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!

Colorado Wolves

At the end of my 'sabbatical' from the park I drove to Colorado Springs & spent some time with my good friend Pat & her husband Dale.  They were nice enough to put me up for a week & we had a great time cooking home cooked meals & touring around Colorado.  Our picnic at the Garden of the Gods was spectacular.  What a great evening.  Reminded me of our picnics in YNP.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous except for the day before I left, when it snowed about 3 inches & messed the roads up for driving back to the park.  It actually turned into kind of an Old Faithful reunion as Sharon another of our friends from Old Faithful, was in the middle of a 2 week visit with Pat & Dale when I got there.  It was fun catching up and renewing our golf games.  Pat also took us along to her weekly Mah Jongg group.  What a nice group of folks that put up with Sharon & I who never played before.  They really made us feel welcome.  But the absolute high light of the week was visiting a wolf preserve near Colorado Springs http://wolfeducation.org/.  It is a preserve similar to the one I went to last year in Indiana where they provide an environment to keep around 17-18 wolves.  The Colorado preserve provides tours focused on education and outreach to schools telling the story of the wolves in the wild.  Unlike the IN preserve the CO preserve had Mexican & Arctic wolves in addition to timber wolves.  They also had swift foxes, which are indigenous to CO & red foxes, which are an non-native species.  The red fox was brought to North America by the British for hunting.  Unfortunately the red fox is driving out the swift foxes from their native territories, causing the swift fox to be listed as endangered.

Swift Fox

Red Fox

In their gift shop/visitor center they track the number of wild wolves by state that have been killed by hunting since the grey wolf has been removed from the endangered list in 2011.  Minnesota leads the list with over 400, with ID, MT, & WY each having >100.  Michigan which just established a hunting season this year will sadly be added to the list from now on.  On the tour they described each wolf & it was apparent that each wolf had its own personality.  Some would come up to the fence lured by a 'treat' from the tour guide, but others would not come near with any amount of coxing.  The preserve is accredited as a zoo, so they have to meet strict standards, one of which is the maximum number of wolves that they can house.  They said that wolf preserves across the US are filled to the maximum at this time.  Therefore they neuter all their animals to avoid breeding.  But a couple of years ago they had an 'accident' when an 8 month old female unexpectedly went into heat resulting in 2 pups being born.  One died, but one is still living though after many life threatening physical ailments.  Apparently there is an underground market for exotic animal including wolves.  Guaranteed 'hunt clubs' need a supply of animals for there clients & obviously aren't as interested in the wolves' long term physical well being.  The female that gave birth came from one of these 'clubs' when a client bought the live wolf, but then couldn't take care of it.  It is believed that the poor physical care that this wolf received was a factor in why it went into heat at such an early age & why the pups had such physical problems.  Our guide told us that there are over 3,000 guaranteed hunt clubs in Texas alone??????

Like in IN, I again got the feeling that these magnificent animals should not be kept in pens, but this may be the only way many people get to see these highly evolved hunters.  I just hope that they don't think of them as cuddly dogs, but understand that they are highly intelligent apex predators that benefit their wild environment.  As in IN they offered a photo op with 2 of the wolfs that are more acclimated to being around people.  Sharon would not let us pass this up, so after emptying our pockets & shedding jackets we were instructed upon entering the enclosure to not approach the wolves or make any quick movements.  We were to sit on a log & if the wolves came up to us, to only pet their sides or chests.  I have to admit that I was a little nervous to enter the enclosure that held 2 wolves.  A large black male & a magnificent grey female.  The guide told us the male seemed to like men & if it came up to us it would probably come to me first.  On our tour these 2 wolves were 'arguing' about something with loud growling & snapping jaws deciding the outcome.  The guide laughed saying that that was the way these 2 wolfs settled things between themselves, but never acted that way towards humans (?).  As we walked to the log & sat down, the wolves seemed to have no interest in us.  After several minutes of cajoling they still did not want to come over & say hello.  To entice them over, the handler told us he would give us a treat (a slice of hot dog?).  We were to hold our hands behind our back, palm up.  They would place a treat in our hand which we should then close & bring around to our front.  Well that did the trick.  When the food came out the wolves came over.  It was an irresistible ploy for the canids.  I thought it was a little like being in the ocean & enticing a feeding frenzy with the sharks.  I couldn't tell if it was the hot dog or a wolf nose that I was closing my hand around.  The first time I opened my hand too soon & the wolf was gone before I got him in front of me for a picture.  Next time I kept my hand closed as the wolf pressed his nose into my palm & started licking at the hot dog.  It was easy to lure him in front of me for the pics & petting.  What an odd feeling to have a wolf's tongue pushing between my fingers!  Sharon couldn't resist & gave the male a hug around the neck, which caused the handlers to get very excited, immediately ordering Sharon to remove her arm from around the wolf.  Turns out that an arm around the throat is an act of domination to the wolf & may cause it to react badly (Way to go Sharon!  Trying to get us mauled, Ha!)  We had several minutes of close interaction with both wolves & the female even gave me a kiss.  No I did not have a treat in my mouth.  What an amazing experience interacting with these spectacular animals feeding them by hand.  Their fur was very coarse & you could feel how muscular they are.  They were very gentle, but once or twice they put a paw on my back & I could feel the strength in their huge paws.  Once we started interacting with these wolves I never felt threatened or in fear of them.  You could see the intelligence in their eyes as they tried to figure us out.  What amazing animals.  It was spectacular, but I couldn't get the image of a wolf pack hunting bison in Lamar Valley or tearing apart an elk carcass out of my mind.  But that is just the way they survive in the wild.

Look into my eyes...

Don't do this!

The female finally came over.

At the end of the tour our guide got the attention of all the wolves by howling (She was from Alaska & was the best howler I've ever heard).  The wolves couldn't resist & howls rose up from across the preserve.  The wolves howled for a couple of minutes until they faded into silence.  I have only heard wolves howl a couple of times in the wild so to be in the middle of such a primal behavior is almost a mystical experience.  I got a little of it on video.  Howling video  Just another example of how spectacular these wonderful animals are.  I just hope there will be wolves in wild places like Yellowstone for my grandchildren to discover & enjoy.  What a spectacular day!

Mason James

On February 19 Sidni & David had a healthy baby boy, Mason James, making me a grandfather for the first time.  Everyone did fine though Mason had to spend a few days in the hospital before coming home.  Jen & I were able to meet him in early March.

He is a typical baby and David & Sidni are loving every minute of being new parents.  I have a hard time seeing similarities in babies, but they say he looks a lot like me.  I am not sure where they get that from, but they say he sure is cute.  I have a hard time arguing with them.  Ha!  Yes I did hold him, but no I did not change any diapers.  It's probably to early to start him thinking about college, but you can see that I am already pushing the Shockers his way.

Sidni's brother Jeffrey was also in town.  So they took the opportunity to get a picture Mason with all of hiss aunts & uncles

Jeffery, Hope, Mason, Jennifer, & Ross

                            You can see I haven't lost my touch at getting babies to fall to sleep.

Well time will tell what Mason will grow into.  But I am sure David & Sidni will give him all of the love in the world.  We thank God he is healthy & pray that he will make us all proud some day.

Aunt Jenny & Mason 

DC 2013 Part 2

Well of course our 'Monument' day turned out to be overcast and rainy, but we did not let that put a damper on our adventure.  Dan & Tim met us for breakfast & Tim shuttled us over to the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall.  It was Sharon's first trip to DC and being a veteran from the Vietnam timeframe this was a special experience for her.  I think we all felt privileged to share such a special, emotional experience with her.  When she found the name of her friend, Robert Hanselman, on the wall, I think we all shed a tear or two (and you all know how compassionate some of us (me) are), so you know it was a special moment.

We walked over to the Women's Memorial, which recognizes the critical role women in the services performed in Vietnam.  Another touching moment.  The monuments are awesome reminders of all of the wonderful and historic events and people that have formed this great country.  If you can't feel patriotic on the Mall in DC, you are missing something.

From there we were off to the Lincoln Memorial.  This is my personal favorite.  I get chills just walking up the steps & thinking of all of the historic things that have happened on this spot.  I mean even Forrest Gump was here.  

Even though it was breezy & dripping a little no one seemed to notice.  Walking towards the Washington Monument we passed the Korean War Memorial, The World War II Memorial, the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial.  Along the way, Ted's shortcut required us to rearrange some fencing, but nobody got arrested so no worries.

Even though it was still only about 11:30, we had walked a long way, so when Heidi unexpectedly called & informed us she had prepared a St. Patrick's day lunch of corned beef sandwiches and split pea soup, we were more than happy to call it lunch time.  So the wimps headed to the car, while the hardy souls (Patty & me) zipped down Constitution Avenue to catch the start of the St. Patrick's day parade.  We only had time to catch the start of the parade, but when we heard the bag pipes playing we were glad we did.  Check out this video of the Drum & Fife Corps & the bag pipes & tell me you don't have a little Irish in you.  Parade video

Through the luck of the Irish, we rendezvoused perfectly with Tim & the slackers a couple of miles from where the car was parked thanks to Patty's excellent directions.  Karen met us at Tim & Heidi's for lunch & what a tremendous lunch it was!  Homemade spilt pea soup (yum!) & the corned beef on rye with swiss & sour kraut was heavenly.  (Of course the meat was sliced perfectly thanks to who else but yours truly, ha!)  We even ate on plates!  Heidi really out did herself, we never expected anything like that.  Honestly Tim & Karen and Dan & Heidi were spectacular hosts all weekend.  You guys did not have to do all that, the meals & transporting us around all weekend.  You really made the weekend spectacular.  I know I speak for all of the out-of-towners.  We never expected you to do all that and want to express our heart felt thanks. You guys are great!!!

After we rested up a little we decided to head over to Arlington National Cemetery, where we saw the eternal flame on John Kennedy's grave as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  The rows upon rows of graves are somber knowing the sacrifice that so many have made for this country.  Will we ever learn how to resolve our differences without war?  (I know that doesn't sound like me, but even though you may not believe it, I do have a heart.)

From here Tim drove us over to the Iwo Jima memorial, another of my favs.  I do have to report, that we stumped Tim just a little on how to get us there.  I am most certainly kidding, because all weekend it was amazing how well he navigated the town getting us wherever we wanted to go.  We would have been lost without him.

After that we were pretty much done.  Tim dropped us off at the hotel and went to pick up Karen & Dan took the metro to go get Heidi.  It was our last night & the plan was to get pizza & play games in the lobby.  Thankfully they had an out of the way corner that we invaded, because who knew how rowdy a game of Phase 10 could get.  We had to change it to Phase 7 because who knew how hard it is to get a run of 9 (thank God for wild cards!).  The gang playing dominos was much better behaved, but I think more wine & beer were consumed on our end of the table (the other explanation was that I was on that end of the table, but we all know that's just nonsense).  We had a great time, just like being in the mezz back at OI (OK no piano accompaniment, but at least no viola).  At least we didn't get kicked out!  God I miss our game nights.

That's pretty much it.  I think that everyone who came had a great time & yes we did miss all of you who could not make it.  Maybe next year.  Vegas sounds like fun.......

Just a few random pics...

Lookee a LOC card! 

Looks like the EDR salad bar, yeah right! 

What is it????!!!! 

Sharon went right from salad to dessert, no she didn't drink the whole bottle. 

OK no cherry blossoms but we brought our own beauties. 

Look out DC!

Just like dinner at Rosie, right Jean?

OK Dan, now you have to clean up. 

Smile!