Snow Snow Snow

The snow has started falling once again! It's the middle of June and the snow is coming down. We got 2 inches yesterday, another 2 overnight...and now it's still coming down. I had 4 inches of snow on my truck this morning that I had to get off with a broom because I didn't expect this weather so I didn't bring any sort of scraper for my car.....as well as I didn't bring any sort of warm clothes. A few hoodies because I thought that it would be in the 40's at night...but not the 20's during the daytime.

My time is going okay for those that are wondering. I'm just sick of the weather. Normally I like snow when the ski resorts are open, but they're not open here and now it's basically like I've been in winter since November...and I'll be getting it all summer. So yea, it's a downer a little bit! But still, I love the Yellowstone area.

I drove to Norris Geyser Basin yesterday to look at some hot springs. It was a snowy ride and then on the way home, the skies opened up to a deep deep blue and I captured a picture of this bison grazing through the snow with the blue sky in the background. It was on my phone, so that's why it is blurry.

Also, here is the picture of the herd of 14 Bighorn rams that I told you about!

June 3-10

It has been a very snowy time here in the Greater Yellowstone region still. We hit a season high of 59 degrees, but then very quickly the snow rolled back in. Two days ago we experienced 4 hours of white out conditions and the roads in Yellowstone National Park were shut down. We’ve had avalanches all over the place and two of the entrances from the park are closed.

In the Gallatin National Forest, things have still been slow. They are speculating that the gas prices (currently $4.19) are keeping the tourists away, the first time in the history of the area. I am starting to get busy planning my program for the summer, doing a campfire program on Ghosts of the Greater Yellowstone Area and my supervisor is starting to get excited. I have another interpretive ranger who is very anxious to help me out with this program. At times, she seems more excited than I am about this program but it is great to see the enthusiasm.

I have started having trouble with one of my co-workers. I work a schedule that is four 10-hour days, with three days off. Out of my four days working, I work three of them with an older woman who has been there for a while. She, for some reason unknown to me, immediately took to not liking me and has made it known. She yells at me for stuff I have not even done, as well as acts like she is my boss when she clearly is not. I am respecting her because, yes, she has been there for a few seasons and she is an elderly woman. I have not, though, enjoyed being yelled at and put down and have recently requested a meeting with my supervisor in order to discuss the problems that have been arising between this co-worker and me. She sleeps on the job and then complains when I’m just sitting there, even though with the Visitors Center being this slow there really is not much that we can do. She also makes racial comments about people when they come into the Visitors Center, loud enough for other people to hear, and yells at children when they are not doing anything wrong. I feel like she should talk to the children’s parents first because most of the times the parents are standing right near their children.

Other than this, I am having a good time. The other people who are on fire crews, biologists, and wilderness rangers are really nice and we all hang out a lot. We went to a barbeque the other night at the Fire Boss’s house, which was nice because, as a certified Wildland Firefighter, it helped me get a foot into the door as far as getting to know him and hopefully being able to land a job next summer on a fire crew.

We have still yet to get paid. The Forest Service is changing around banks and it is messing up the whole process. I have filled out all the paperwork and am just waiting to watch the check appear in my bank account. They prefer doing direct deposit, which I normally do not like, but I didn’t want to cause a problem and request a check. It has been 4 weeks without getting paid and everyone is starting to get very frustrated with this.

Hopefully it will soon come and everyone can relax a little bit. My co-workers seem to be in a worse state then me because I worked my tail off before I came here so I would have a good buffer to use. I realized it would probably be a while before I would get paid my first paycheck.

Yesterday I saw a herd of Bighorn Sheep rams standing on the back haunches and butting heads just like on the Discovery Channel! There were 14 of them and I got pictures which I hope to post soon!

Well, keep me in your prayers and you'll all be in mine!

May 28-June 2

It's been a  busy week out here in West Yellowstone, MT...although I can't exactly say that the weather has been cooperating the way that we really want it to. I've still be out at the VC ALOT, but it's going a little better. 

Jeff Bowen, Craig's dad, is here now and that completes the staff of the VC for the summer. I've met a lot of nice people who are doing Fire Crews, Fisheries Biology, Wildlife Biology, and Noxious Weed Eradication. There's a ton of people to meet, but it really seems like they all have the same days off and I just kinda sit around on my days off cause I'm the only one.

Spencer is hopefully gonna start getting Tues/Wed off, which would be nice cause there is just so much stuff I wanna see. I can't wait to start helping out of my days off though with Fire camps, biology stuff, etc...in order to gain more experience in the US Forest Service. Maybe I could get a position back home in the Allegheny National Forest up near my cabin! That would be totally awesome!

Today we had District Orientation, so I got to meet all the Big Whigs of the Hebgen Lake Ranger District and some people from the Bozeman Ranger District...

Speaking of Bozeman, I got to go there the other day to pick up Spencer's girlfriend and while I was there I toured around Montana State University for a while. That campus is soooo nice. Such a nice area....I mean, it can't hurt to look at schools for possible Grad. School, can it?

There is still 1 wolf left in our area and the bison are slowly moving back into the park. There is a protest group that is against the hazing/slaughtering of the bison (even though some of them carry Brucellosis, which is like Mad Cow)..and they've been following Forest Service employees and questioning them, stuffing gate locks with feces and barbed wire....they're pretty radical.

Thats about it for now!

I have tomorrow (Wed 6/4) off and Thurs/Fri (6/5-6/6) I'm up in Big Sky, MT (yes, like the ski resort) for First Aid/CPR, Defensive Driving, and AGLEARN Training....so I'll be around!!!

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

May 22-27

**Here's a picture of the lone wolf that broke off from the pack and has been seen along Rt. 287 along the north shore of Hebgen Lake around Red Canyon Road**

Soooo.....it's very very hard for me to get onto the internet here so for those that are keeping an update on what I've been doing, I'm sorry. Basically, I've just been working a lot! We finally got the Visitor Center open and have been busier than we expected. The weather has been cold and rain/snowy...so it drove people out of Yellowstone and to our Visitors Center.

But...because of the fact that we don't have any water because of a pipe breaking, we've been waiving the $3.00 entrance fee. Every 1/2 hour we play a movie at the VC called "Forces of Nature". I am so freaking sick of listening to that movie. I pretty much can quote it word for word by now.

Talked to my dad today about the trip him and my brother are planning in July and I'm soooo excited for them to come out!!! We're gonna fish and backpack and go to the rodeo and all this great stuff! I'm going to be able to take off Monday-Friday, so I'm gonna get 5 days with them and I am just so so excited!

We've been seeing the wolf a lot lately that broke off from one of the packs in the park. Apparently there are two, but Chad (our Law Enforcement guy) killed one today by shooting it in the head because it was getting way to friendly with tourists. Also, a moose near the VC had a baby, so tonight Craig and I are going to go look for it. We gotta be careful though cause moose cows are extremely protective of their babies.

I have 3 days off this week, which is nice. And for those that care, I got paid double time on Memorial Day..which came out to $25.46 an hour! Then next week on my days off I have training in Big Sky, MT (yes, like the ski resort) which I'll be getting paid time and a half, so thats like $17.00 an hour! I'm so excited to actually be making some money compared to last summer which actually cost money.

The bunk house is filling up with people..mainly fire crews, but also backcountry rangers and wildlife biology folks. One of the Fire Crew people goes to Slippery Rock University with me! I think that's so crazy. He's a freshman from Warren, PA. I've never met him at school, but he really is a nice guy.

Thats about it for now! Keep me in your prayers and you'll be in mine!

Cold and Snowy!!

First week down at the Visitors Center....and, personally, it hasn't been that exciting. The center doesn't open until Saturday, so up until this point it has mainly just been cleaning and getting things ready to open up. The weather was good for a few days, but as I sit here now at the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce, where I get internet, the snow is starting to fall again and they're talking about closing some of the roads in the upper elevations. But it's pretty. I never got to enjoy snow like this out here last summer. THis snows are starting to melt all over the park, but there's still many spots where the whole ground is covered in 6-8 feet of snow.

I really like most of the people I work with. There are a few older people that I don't exactly care for...but I like most of them. We've been going out to the bars and hanging out. I'm still adjusting to the time change, altitude change, and general schedule change so I've been pretty tired all week, but it's starting to get easier.

Went back to the John Sack Cabin in the Targhee National Forest in Idaho the other night. I saw some massive trout. They're spawning, so I sat and watched them jump up some waterfalls. The females were fanning their tails getting their gravel nests ready for the eggs and the males were spawning. I thought it was sooo interesting.

Seen a lot of good wildlife. Yesterday we took a hike around Refuge Point. Thats a high point of ground where people staying in the Madison Valley ran up to when the slide hit after the earthquake in 1959. The smoke jumpers from the Forest Service landed on this point and began to help people who were injured.

On this hike, we saw Sandhill Cranes. This is an animal I've never seen before. It's a big brown bird, and they mate for life. It was flying over us making it's noises and so we just sat and watched it for a while.

Thats about all! Apparently now I've got to figure out a project and stuff to do for school since this summer is my internship for credit. So this should be interesting!

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

First Day On The Job!!

So...today was my first day on the job. The visitors center isn't open yet, so I was going through training. It kinda sucks that I don't get cell service at the center, but I think it'll be a good thing. I got trained on general Forest Service procedures and stuff like that.

The day started off good. On the drive to the center, we saw a moose. Then at lunch we watched big horn sheep climb around, and to end the day, we watched more big horn sheep crossing the road, also getting caught in a bison jam. Talking to the Forest Service staff, I found out some cool information. The Montana Bureau of Livestock takes part in what they call Bison Hazing and some of the guys with the FS (Forest Service) have also been doing this too. Bison carry Brucellosis, which is like a form of mad cow disease. When the bison leave the park, it can be passed onto free range cattle. To stop this, they get helicopters, ATV's, horseback, and 4 wheel drive vehicles and literally herd the bison back into Yellowstone. I think it's totally awesome!

Sorry I haven't had pictures up. Spencer and his family are using it because his broke and they're doing the whole tourist thing, so I'm not really taking pictures of anything at this point.

I found out some good hikes today. Also, Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake are still completely iced over. It's awesome. So is Yellowstone Lake. We saw that yesterday when Spencer and I showed his family around Old Faithful/Lake areas in the park. Got to see Charlie, who was a friend from last summer. He's now the Asst. Housekeeping Manager at the Snowlodge at Old Faithful area. It was good to see OF go off again and I finally got to eat in the OF Inn, something I didn't get to do last summer! Charlie informed me a lot more friends from last summer have returned, so I'm excited to see them and catch up.

That's pretty much it for now. I found out I can help on the fire crews this summer, which is gonna be fun. So I'm looking forward to that one.

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

Arrival

Well, another long day on the road for us. Started out today doing Mount Rushmore and seeing some things in the Black Hills of South Dakota...then hit the interstate again.

Spencer and I jumped on ahead and then decided that we were going to take a detour through the mountains. Next thing I know, it's snow and the road is walled by 8 feet of snow drift! There is snow all over the place out here and it's pretty cool. We came down through Cody, WY and into the east entrance to Yellowstone. Went around the bottom of the Loop and then out the west entrance into West Yellowstone.

Tomorrow...doing things in the park, setting up a bank account and mailbox, and moving into my place for the summer. That's about it.

Almost in...

Been on the road for about 2 days now and it has just been a whirlwind of driving. I ended up leaving about 7 am on Monday and driving by myself for the first 12 hours. Let me tell you, that had to be the most boring thing I have ever done. I just listened to music and basically talked to myself. I finally made it into Columbia, MO and met up with Ashley around 7 o'clock in the evening.

We ate dinner at some really good restaurant called Flat Branch near the University of Missouri and then she showed me around campus. Mizzou is prob. one of the greatest campuses I have ever seen! They have a lazy river in their Rec. Center with waterfalls and everything!

Spencer and his family spent the night in Columbia too, so in the morning he literally hopped into my truck on the side of I-70. We drove 14 1/2 hours yesterday, about 950 miles! Up through Iowa and across South Dakota. Let me tell you, again it was boring. Wall Drug was closed by the time we got there...but there is still some snow on the ground and it's cold here.

I stopped at a gas station and Premium Silver gas was cheaper than regular, so I thought I'd put that in instead. Yea, between that and Spencer driving 85 miles an hour down the highway I only got 14 miles to the gallon. I was extremely mad. So we had to stop in Murdo, SD to get more gas and according to the pump the guy only charged me 2.22 a gallon. It was some weird little backcountry shop with the old school pumps you have to flip a switch on and stuff.

So today we're doing the Black Hills and all that good stuff and heading on into West Yellowstone today! I'll try to update as much as I can, but internet has been sketchy!!

Have a good one! Keep me in your prayers and you'll be in mine!

Getting Ready To Hit The Road

Well, we're less than 1 week away and counting down until I hit the road for yet another summer. It's going to be a good one. I can feel it.

For those wondering my route, it is going to be as follows. I'll be taking I-79 south to I-70 west. At the end of day 1, I'll be staying with a friend from high school in Columbia, Missouri. Day 2, I'll meet up with Spencer and we'll take I-70 west to I-29 north. This will hook us up to I-90 west, where we will stay in Rapid City, SD for night number 2. On day 3, we will take I-90 west to 191 South at Bozeman, MT, all the way into West Yellowstone, MT.

This is the town that I will call home for the summer. I'll be working for the National Forest Service at the Earthquake Lake Visitors Center in the Hebgen Lake Ranger District of the Gallatin National Forest. Friends from home and friends from last summer will be out west this summer working in Yellowstone National Park and in West Yellowstone. It's going to be a great summer, so keep checking back to see all the fun things we're all doing! Leave some comments and let me know what you think!

The picture above is the landslide caused by the 1959 earthquake which dammed up the Madison River and formed Quake Lake...the reason I get to work out west this summer!