been posting much lately. I swear, if I am at home I have to deal with dial-up and when I am in cody, I have to deal with very pathetic wifi. i can't get a decent signal no matter where I go!

it is aggravating to say the least. Looks as if I am going to be heading to Billings on the 7th in order to find a starbucks so that I can get some decent internet. We shall see what shall become of that soon I suppose.

As it is, I am trying to find a winter post...somewhere.

I am applying for different posts at different parks so we shall see what becomes of it.

Property of the Federal Government.

My life is surrounded by little signs, stickers and the such that tells me the item I am using belongs to the federal government.

I understand, you don't believe me, then I must prove my words.

We have a clipboard in each of the fee booths and on them is written, "this clipboard belongs to Yellowstone National park, you have stolen property of the federal government please return to the east entrance."

The trashcans in the booths say "property of the federal government"

And the really ancient phone in my apartment? yes, that too has a sticker on the bottom that reads poperty of the federal government.

And, my friends, it gets better.

I went up to Mammoth the other day (it's like the Valley for those who understand YOSE terms) to do the new hire paperwork and to, aha, get my NPS ID card. Yes, I even took the picture with the hat on because I knew I'd hear about it if I didn't. I was told, however that no one was going to be able to see it since I will have to give it back at the end of the season (which will go until Nov. 4 by the way) because that is, you guessed it, property of the federal government and only federal employees are allowed to have a federal ID card.

I thought that was quite funny.

I guess the only thing not belonging to the federal government is my uniform but, for those of you who don't know, you're not supposed to wear any NPS item unless you are in full uniform. So that means I'm not supposed to walk about town wearing my NPS baseball hat unless I am in uniform.

And a part of my uniform is the badge which, I have learned I will have to return at the end of the season...unless I want to pay $50 for the badge.

Oh, and it'll cost me $35 to retain my ID card.

Anyway, it's now ten after nine here and I do get to open tomorrow, yay!

I will talk to you all later.

As ever, I love you all
Ehm

Pee Walk

A Pee walk?

Yes, Cooper gets to go on daily pee walks. This is the time when we have a morning or an afternoon free and I hook her up to her leash and we go for a walk so she can mark and remark her territory. Now, she is very good about this. There is a path that goes from our front door to a mailbox on the side of the road. Bison and other animals cross the path (I know this because she has all but vibrated sniffing their scent and they leave scat) so she has to reestablish her territory. And then we follow the road, head to the entrance station, say hi to people who are working and then we head back home.

That is, this is how it typically is.

Aside from yesterday that is. Cooper and I went for a slightly different pee walk the other day. We went down to the Shoshone River and got wet. I had on my work boots which are water proof so I didn't get as wet. Now, as you might have guess Coops is built slightly lower to the ground than I am an she has the advantage of having four paws to my two feet. This does not make for a good combination when she is still on leash and wants to run.

Over rocks.

Of course she goes bounding over rocks and grass while I am hurrying to keep up. And yes, you guessed it. I wouldn't say I was running but my foot got caught on a rock and I had a brilliant fall. I scratched my leg and it still hurts but thankfully I had taken the precaution of wearing a pair of jeans so they now have a nice stain of the local flora. And I missed hitting my head on a giant rock by mere inches. I scraped my wrists a bit. Better my wrists than my head I think.

And what did my faithful and trusty canine do? Simple, she looked back at me and looked at me wondering why I was resting.

So I got up, brushed myself off and then we had to get back up the bank to the street. Now, of course we could have taken the trail that we had taken on our way down, but no, that would have been too easy. And I think Coops had taken us beyond it. So we go up the hard way. At first we tried to go up the bank made mostly of dirt and flora. That didn't work. Nor was the half-hearted attempt to go up loose rocks. But a little further along I found something a little more stable. I had to grab Coops by her harness and tug her up onto the bank and from there we were able to hit the street, go to the entrance station, check some mail and then go home.

I even worked on the book some.

And today Coops whined while I made use of the gym upstairs.

But people need the computer so I think that this is gonna be it for now. I might, next time I head into town, go to Billings, MT instead. I hear the have a petsmart or maybe a petco. And it's only a 2 hour drive (and as Ryan the LE said the other day, it's all relative in the mts.)

As ever, I love you all.
Ehm

You Shall Not Pass!

Gen and I went to Old Faithful yesterday. Lots of fun. We stopped at Fishing Bridge (pictures will be coming later) where Cooper decided to get into Yellowstone River. For a girl who doesn't like water, she is awfully drawn to it. And then, just down the road we were stopped by a herd of buffalo who were standing in the middle of the road. I did get several pictures but as I am at my work computer and not in Cody on mine, you're going to have to wait for pictures, I am sorry. There were several cows with their calves, aww, so cute!

And then we stopped at Lake Yellowstone where Cooper chased the breakers. It was really windy, really cold, really cloudly and the water was really choppy. My girl had a blast running up and down up and down. At one point she braved getting her belly wet to try and grab a stick. Only it was a log about 6 feet long. The waves came up and she spooked and backed down. Funny as all get out though.

And then we stopped for a bit at West Thumb Geseyer basin. There is something there I saw that I think I might get for Misha. ;D Yes, I am already getting Christmas ideas for you guys. Coops was not allowed on the boardwalk so she had to stay in the car. Again, I have pictures for you and the next time I am in Cody I will try and get that done. And because I am my mother's daughter, I took pictures of signs, lots of signs.

And then we headed to Old Faithful.

We got there just as it was about to erupt so Gen and I both decided we got there at the perfect time. After a while though you're like, ok, it's still going. Then we had lunch and walked about the boardwalk there and looked at the other geothermal pools and geysers about the place. Really cool.

It was cold, it was wet and we had a great time. After that we headed home. We were both a little tired (it's at least a two hour drive to Old Faithful not including the stops) and then a nice, two hour drive back. We got home just in time for supper.

As of today, it is cloudy and gray and a very cold 39.5 degress. Cooper and I are about to head home from our pee walk. There will be more later.

Oh, and I am missing phone calls from a certain someone. I won't mention any names but his name starts with a D and the second one is an A. Hint hint.

As ever, I love you guys.

E

One's Duty

Aw, now then I know what you're thinking, so you're a ranger at Yellowstone but what do you do?

I am glad you ask. As I am about to head into my weekend, I have had the opportunity to taste each of the different shifts we have here at the East Entrance. There is the 7-16:00 shift in which one is repsonsible for opening. When this is me, I get to check the meter that shows how many people have passed through our gate. I record this number after opening up the station. My next job is to put up the flag, get my money and open a booth, this way I can get more money! :D
I have to check the weather, print up the reports, make sure there is one in all three booths, then I need to check the tempuratures for the day, recording the high, the low and the observation temperature as well as what kind of percipitation we have gotten over the day as well as what kind of percipitation it was. We report this daily. At 13:00 we do the fire weather. We have what are called the 10 hour logs that mimick the "fuel" on the ground. We record how much moisture it has. And then we check the high and low humidity, the high and low temperature (something we have already done in the morning, as well as how much percipitation we have (two different measurements). This is followed by wind speed and direction. We write all of this down and report our numbers. On Monday we do the 1100 hour logs. We weigh them and report how much they weighed.

And then there is closing where we do several reports, take down the flag, turn on lights, close up shop and hope we don't have to come in early the next day.

So yes, it is more than just taking people's money.

Love you all

E

Working

Well I am officially in the gray and green! I get to smile all day, work in one of the most beautiful places in the country and take people's money. It is always interesting working with the public. Some people don't seem too happy to be in a National Park. Which I don't understand, I mean, how can you be miserable in such scenery? Yes, I do have a picture of me in my uniform, well,part of it. I don't have a full picture yet, but I'll get that. I just can't upload it yet. Maybe when I get to Cody again I'll be able to.

But then I shall have loads of pictures for you guys.

I am sorry that the guild is emptier now. :( I guess that T or Sol or someone needs to do something to enliven it. No more shouts when people log on? Sigh.

I might be here until the end of october.

I love you and miss you

Ehm

And Coops says hi.

There!

There is a pizza hut in Cody, Wy where they have wifi. Thank god for small miracles. This is where I can buy groceries and do stuff of that nature and it's only 56 miles away from Yellowstone! Whoohoo! Yeah, I have to get gas every time I come into town, crazy.

but anyway... I have the story here for your enjoyment:
Thursday, September 4, 2008 23:34 MST

I have just gotten out of the bath and it felt fine. I washed my feet first since they were quite dirty after two days of constant travel. And oh boy did the hot water feel good! It’s always nice to soak in a bath, even more so when you’ve been on the road for two days.

I have an apartment all to myself. I have a neighbor named Genevieve, love the name. There is also an LE ranger upstairs to me and more LE just up the road. I live really close the east entrance and so it’ll be a short walk to work everyday. When you come in through the east entrance you hook the first right and there is a road. It says no entry but then, it’s supposed to be a private road. There is a set of apartments and then further down the lane is another one, I live in the second one. My apartment is off to the side, just down the slope from the driveway. Mine is the first door and Gen is the second.

I got most of my stuff into the apartment tonight but there are a few things I left in the trunk, I’ll get them out in the morning, though I intend on sleeping myself out. Cooper is confused and she is being skittish and shy. I am sorry. Mom said that she will be happy to come home when we leave here and I think she is right. I have her pillow and her toy but I don’t think coops thinks it’s the same thing. For one she doesn’t recognize any of the scents. She is sitting in the dark on my Mexican blanket staring at the wall. I think she is in shock and not quite sure what is going on. I am sure she will adjust. I think she’s gonna miss Mom but had she stayed in Sac, I know she would have been pining for me almost as much as I’d be missing her.

So, as to my trip I left Sac about two PST (or around there) and drove straight on through Nevada. At one point I stopped to get some gas in Mill City (edit the right name later). It was one of those trucker stops and I was highly amused to see a casino inside. I was going to ignore it then I saw the nickel slots. Whoohoo! I decided to blow five bucks. I figured it’d take me about 5 minutes to go through it.

It didn’t. I’d win 5 credits here, 10 there, an occasional 20. Oye, how and I supposed to leave if I keep getting this? I had more fun looking for older coins than I did plunking in the nickels. I have several 1964 nickels. Not even paying attention, I drop in a nickel (yes I was doing it one at a time) and next thing I know I won 800 credits. Whoohoo! So I left having made $35 bucks. I was excited. I had used a 5 dollar bill I didn’t even know I had had in the car so it was really cool all around. I had dinner which I couldn’t finish. Cooper did however and she was starving.

At this point I was tired but eh, I could go further on. So we drove and drove and drove. I kept looking at signs for hotels thinking should I? Should I stop now? But I was fine, at least I felt fine, so I continued to drive. Until I hit absolute zero. Cooper and I stopped at a rest stop in Beowaw (edit correct spelling) in Nevada. I went pee but Coops abstained. So about midnight we settled down to sleep. I had even taken off her harness.

I had set the iPod to play for 15 minutes and I must have fallen off to sleep in that fifteen minutes because it had stopped and Cooper was growling lowly. She was being a good guard dog. There were a few men who had pulled up one slot over from me and they were standing outside talking loudly. Cooper began to make noise when she thought they were getting too close to the car. I would like to make a note here, had I not had my Coops, I would have hit a hotel. But I had a locked door, pepper spray and a dog. I was ready.

And I remember at one point I shot up out of a mostly sound sleep when a truck moved past the car. It sounded like the side of the highway they rib so your car shudders and makes that horrible noise to wake you up. My first thought was I had fallen asleep while driving. Then I remembered where I was and then I tried to get some sleep. As I was unable to scoot or lean the seat back, it was not very comfortable. Had I known how uncomfortable, I would have stayed in a hotel. I didn’t sleep very well.

I had set the alarm for 7 AM PST. I was awake and gone by 6:30. I stopped at a gas station that had a burger king and I got two chicken biscuits. Cooper and I shared it. Mostly the chicken though she did have some the buiscy feet first since they were quite dirty after two days of constant travel. And oh boy did the hot water feel good! It’s always nice to soak in a bath, even more so when you’ve been on the road for two days.

I have an apartment all to myself. I have a neighbor named Genevieve, love the name. There is also an LE ranger upstairs to me and more LE just up the road. I live really close the east entrance and so it’ll be a short walk to work everyday. When you come in through the east entrance you hook the first right and there is a road. It says no entry but then, it’s supposed to be a private road. There is a set of apartments and then further down the lane is another one, I live in the second one. My apartment is off to the side, just down the slope from the driveway. Mine is the first door and Gen is the second.

I got most of my stuff into the apartment tonight but there are a few things I left in the trunk, I’ll get them out in the morning, though I intend on sleeping myself out. Cooper is confused and she is being skittish and shy. I am sorry. Mom said that she will be happy to come home when we leave here and I think she is right. I have her pillow and her toy but I don’t think coops thinks it’s the same thing. For one she doesn’t recognize any of the scents. She is sitting in the dark on my Mexican blanket staring at the wall. I think she is in shock and not quite sure what is going on. I am sure she will adjust. I think she’s gonna miss Mom but had she stayed in Sac, I know she would have been pining for me almost as much as I’d be missing her.

So, as to my trip I left Sac about two PST (or around there) and drove straight on through Nevada. At one point I stopped to get some gas in Mill City (edit the right name later). It was one of those trucker stops and I was highly amused to see a casino inside. I was going to ignore it then I saw the nickel slots. Whoohoo! I decided to blow five bucks. I figured it’d take me about 5 minutes to go through it.

It didn’t. I’d win 5 credits here, 10 there, an occasional 20. Oye, how and I supposed to leave if I keep getting this? I had more fun looking for older coins than I did plunking in the nickels. I have several 1964 nickels. Not even paying attention, I drop in a nickel (yes I was doing it one at a time) and next thing I know I won 800 credits. Whoohoo! So I left having made $35 bucks. I was excited. I had used a 5 dollar bill I didn’t even know I had had in the car so it was really cool all around. I had dinner which I couldn’t finish. Cooper did however and she was starving.

At this point I was tired but eh, I could go further on. So we drove and drove and drove. I kept looking at signs for hotels thinking should I? Should I stop now? But I was fine, at least I felt fine, so I continued to drive. Until I hit absolute zero. Cooper and I stopped at a rest stop in Beowaw (edit correct spelling) in Nevada. I went pee but Coops abstained. So about midnight we settled down to sleep. I had even taken off her harness.

I had set the iPod to play for 15 minutes and I must have fallen off to sleep in that fifteen minutes because it had stopped and Cooper was growling lowly. She was being a good guard dog. There were a few men who had pulled up one slot over from me and they were standing outside talking loudly. Cooper began to make noise when she thought they were getting too close to the car. I would like to make a note here, had I not had my Coops, I would have hit a hotel. But I had a locked door, pepper spray and a dog. I was ready.

And I remember at one point I shot up out of a mostly sound sleep when a truck moved past the car. It sounded like the side of the highway they rib so your car shudders and makes that horrible noise to wake you up. My first thought was I had fallen asleep while driving. Then I remembered where I was and then I tried to get some sleep. As I was unable to scoot or lean the seat back, it was not very comfortable. Had I known how uncomfortable, I would have stayed in a hotel. I didn’t sleep very well.

I had set the alarm for 7 AM PST. I was awake and gone by 6:30. I stopped at a gas station that had a burger king and I got two chicken biscuits. Cooper and I shared it. Mostly the chicken though she did have some the biscuits and then we were on the road. We hit Salt Lake City about lunch time. I had planned on heading north at Wells but it was odd so I decided to go for the safer route. We had Carl’s Jr. for lunch. I think I was hungrier than she was but she did like our sandwich (#16 no ranch)-yes, I share my food with her. But now that we are in our temporary home she has a bowl of her real food.

I had originally planned on stopping for the night in Pocatello ID. I was tired and I could get to bed early and then get a really early start and get into Yellowstone during the day. But when I hit Pocatellow, Idaho Falls wasn’t that far off. So I figured I’d stop there. I was told that Idaho Falls was only about an hour and a half from the west entrance of Yellowstone. It was slightly more than that. But I figured I could do that. And I thought I’d be able to get to the east entrance before the sun went down.

That was interesting. Unlike Yosemite, the roads are not as clearly marked as I would like so I had to stop, pull over, check the map and my surroundings to make sure I was on the right road. I looked at the map and realized I needed to go to West Thumb. Ok. So I saw a sign that said West Thumb, this way. So I went that way. But I am still paranoid so I had to check the map yet again. Finally I get to a sign that says East Enrance 28 miles. I figure, oh thank God, I should be there in about half hour 45 minutes. Yeah, right. Not when you have to go 25 MPH just to be safe. Did I mention by this time the only light was the light from my headlights? Although I did figure, at one point, I had to be going east because the lighter color sky was in my rearview window. I was right.

And just when I thought I’d never get there, I saw a sign that said, East Entrance. Oh thank god. I found the first set of apartments and Dennis (more about who he is later) showed me where I was living, helped me bring in some stuff, lent me his flashlight then went home to go to bed.

I am going to go and get the sticker for my car tomorrow and, since I have no food (only diet coke) I need to ask him where I can buy groceries.

One thing I noticed is that the gas in Idaho is expensive. More even than at home! And the gas in Wyoming? Even worse (at least from what I saw of it). Hopefully the town where I will be doing my shopping isn’t going to be charging me 4.15 for a gallon of gas. At prices like that, there is no way I’m going to be able to actually enjoy this marvelous place!

Anyway, it is 20 past midnight and I am tired, not a little hungry and my lips are severely chapped. I will have pictures to add once the batteries charge. Yeah, bed time.

Edit: We stopped at the Bonneville rest stop and cooper had fun running around on the salt. She was thirsty and at one point she tried to drink some of the water. Then she tried to spat it back out. A minute later she tried to drink it again. And she spat it right back out. I gave her some water when we got back into the car.

Oh, and on our way in we saw bison and moose. Exciting. I didn’t stop to take pictures though, I didn’t want to make any stops until I got here.

Edit: I had forgotten when I was in Idado a truck with what appeared to be O2 tanks in the back pulled up behind me, saw that I was from CA, moved into the passing lane and the old man (well, daddy’s age maybe) smiled and waved. I waved back. Ok. Either they’re really friendly in ID or they just thought it was cool I was from CA or they’re just a couple of Ychromosomes who saw a girl in a car from CA.

And this from today:

Friday, September 5, 2008 9:34 MST

Woke up when the phone rang for Gen about 7 this morning. Groan. I tried to go back to sleep but I have so many things to do. Took Coops out to go pee and she seemed really excited to be out in wilderness. Then we came back in, I put a few things away then I tried to go back to sleep. But there are so many things to do and I am so tired.

We just came back from a very short walk to get some pictures. We went across the road and I got a cramp in my leg, sonofabitch but those things hurt. So we just sat looking at a river and enjoyed the view. When my leg started to cooperate again Cooper and I came back, she peed again and now I am waiting for the pictures to upload. I think I am going to try and get some more sleep before I head up to the visitor’s center and talk to Dennis.

I have to admit though, as tired as I am, I am sure glad I decided to drive on through the night to get here. It was nice waking up in my own bed! At least for the time being. But still, it’s all mine! Ah, if only I had someone to share that bed with, it’s a full and it’s much larger than I am used to.

I read the housing information today and had I been living in a dorm or with a roommate I would not have been able to have her. But, because I have an apartment and I am flying solo I can have up to two pets. So if I suddenly adopt another dog (not something I am planning on doing) then I am still ok. But they have to be up on their shots for just about everything. I think she’s all up to date since she got everything in 2007, including parvo.

I think she likes it here and if I weren’t so tired and still in my jammies (yes, walking around in my jammies, we’d still be out there. Plenty of time to run amuck in the great outdoors.

11:18

Just finished loading pictures and making comments. Gen came over and we had a nice chat about stuff. I am still tired. I need to get over to the service station, talk to Dennis and head to Cody, Wy where I can buy gas and groceries. I have been told it only takes about an hour to get there and that it is a speed trap. I need to get the rest of the stuff from my car though.

Coops loves Gen so she must be a good person. :D


Not calculating 2 gas receipts, I spent $131.79 coming out here. Some of that was in cash. I think I started out with $120 in cash and right now I have $110. Nice, having won that $40 huh? That paid for 2 meals for coops and me. Now I need to get the rest of the stuff out of the car and make a list of things I need to buy. Groceries are important.

Have I mentioned that it’s cold? Hehe, quite chilly in fact.

13:56 MST

Just got my work keys, my schedule for this week and two badges (badges? We don’t need no stinking badges). I am probably going to be heading up to mammoth (where I was supposed to be working) to pick up my uniform, get my picture taken and do paper work. Hopefully Gen will have had her background check completed. Dennis (my boss) doesn’t want to send us up alone but wants to do it in go. And when we go, whoohoo! Government rig baby!

Here is my mailing address:
1 North Fork Highway
Cody, WY 82414

The phone to the entrance station:
1-307-587-2682

My number at home (which is shared by Gen and a third seasonal)
1-307-587-9875

I can’t call out unless I have a calling card, I am further in the park or in Cody, which is the closest town so please call me! I miss you and love you all.

So make sure and keep in touch. That phone is a party line so don't be surprised if someone answers it, just make sure to ask for me. Oh, now you want some pictures, doncha?? :D

Movin Right Along

So today is the day. I am waiting for mum's new mac to get here before I leave. And then It's bye bye. I will have internet only at the entrance station so I will be able to check up on my and the blog but unless I travel the 56 miles to the nearest town (yeah, that's for groceries too) I won't be able to do much more than that. And in order to have a signal on my phone I will have to go 20 miles. I love you all dearly but 20 miles is a distance just for a chat. There will be a community phone and in order to use that I will have to use a credit card (but do I love you this much?). I am assuming you can reach me there, I am not too sure.

On another note, there is a slight chance I might be able to bring my coops. I asked the Dennis (the guy who called me earlier) if this was going to be a no go and he asked a few people. Looks like some people do, in fact, have dogs here. So we shall see. He is going to make some calls to the housing manager and see if that's going to be ok. I am crossing my fingers tightly. I will edit this as I know more.

Edit: I just found out! I can bring Cooper! Oh happy day! I am so excited! This will make my trip somewhat longer since I will have to stop more often so she can pee and stuff but oh man. God loves me!

Edit: So as I was coming home last night, unbeknownst to mi mater but beknownst to me, my coops was avidly running up and down the stairs and to the front door about an hour before I got home. Mom was thinking that maybe something was outside. Nope, it appears as if my dog and I have a cosmic connection. How else can you account for the fact she knew her mommy was coming home and hour before her grammy did?

Oh, and thanks Mummy for letting me take your pink iPod to Yellowstone with me.

Finally!

So I finally got the email today saying that I am cleared to work. I am currently in merced visiting people. Which means I have to leave tonight, go home, finish getting the last of my stuff into the car (thank god I did most of it already) and head out tomorrow morning.

And I need to find the cable for my camera to my computer. Doesn't do me much good to have the camera and the computer and no cable. Oye.

And though I am gonna miss you guys I am so excited about leaving!