Preseason

Roosevelt Lodge

Well my official preseason at the park started May 3 when Mammoth Hotel opened for the summer.   I was assigned to support their opening weekend, which was a lot of fun.  I finally was able to log on to the LMS system & start to actually remember how to check guests in and out.  It was fun meeting the new people, seeing the looks of excitement & concern as the first real guests walked up to the desk.  Everyone is a little unsure the first few days & it is fun to see the new GSAs realize they can successfully work with the guests & see their confidence grow.  Of course there is a lot of confusion & it can be a challenge getting everyone on the same page.  While in Mammoth I was given a room in the Juniper dorm, room 31.   It was a small private room with a shared bathroom.  It had a single bed & I only have bedding for a double bed, so I slept 5 nights on the mattress pad.  I suppose I could have gotten sheets from the dorm, but I preferred to just wrap up in my own blankets.  The Mammoth desk is a lot smaller than the Old Faithful desk & with all the people there for the opening we were kind of running into each other all weekend.  The key drawers are right behind the GSA terminals, so when someone was getting keys it's kind of like running an obstacle course.  I was able to run out to Lamar a couple of times, but still not seeing any bears or wolves.  Where are they???  This is the time I should really being seeing them.  I did run into Gardiner one night to watch the Black Hawk game with a bunch of people at the 2 Bit Saloon, so that was fun.

The next weekend I was going down to Old Faithful to support their opening weekend.  Instead of going directly to the Inn I decided to go up to Bozeman & spend a night in civilization.  While there I actually went to the movies & saw the Jackie Robinson movie '42'.  It wasn't as good as I expected (not as much old baseball scenes as I expected) but it was OK.  I had not gone to a movie out here before & it seemed out of sync with the Yellowstone experience.  I got down to Old Faithful on Thursday night just in time to go to the Inn's shakedown.  Elaine & Donna had signed me up to eat with them & it was great seeing them again.  I could barely walk through the Inn & restaurant to our table.  It was the first time I had seen all of the people at the Inn & everyone wanted to sat hello.  It was really nice to see everyone & really did feel like coming home.  I got the steak & it was great.  All in all it was a really nice evening.  I was assigned room 124 in Obsidian dorm, which I had never been in before.  This would be home until June 3rd when I finally would move up to Roosevelt.  It is a nice room with a private bath and a double bed & a single bed.  I took the double & was settling in when a knock at the door announced my roommate had arrived.  I really didn't want to have a roommate, but that was not to be, at least I had the double bed.  My roommate was a young guy who was an assistant manager in the Grant cafeteria.  He was at Old Faithful for a week for training.  Working at the Old Faithful front desk was like coming home.  It was great seeing all of the returners, Karen & her husband Tim, Judy & Bob her husband, Jan & Denny, Stacey & Ed.  It felt really natural to be behind the desk & everyone was surprised to see me because they had all heard I would be at Rosey this summer. 

Sorry Elaine (behind lamp) She was actually working!

While at Old Faithful we had several game nights & of course we ran in to West to get Pizza at the Wild West Saloon.  Unfortunately all of the picnic areas are still closed so we couldn't do a picnic.  During the week I helped out at Old Faithful Lodge with their practicals.  I had never worked at the Lodge so that was kind of fun.  Practicals are the time he GSAs get to pratice at their desk after they have been through the classroom part of their training.  They get to experience how their desk is set up, where things are located & just a chance to get comfortable behind the desk.  

I had a day off & drove down to see the Tetons.  I drove the Moose Wilson road looking for moose, but didn't see any (just not seeing the animals this spring).  Also drove out to the Death Canyon trailhead where it promptly started hailing on me.  Not a day to be hiking in the Tetons.

On Friday I drove over to Lake where I supported them on their opening weekend.  I had worked one night at Lake a couple of years ago so I kind of knew what to expect.  But Lake Hotel is undergoing a major 3 year renovation & over the winter the registration desk had been completely remodeled along with the lobby.  They did a great job.  It looks great.  I was assigned a great cabin with 2 double beds & private bath.  I actually felt like I was on a mini vacation.  I was able to get out to Hayden Valley & up to the Canyon area & see the waterfalls for the first time this summer.  We had been having unbelievable weather for the past couple of weeks, sunny skies & temps in the 60's, but while at lake the weather turned more seasonal & Sunday morning I woke up to a blizzard with a layer of snow covering everything, but by noon it had all melted.  Amazingly Lake Yellowstone has already thawed due to the early mild temps, which is way early.  Normally it doesn't thaw until mid June.  Stella is working at Lake this summer so it was great catching up with her a little.  Of course I had been seeing her in managers training & up in Mammoth training her people all along.

 The Lake registration desk has a completely different feel from Old Faithful.  More of a victorian, 1900s feel, especially at night with the piano playing.  Many of the guests were pleasantly surprised with all of the changes, but quite a few were disappointed that the wicker furniture had been replaced.  I think it looks really good & spent Saturday night reading in the lobby listening to Katherine playing Clair de Lune (one of my favorites).

I came back to Old Faithful to await the Rosie people to arrive for training.  My roommate had left when I got back from Lake, so it's nice having a private room.  I spent a couple of afternoons prepping for training so I looked like I knew what was going on.  On Thursday I drove up to Lamar & when I was passing Roosevelt I noticed the gate was unlocked.  So I drove on in & found the personnel manager.  I asked if I could see my cabin & she actually gave me a key.  So I was finally able to actually unload my car!  I have cabin #20, which may have been built in the 20's, ha!  I wasn't expecting much, so I was pleasantly surprised.  It is a private cabin with an electric heater, bathroom & shower, and it is quite large so that is great.  The rug is a disaster.  It's a great split pea green color with spectacular stainage.  I am sure it is the original rug & it has seen a long hard life.  Oh well maybe I'll run up to Bozeman & pick up some area rugs at the thrift shops, ha!  The best is my 2 mattresses are lying on the floor.  There is no bed frame.  I talked to the personnel manager about getting a frame, so we will see if that happens.  But it will definitely be livable for the summer.  

Even though everything is in varying stages of getting ready, while I was there I was able to look around the Lodge & see what my summer home was going to be.  The desk here is right inside the front door, adjacent to the gift shop & the restaurant host stand.  It is the smallest in the park and should be cozy.  A far cry from the lobby in Old Faithful.  The porch is great & has a spectacular view.  I am sure I will spend several evenings out there.  Looking around really made me excited to get moved up here & get things going.  Opening day is June 7 so I still have a couple of weeks.

Come on in!

Front Desk

Dining room area

Bar area

Gift Shop, Front Desk, Host stand

Employee Dining Room

Front Porch

Finally on Friday I got to meet the Rosie crew.  There will be 5 GSAs at Rosie this summer & all 5 are girls with 4 being in the 20-25 years old range, so it is going to be interesting.  The first 2 days of training have gone well.  They seem to be a good group, quick on picking things up & good on the computer, so I think we will have a good crew this summer.  Of course they have a great trainer!

So it seems like I have been in preseason for ever.  I actually have realized when all is said and done I will have spent more time in preseason than I will at Roosevelt this summer.  Preseason has been kind of crazy living out of my car & moving around, but a lot of fun.  I have enjoyed working at all of the different locations & meeting many of the people.  Of course spending a month at Old Faithful has been great.  But I am getting anxious to get up to Rosie & spending the summer in cowboy land.  Wish you were here!