June 7-10

More and more work...it's all I've been doing lately! I've had no time for hikes, fishing, or anything....totally not fun! I've been stressing out about it and not enjoying it...so I changed positions.

I gave up the shift manager position in order to be a Night Porter. I work at 6 pm cleaning the Old Faithful Lodge. Most nights I'll be done by 11 (but can stay clocked in until 2!), which is nice because my friends aren't done at work until 10 so noone hangs out until later!

I turned in my volunteer application for the National Park Service and am just waiting to hear something back! I really hope they take me as a volunteer. I mean, as a recreation major there is so many benefits that can come out of having that I volunteered with the National Park Service on my resume (more so than saying "I managed a bake shop and ice cream parlor" haha).

My dad comes out in 6 days...I cannot wait! I have 3 days off with just him and then a few off with him, Megan, and my mom! I cannot wait to see them! It'll have been over a month and I miss them so much! Too bad Shane can't come out, I really wish he could. It was great driving cross country with him and I think he might be driving me home too (there's a battle raging on that one, so I'd rather not make any false promises!)

Apparently there's been a lot of bear sightings lately, but I have not yet managed to see a grizzly! That is my ultimate goal and I really really am hoping that I get to see at least 1! That and wolves! Last night Charlie, Jefferson, and myself went hiking around sunset and we hear a pack of coyotes on the way back that were howling...which was totally awesome! I've never heard that!

We got a new girl in the bake shop who is completely horrible. She has Tourrets (or however u spell it) and will just randomly twitch and swear. I feel bad...but it's bothersome. She told customers her dad thinks she's a lesbian and called our boss a prick to his face....she salutes me and screams all the time. I dunno what to do!!

Gotta go now though...sry no picture! I haven't taken any good ones lately!

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

June 5-6 (My Two Days Off!)

So I've had my 2 days off recently....which I must say I enjoyed immensely! I mostly just sat around, did some laundry, cleaned some stuff, bought my fishing license, some books and bought some fishing flies because I planned on going fishing today (6th).

Last night Matt, Spencer, Wade, Kenny, and myself went down to Grand Tetons National Park and soaked in some hot springs near Flagg Staff Ranch (I think thats what it is called!) The mosquitoes were crazy and I have bites all over my legs, face, and arms...but it was really cool to soak in a river that is 105 degrees all year long.

Then we drove to some lake on a big back road, ended up getting back to Old Faithful pretty late...ordered some food from the Pub and then just went to bed early.

Today, I just did a few loads of laundry, interviewed with the manager about doing another position (housekeeping night porter in the Old Faithful Lodge making more money with better hours...I might do it!)

Here I am now on the internet....just surfing around sitting with my friend Dan. Gonna go fishing tonight...except they're calling for 7-10 inches of snow tonight, so we'll see how that goes! Haha. Well, I don't have much else to say..just relaxing and enjoying my time!

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

June 4

Today, I had to work from 6:15 until about 2:30...but I decided to take a 45 min lunch break and walk in a few circles while I was still on the clock. I worked with Marco from Serbia and Sergio from Colombia.....which kinda sucks because 1. They don't know what they're doing and screw up orders and 2. They don't speak english well so I basically didn't utter a word for almost 8 hours.

After that, I decided it best to hike to Fairy Falls. I didn't do the whole loop as it's like 20+ miles, but I did the 2.6 mile hike out to the falls. It was a gorgeous hike through some regenerating lodgepole pine forests (naturally reseeded after the 1988 Yellowstone Fires that burned over 40% of the park!) and crosses a couple streams until you finally hear the mighty sound of rushing water.

This waterfall seemed to be over 100 feet high and just cascaded down into this huge pool at the bottom before eventually flowing off again into another part of the Lower Geyser Basin. I just took a few minutes to walk up right next to the falls where you could feel the wind and moisture rushing off of the waterfall. The water was really cold and the pool it fell into was full of some really slimy algae (I don't really know exactly what it was).

Then I took the opportunity to sit on some fallen logs over the stream and just take some time to myself. I saw some marmots, 3 cow elk, some chipmunks, and some sort of falcon that was flying overhead while screaching. So that was def. a good time.

The elk actually stepped into the trail on the way back and wouldn't move until I got to within about 10 yards of them. Then they casually trotted away like there was really nothing there. Thats why I love this place! There is so much wildlife, so many waterfalls, thermal pools, geysers, etc (but there also is so many people which I don't necessarily enjoy all that much).kk

I'm really enjoying my time out here for those that are wondering (if you can't already tell by just reading my blog! I mean, after I got done with the hike I took a quick nap, ordered some food from the Pub and then I stayed up until 3 am just talking with my friends. It was just a good time and I enjoy nights of just getting to know more people and just sharing a few laughs. It's been so long since I've had the opportunity to just sit and laugh with people without a care in the world...b/c I know we'll get to do it again the next day and the day after that so we're in no rush.

Life is kind of in it's own little dimension out here. We, as employees living in the park, realize that we have 3 or more months to explore the park and that we also have to work...so we do things on a slower pace. We don't have a week to rush and see everything, so we take a lot of time to just stop and enjoy the views around us...to enjoy the people, the places, and the things that make Yellowstone special.

I have the 5th and the 6th off, so I'm looking forward to fishing and stuff. You'll be hearing from me.

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

June 2-3, 2007

HA, I'm sorry to report but there has not been anything big to happen these past 2 days! Again, I've been sick (stomach flu is still going around)...but I've just been hanging out w/ people and working a ton! I'm trying to learn how to do all the cool things that Shift Supervisors get to do.

Today, Matt, Ingrid, Jess, Tanner, and myself tried to go swimming at the Firehole River, but it was closed so we just drove around and listened to music. Tanner was a little bit "over-indulged" in alcohol and decided to scream at tourists (Tourons) out the window that "It's just elk.....get back in your cars!" because there were people all over the road and stopping traffic.

So, otherwise...I work from 6:15-3 tomorrow (my first official day as Shift Supervisor) and then I have 2 days off so I am going to do some fishing and some hiking by myself! I cannot wait!!!! It is going to feel so good for 2 days to just do whatever I want!!!

Well, I don't really know what else to update....so for now, keep me in your prayers and you'll be in mine!

Good News!!!

Today, while working at the Bake Shop from 1:30-7:30, I was offered to be a shift supervisor! It's a pay raise and I get to do all the things managers get to do and some other cool stuff....so yea, I'm very happy!!!

May 29-June 1

I felt like I should probably update something...but honestly nothing big has happened lately. For the past few days, I've actually been sick so I haven't done any hiking (I know, it's killing me too!). I've spent most of my time hanging out with the Colombians as more and more arrive everyday. I find myself now picking up more and more phrases. Where as before they spoke too fast for me to understand, I am now able to hear certain words and roots of words (many of which are the same in English and French, which I took 5 years), so I can get a general understanding of what they are saying.

We've been hanging out at the Employee Pub a lot, which is fun. Payday was this wednesday, so everyone cashed their checks and went there to drink. It was really busy and very funny to watch all my bosses get totally wasted.

I went to Gardiner with Julio and Monica (both from Bogata, Colombia) the other day because he had to pick up things from his friend who is working for Xanterra up there right outside of the park. It was kind of a boring drive as they kept speaking Spanish, so I just listened to music and enjoyed the views. Saw some nice bull elk with massive 6x6 antlers, as well as plenty of bison. We passed a coyote den where the pups were playing outside, but I didn't manage to see them. There were about 150 photographers lined up, so I stopped to ask a Park Ranger what it was.

The weather has finally seemed to turn warm. For a while, it was snowing and raining but the past couple days have just been beautiful. Today there is not a cloud in the sky and it's in the mid-70's. I finally had another sweatshirt sent out, so I have something to wear when it is cold. I would really appreciate all the mail you can send! You can find the address on YellowstoneJobs.com.

Anywho, thats all for now! I have errands to run and work 1:30-8:30 today in the Bake Shop. I still need to get a fishing license and get my car registered...as well as do laundry so I'm a pretty busy guy!

I love you all! Keep my in your prayers and you'll be in mine!

May 28th!

Today was yet another great day in Yellowstone. Besides the fact that I had to work from 6:30 until noon (and my boss, Merlin, is an idiot and is mean for no reason and has no clue what he’s doing), it was an amazing day.

After I got off work, I met up with Spencer while he was on his lunch break and then I picked up Maria-Paula and off we went to explore Yellowstone. She doesn’t have a car, so I drove her around. We started off the day by going to Canyon and checking out the Lower Yellowstone Falls from Inspiration Point and Artists Point. These are great places to see a truly amazing and spectacular waterfall. It’s so huge and the canyon is just full of these yellow and red rocks that have been dyed by the chemicals inside of the thermal features that line the canyon walls.

We then moved onto the Upper Falls near the “Brink of the Upper Falls” region and took some good pictures. We saw an amazing rainbow coming in off of the mist. It was a great time there!

Then we decided that, instead of just going back, we were going to finish up the Grand Loop so I decided to take her down the east side of the park towards Lake (where Nydia, Spencer, Nate, and myself were yesterday). We ate dinner at Lake Hotel then walked down to the lake to take some pictures together.

Then we continued to drive onto home. I mean, there wasn’t a ton that went on today but it was just an awesome day. Later on, the Colombians are teaching me to dance Boganato (no clue how to spell that???) and how to correctly drink Tequila. HaHaHaHa, I really love these kids. They’re so much fun.

It was amazing that out of 6 hours spend with Maria-Paula today, we only have probably 3 minutes of silence the whole trip. We talked about everything and she’s just really cool to talk to. She’s definitely a good friend and I’m going to enjoy getting to know her (and all the Colombians!) throughout the whole summer.

I can’t even explain the talks we had today….but they ranged from poverty in Colombia and Americans trying to help, to September 11th, to a range of other things. It was just a great day! I’m looking forward to so many more good times with all the awesome people I’ve met.

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

More and More Updates!

May 27th, 2007

Today I had to call off work because I was sick (ok, so maybe I partied a little too hard with my Colombian friends the night before)! It felt really good to finally be able to sleep in and not have to worry about working from 6:30-11:30. I mean, the shift isn’t bad at all. It’s only 5 hours, but my boss, Merlin, has been an idiot lately and just sits there and makes fun of the other employees behind their backs and I don’t find that really cool. I believe if you have a problem you need to tell the person to their face instead of just making fun of them.
But, today Spencer, Nate, Nydia, and myself did the Mystic Falls hike. It had just opened in the past couple of days, so everyone here has been really excited to do it. This hike is a 4-mile loop trail back through the Biscuit Basin, a little north of Old Faithful area on the Grand Loop.
The trail starts out on boardwalk and then cuts off on a trail to continue the loop. You can take one of two ways. The first takes you up a steep switchback trail to an observation point. We made sure that we took a ton of pictures up there and threw some rocks off of the cliff and watched them shatter when they hit the ground.
We then continued on through a regenerated lodgepole pine forest (a majority of the forests in the park were destroyed in 1988 by a fire that burned throughout most of the park. This fire was started mainly by lightning, but also by careless campers) until finally descending down upon Mystic Falls. It was awesome to see a big waterfall that also had thermal features popping up all around it. We took the opportunity to take pictures and continued on to a point where we could just go sit by the creek for a little while and talk.
After our hike, we went back and grabbed lunch at the Geyser Grill (like our form of McDonald’s at the Old Faithful area), filled up on gas, and then continued on down to Yellowstone Lake, Lake Area, and Fishing Bridge. We were really just scoping out the area and took a short walk down along a volcanic sandbar that jutted out into the lake. The water was very very cold, although I am still going to go swimming someday just to say I did it (like I did 6 years ago when I was here last).
Got back from our journey to the lake, Nydia had to go to work so I took a nap. I missed a meeting that I had to attend, but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Then I went and played pool at the Pub for a couple hours with Julio, Spencer, Matt, and a kid named Thomas from Washington. I also met 2 more Colombian’s. Their names are Camillo and Ana. They, much like the rest of them, are from Bogotá (which is the capital of Colombia). They invited me over tomorrow night for Tequila and Salsa dancing, which should be fun. They don’t work for Xanterra; they work for Delaware North, which is the company that runs the Yellowstone General Stores.
After that, I walked back with Julio and hung out with him, Jefferson, and Sebastian for a little bit. Then I sat in the break room and talked with Crystal, Jessica, Ben, and some others for a while. Now here I am! Tired as hell, but tomorrow should be a great day!

Keep me in your prayers and you’ll all be in mine! God bless!

May 25-26

I just managed to get a few minutes to come online and I decided to bring noone else with me so this way I can just surf the internet for a little bit and get a dose of some technology.

Pretty much nothing big has happened since you last heard from me. It's been very cold and snowy these past few days, so I have spent a lot of time just hanging out with friends. I've made a ton of them and, honestly (and not to piss off anyone at home!!) they're becoming some of the best friends that I ever have met! It's awesome to have met people from all over the world. I've made friends from Poland, France, Jamaica, Latvia, Ukraine, Moldova (???), and especially Colombia.

Let me tell you all something about these kids from Colombia. I have been hanging out with these kids so and we all go to the pub together and spend, pretty much, every waking minute together. The ones I am closest too are named Jefferson, Carlos, Julio, Sebastian, Diana, Catalina, Nydia, and Maria-Paula.

I took them out the other night for a midnight snowball fight on the continental divide...but mostly we just sit and talk. I've been learning many Spanish phrases and I like it. I think it's funny.

For those who are wondering...yes, I have met a girl. Her name is Maria-Paula. Most nights we just sit up talking until about 4 am (which sucks when I have to be up at 6 am most mornings for work), but, even with the culture barrier, I have never met someone that is so similar to me. We are both practicing Christians, we like a lot of the same music and activities...it's just been really funny. I know that in 3 months I'll come back to Pittsburgh and she'll go back to Colombia but for now it's really nice to be able to just sit and talk with someone without a care in the world.

On Monday, Maria-Paula and I are going out and I'm going to show her parts of the park (like the Lower Falls and Inspiration Point) because she doesn't have a car here. We're also going to go out to dinner at one of the restaurants at Canyon, which I am really looking forward to!

It's also cool that all the Colombians are really really good dancers (when I say dance I don't mean like bumping and grinding, I mean like Dirty Dancing Havana Nights type of dancing)! Last night they threw some Colombian music on the stereo and just started dancing. I, unfortunately, did not because it was late and I was tired...but Maria-Paula said it is her goal this summer to teach me to dance. And I like that :-) (Maybe I can show you some skills when I get back)

Other than that, I've just been working. Xanterra offered me an internship next summer organizing recreation programs and there is also a chance of me being promoted to shift supervisor pretty soon. My bosses are all really cool...I was actually partying with 2 of them the other night. They are pretty crazy!

I'm really enjoying myself and am having the time of my life! I cannot think of a better way to spend my summer. I do miss all of you, but to be able to live this dream and to live with such amazing people...it is prob. one of the most amazing feelings I have ever felt. I feel free and, for one of the first times in my life, entirely happy (although tired from all the work!!!!)

I am learning so much about myself and who I am as a person. I am becoming a stronger person both mentally and physically. I have energy, I have a purpose, and I cannot think of a better way to spend the next 3 months of my life. I love meeting new people, jamming on the guitar, going hiking, watching geysers go off, and just hanging out with awesome friends.

Even though we've only known each other for 1 1/2 weeks, it feels like a lifetime. To live, work, eat, sleep, and play with these people...you get to know them like they are your family. Their problems are yours and you share so much. I love this.

As always, keep me in your prayers and you shall be in mine!

More and More Updates! (May 24, 2007)

May 19-21

Oh the days are definitely still crazy in Yellowstone. Xanterra has all of us working crazy hours that I’m really not excited about. It’s about 55-60 hours a week of standing in an ice cream shop with half of the machines being broken, so customers aren’t really all that happy, but it’s not prime tourist season yet so it’s been pretty slow.
We are still doing a ton of hiking and the other night Matt, Jessica, Ingrid, and myself went to West Yellowstone for the night. This is kind of a drab down right outside the West Gate to Yellowstone in Montana. It seemed to have about a thousand hotels and gas stations and not much else, but we did manage to make it to a few stores before they all closed. I had to get some much needed supplied since pretty much everything that Xanterra and Yellowstone General Stores sells is about 3 times the price as at home (Gas is about $3.40).
Yesterday, Matt, Jessica, Tanner, and myself took it upon ourselves (since we got out of work early due to a broken ice cream machine) to do the Ice Lake/Wolf Lake loop hike. The bugs were crazy around the lake and (after a few wrong turns) we emerged on top of the hill above Ice Lake only to be blasted by a hail/snow storm that lasted for the next 25 minutes. Needless to say, none of us had any rain gear with us.
After a little more hill climbing and fording some rivers, we came to Lower Gibbon Falls. Set below regenerating Lodgepole Pine forests, this set of falls is big and loud. I swear it seemed to be at least 70-80 foot down. We continued to hike down to a meadow where we came across 3 elk, a swamp (I had tennis shoes on and not my Gore-Tex boots so my feet got wet), and 2 of the biggest bison I’ve ever seen in my life. Quickly after this the hike was over, but this wonderful 4.2-mile hike is definitely worth an afternoon, even with all the bugs!
Today (May 21), Matt, Jessica, and myself all had the day off together, so we took it as a great opportunity to do some hiking! We started out the day at Old Faithful visitor center to ask the ranger where to go and finally decided to hike the Slough (pronounced “slew”) Creek Trail through the Lamar Valley in the northeast part of the park. Our timing was not the greatest and the first 2 1/2 miles of the hike were spent on a road trying to get to the trailhead (due to wolf activity they’re trying to keep automobile traffic down in the area). After finally getting to the trailhead, we began a quick 500 foot climb to the top of the mountain (not sure exactly what it was called), but after this climb we descended down into the valley that has Slough Creek running through it.
It’s hard to see the creek while coming down through the woods, but after hitting the valley floor we were quickly in awe at the mountains surrounding us and the meadows and river valley that we would spend the next few hours hiking in. Continuing on the trail, we came across a huge bison sitting along the trail chewing on his cud in close proximity to the backcountry ranger cabins. We decided this was worth a picture because of the size of this monster.
We also came across a dead fox with a radio collar on it, but we didn’t know what to do about a carcass with a radio collar so we left it be for the backcountry rangers to find. We hiked a little past the 5 Km. sign and then, after looking through my field guide to find out what certain wildflowers and varmint were that we were seeing, took the hike back to the car. 12 miles after leaving the car, we were back…tired…but still doing extremely well after a wonderful day of hiking through Lamar Valley. I definitely recommend this hike to anyone looking for a nice 3-4 hour hike.
All in all, we saw tons of elk and bison, 4 black bear (a sow & 2 cubs and then an additional one just walking down the road), a pronghorn antelope, some ground squirrels, some sort of hawk catching some thermals on the mountains above Slough Creek, and people were watching the Lamar wolf dens, but we couldn’t see any of these. It was an awesome day, but I definitely am so tired and ready for bed.
It’s tough working 10-hour days and then hiking 3-4 miles every day and then, on my day off, doing a 12-mile hike…but living in Yellowstone you have to take advantage of the opportunities that surround you. You have to take advantage of all that you are offered because not many people can say that they have had the chance to live in the world’s first national park for 3 months. As always, keep me in your prayers and you’ll be in mine!

May 22-24, 2007

Well it’s been another few crazy days here! I finally started working at the Bakery, which has me getting up at 6 am and working 6:30 until 1 pm. It’s not a bad shift, although we’re really busy with all the tourists wanting some sort of breakfast. But I can’t complain. There is talk of me being able to take on a supervisor position. My supervisor is going to recommend to his boss that I become a supervisor because of my experience, hard work, and positive attitude. That would be great! It’d be a pay raise and some more responsibility.
On the 22nd, Matt, Ingrid, myself (and eventually Tanner) decided to hike the Delacy Creek Trail to Shoshone Lake. This is a nice 6-mile hike down through a lodgepole forest that eventually opens up onto a meadow with Delacy Creek winding its way down through until eventually pouring out into Shoshone Lake. The hike was fun…but was made harder by the fact that it had been snowing all day. We received 4 inches of snow that day and it was so freezing cold! We didn’t really get a chance to see a ton of wildlife on this hike (I think all we saw was a quail), but the scenery was great. It was made even better by the snow falling all around us.
I’m tired. That’s logging 22-miles worth of hiking and 20 hours of working over the past 3 days. I am so dead tired, but I must say that I find myself having way more energy than I have ever had. I’m just so awake and ready to face the world. I’ve definitely been getting in shape and find myself being able to do a lot of things that before would have caused me to tire out quickly. I really enjoy being able to get out. Fishing season opens on the 26th, so I cannot wait to get out with my friends!
More and more workers are arriving every single day. I met a kid who goes to Grove City College today and is working doing ministry in the national parks. He seems pretty cool. There are definitely a ton of Colombians working with us and I’ve managed to become pretty good friends with a group of them. We hang out pretty much every night and last night we went out really late and had a snowball fight on the continental divide. They don’t really get a chance to go out because none of them have cars here and they work all the time. They are so cool and they are teaching me some general Spanish so that I can get by with simple phrases.
It’s funny to watch all the drama playing itself out here. People hooking up everywhere, little relationships coming and going, etc. You all know how it goes. I’m trying to stay out of it, but I can’t lie. I’ve met some really awesome people and some people I really enjoy hanging out with.
My family comes out in the middle of June and I cannot wait to see them! I’ve seen so much stuff already that I cannot wait for them to see. It’s a totally different feel to live in the park than it is to just visit like we did 6 years ago. We get to see all the places the tourists never have a chance to see.
I’m in the process of filling out an application for volunteering with the National Park Service to do security and stuff around the geysers. That’d be really cool because eventually it’d be nice to work for them for a while.
I must say that coming out here was the best decision I ever made. It’s hard work but it is definitely paying off. I can’t imagine a better way to spend my summer or better people to be spending the next 3 months with.
I can receive calls and texts (no photo texts though) so I really would appreciate hearing from you all! It’s a 2-hour time difference (I’m 2 hours behind you all), so make sure you account for that!
I’m really sick of seeing bison, but the bison traffic jams are starting already (though the park service says the numbers are really low for this time of year). I’ve seen a ton of elk still every single day (yet another animal I’m sick of seeing). It’s my goal to see wolves, grizzly bears, and some moose (saw some 6 years ago, but I love seeing them so I want to see more). It’s awesome to see such huge animals just roaming free and living in their natural environment.
One thought that constantly bothers me, though, is the same idea I wrote my H.S. Senior Paper on. Tourists are loving the National Parks to death. Look to the right on this page and you see Morning Glory Pool. Brilliant colors…but barely noticeable anymore. Thanks to the millions of tourists that see this thermal feature every year and decide to throw a ‘lucky penny” or other garbage into it, the NPS has now issued a sign at the pool that says “Fading Glory”. The colors are no longer as strong, which is this way in many of the other pools all over the area.
Geysers have been stopped due to trash being thrown into the hole and many animals have been hit by cars speeding throughout the park, especially at night. I understand that people are enjoying the chance to see a vast “wilderness”, but with the millions of visitors that come every year, I believe Yellowstone is becoming a tourist trap. It’s no longer about preservation/conservation, but it’s about how people can make the most money. Everything here is extremely expensive and there are people everywhere. It’s good to see people enjoying the outdoors, but also sad to see what this landscape has become.
A question to ponder: Should the National Park Service put a cap on how many people are allowed in certain national parks throughout the year?

Once again, keep me in your prayers and you all shall be in mine. I love you all.