July 15-25

I know..I know...It's been 10 days since I've updated but honestly not a lot has happened!


Kourtney came out on July 17-21. It was a great trip and for those of you who are wondering, we managed to work out our differences! 5 months apart was probably one of the best things we ever needed!

She flew into Jackson, WY so we saw the Tetons and did most of the park stuff (Canyon, Lake, Old Faithful, the Falls, etc etc). We also went to Quake Lake and did the Sack Cabin near Island Park, Idaho. It really was a great trip! We also went to the West Yellowstone Rodeo...which was good as usual.

After that I've just been working....trying to get everything finished up for the summer.

Sorry this is short...but I've been extremely bored lately. It's cold and rainy today...so I'm just reading the new Harry Potter book!

Keep me in your prayers and ya'll shall be in mine!

Some Somber News

Getting back from Glacier Park.....we received a call from some friends at Old Faithful.

There was a man who worked in the kitchen at the Lodge as a server. His name was Don. Apparently, something in his motorcycle broke and he crashed into the Firehole River between Old Faithful and Madison on Thursday afternoon dying on impact.

It's been a rough few days with this. I got to know Don very well this summer and daily would go visit him at work just to hear his jokes and his stories. He attended law school, later working for the government in some sort of defense work...but after retirement he up and left.

This was his first summer working in the park. We never understood why Don had his jetski here, since you can't use it in the park. He also had a kayak that never seemed to move anywhere, as well as his truck. Don was famous around Old Faithful, though, for riding his motorcycle while still wearing his bright green work gloves.

I've never met a man as genuine as Don. He would always stop and talk to you or anyone! Many a time he got into the best conversations with passing tourists and you would find yourself talking to him for hours just to hear his stories and his jokes (Some were funny and some weren't). Don was the grandfather around here. One of the oldest employees working for Xanterra.....and everyone knew him...and everyone loved him. Being away from home it was nice having a "family member" there....a guy who, even though you weren't related, made you feel like his family.

The world lost a good one this week...a good man, a good friend, an amazing Christian.

Rest In Peace Don. We love you.

July 7-11 (with Glacier National Park!)

Nothing happened on July 7-10....I went to a rodeo and had some fun.

On the night of July 10th, Spencer and I left Old Faithful with some Colombians very late in the evening on our way to Glacier National Park. We took the wrong way there (through Missoula, MT) so it took us almost 12 hours to get there!

We camped at Apgar Campground (on the western side). I can't even begin to explain how beautiful of a park this is! The mountains are just phenomenal...the lakes are a pristine blue because of all the glacial water!

We drove to Kintla and Bowman Lakes on the western side and stopped at Polebridge Mercantile. It's this little backcountry store that had very expensive gas, but quite possibly the best baked goods I've EVER had!

These lakes were gorgeous and we had a run-in with a fox that was continually coming closer and closer. Did some nice little walks (no huge hikes because we didn't have enough time!)

There is this road called "Going To The Sun Road" that takes you across the continental divide and up through the most gorgeous mountains I've ever seen. Spencer and I stopped at Logan's Pass and hiked up the boardwalk to where we could play in the snow. This was cold, but a lot of fun! We saw Bighorn Sheeps, Mountain Goats, Deer, Marmots, etc etc. It was awesome!

We tried to make it into Canada, but apparently Colombians aren't allowed in Canada without a visa, so we had to fill out paperwork and sign things...our car got thoroughly searched (on both U.S.A. and Canadian side!)....so unfortunately we just barely stepped over the border into Alberta (Glacier N.P. stretches into Alberta to form Waterton International Peace Park!)

We saw some gorgeous lodges, swam/bathed in a glacial lake...and just really really enjoyed ourselves! I don't have a ton to type about it now, but I'm def going to be sure to put more as the days progress.

Keep me in your prayers and you'll be in mine!

July 3-6 (A few rough days!)

**Photo from the ride to Jackson, Wyoming! I love the Grand Tetons!**


Oh these last few days have been extremely eventful, some for the good and some for the bad.

On July 3rd, Spencer and I drove some Colombians, a Russian, and a Mongolian to Cody for what I thought would most likely be a fun day. Number 1, traffic sucked and it took us way too long to get there. Then, after way too long of a stay in WalMart, we walked around town and ate dinner at the local Pizza Hut. I thought that we could go to the Cody Rodeo and go swimming in Buffalo Bill Resevoir, but some people like to complain too much so we just came home. It was a waste of 5 hours of driving time.

On the 4th, we left and went to Jackson. The ride down didn't take terribly long and this time the car wasn't too full. We had a car full of Colombians again. They'd never experienced 4th of July so we thought we'd show them a good time. Jackson was nice for the day. We did some shopping (but it was extremely hot and uncomfortable to walk in) and then ate some dinner at Wendy's. We met up with other Xanterra employees while we were there and then decided to go to the Jackson Rodeo. It was a great rodeo! Standing room only because it was so packed, but fun nonetheless. We also were able to watch the fireworks from the rodeo grounds as the shot them off from the base of Snowking Ski/Recreation area. The fireworks lit the hillside on fire b/c it's soooo dry here.

Well, on the way back I got pulled over for swerving off the road and speeding. B/c I was tired and it made my eyes bloodshot, the officer asked me what I had to drink. When I said nothing, he then asked what drugs I had smoked that night. Again...none. Well, he didn't buy my story so I ended up on the side of the road in Grand Teton National Park at 2:30 in the morning standing on one foot, walking a straight line, following a pen with my eyes, and blowing a breathalizer (which I blew 0.00 if you need to know). It seems all my coworkers passed me in cars while I'm doing this, so many people had questions when I returned.

Well, we got back to find that 4 of our Colombian friends had never made it to Jackson. They tried to hitchike and got stuck at Flagg Ranch. Spencer and I stayed up all night with security and on the phone with operators trying to trace phone numbers and see where exactly they were at (to top it off, one of the girls left a bag of food for 5 weeks on her floor and there were hundreds of maggots crawling all over her floor, so we had to vacuum that). Well, just when we were about to get on the road to starting searching the area for them, they showed back up (having gotten to Jackson at 1 am and hitchiking another ride home).

At this point, we finally went to sleep to be awakened in the morning to find out that the security guard had messed up the messages to the National Park Service. Spencer and I were reported as missing persons throughout Yellowstone National Park. We spent the next 2 hours in meetings with supervisors trying to explain to them that we weren't missing and what exactly had happened.

Well, I eventually had to work that night...the vacuums weren't working and everything was so busy. So I couldn't vacuum and I awoke this morning to my boss pounding on my door to yell at me (She's mean, I don't care for her). But, after our talk and her realizing it's not my fault, she starts placing the blame on everyone else and pretty much badmouthing everyone else we work with. Blah. That sucked...so now I have to come in at 8 am tomorrow and work till noon. Then back at 6 pm to do my normal shift.

After that work fiasco, I took Colombians to Firehole River to swim b/c it was one of their birthdays and she wanted to. It was fun, but really warm!

That's all. Tired of typing. Keep me in your prayers and you'll be in mine!

June 30th-July 2nd

~The picture shown is the landslide caused in 1959 by a 7.3 Richter Scale earthquake...killing 28 people and damming up the Madison River to form 'Quake Lake~

Wow is it crazily busy around here! I have never seen so many people in this area all summer. It's 4th of July week, which is pretty much the busiest week we have all summer! There's huge 40 ft. RV's parked all over the place (even in the parking lot for our dorm...taking up almost 1/2 of our employee parking spaces!)

I can't believe how fast this summer is going. I mean, it's half over for me. I've been here for 7 weeks, and I have 5-6 weeks left (I'm not exactly sure...I leave the first week of August). I still have so much stuff I want to see! I've been making it a point to do some of that stuff. I've been rafting twice and to a few rodeos so far (with 2 more this week). I still want to go horseback riding, but need to find time to do it (maybe when Kourtney comes out on the 17th!)

I've been a little homesick lately, mostly because KidsFest is starting at OHC this week and it's the first time in 6 years I haven't had something to do with it. It's kinda sad, but my mom is volunteering and my cousin Kayla is going to be a first time camper...so there are still St. Esprit's involved!

I have the next 2 days off luckily, so Spencer and I are taking some Colombians out to show them the surrounding towns (plus I'm in desperate need of a Wal-Mart run for drinks, chips, and some computer stuff).

Honestly...not a lot has been going on. Today I hiked along Nez Perce Creek and climbed this huge hill....at the top of the hill I climbed a rock face and sat on this rock ledge high above the other hills and just was looking at mountains in 360 degrees all around me. It was a gorgeous view...I took some time up there and just did some praying. I mean, I've been granted so many good things in life and I take them all for granted....not realizing they could easily be taken away from me...so I took some time and really just thanked God for all He's given me these past 2 months being out here.

Just so everyone knows, I can receive calls and texts, so those are always appreciated! HAHA

Love you all. Keep me in your prayers and you shall all be in mine!