A Visit To America's First National Park - Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park (62 degrees, blue skies, chilly)

It's A Wonderland

Old Faithful

The weather suddenly improved and a road trip to Yellowstone National Park seemed to be in order. We drove through the Teton National Park and entered into Yellowstone via the south entrance.This is the last entrance to open and it was very evident why upon entering.  There were steep banks of snow along the road and with the increased in elevation spring quickly disappeared at least for awhile..

Yellowstone Ma

This was the Oxbow area which in the the Teton National Park.  If you go back a few posts you will see how much this area has changed.  When we first arrived this lake was solid ice and it's where we first saw a grizzly bear.

Oxbow Overlook

Entering Yellowstone National Park

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The mountains were still very now covered.

Red Mountain Range

Check out the snow bank behind John and Jimmy

We stopped briefly at the Lewis Falls area (names after Meriwether Lewis).  The river is running very quickly and it's a picturesque area.  

Lewis Falls

Lewis Lake is still frozen solid and seemed so peaceful.

Frozen Lewis Lake

We drove through Fishing Bridge and had a quick lunch.  We originally considered working for Delaware North at this gift shop. and checked out the employee campground.  It is one of the few with 50 amp service.  The sites are close together and we much prefer our campground at Gros Ventre.  It would have been a good place to work but much more remote and isolated.

Yellowstone Lake

Driving along the banks of the Yellowstone Lake is spectacular.  It is very large and impossible adequately capture in a photo due to its vastness.

Our next stop was LeHardy Rapids.  The postal clerk at Moose had told us some Harlequin Ducks were is this area for a short period of time.  They usually hang out in Alaska and Northern Canada. When we first arrived it didn't seem possible a duck could cope with the turbulent rapids.  But sure enough a female duck was seen perched on one of the few visible rocks.

LeHardy Rapids

There was only one duck and her pudgy middle section works well as a raft to help her bounce up and down on the rapids.  She was quite comical to watch.  National Geographic was there filming her too.

Female Harlequin Duck

Riding the rapids

We liked this area very much and the wooden walkway traveled along the river for a long distance.  It would be nice place to have a picnic on a warm summer day.

On the way to the Canyon area there are some interesting mud pots.  They are so weird, unique and smelly and buffalo seen ti like this warm area.  My brother in a past visit about eight years ago was chased across the parking lot by one. He will always remember that day!

After leaving this area we headed to my favorite area in the park - Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Here you see sweeping views of the Lower Falls. The color of canyons formed by the Yellowstone River are so beautiful and no wonder one of the areas is called the Artist's Point.

There are two nice trails  which get you up close to the falls. This is definitly on our "to do" list soon.

Peregrine Falcon

Colorful canyons

We back tracked after lingering here as long as possible and headed to see Old Faithful.  The park posts as you approach the visitor center the time  Old Faithful is due to erupt.  We spent a little time in the visitor center and then headed out to get a good viewing spot.

This is what you see as you approach the area.  The crowd starts to build as it get closer to the posted time.  There are nice benches to wait before the big event.

It erupts more frequently than any other geyser and at this time of year this happens about every two hours. It can last between 1 1/2 to 5 minutes and expels 3700 to 8400 gallons of boiling water reaching a height of about 175 feet.  There were a few false alarms and then it erupted in all its glory to a very happy crowd.

I used the video option on my new camera (Canon SX-50) for the first time.  It turned out pretty well. You'll notice we were not around very many English speaking people. :)

There is so much more to explore in this area but this was all we could accomplish in a day. After a nice dinner at the park we headed back home.  It was a long day but an amazing road trip. Our plan is to explore this park many more times. Check back soon!

Our First Month Working For Grand Teton Association (A Non-Profit Partner GTNP)

Moose, WY (62 degrees, blue skies)

We have been working for about a month and will continue until mid October for the non-profit organization called Grand Teton Association (GTA).  It is a partner with the National Park and provides bookstores in the area where the profits benefit the park in a variety of programs and services.  

John is working in the warehouse and I'm an administrative assistant who supports the staff and bookstore managers.  Working here has been a really great opportunity for us. 

There have been a few adjustments such as getting used to the cold weather, snow, and high altitude. After spending the last year and a half in sunny Florida it was a bit of a shock.  

Our campsite which was initially assigned to us was about 10 feet too short and we had to park at an angle just to fit.  This was quickly remedied after a couple of days.  

                                     

Western Bluebird

The breathtaking scenery and abundant wildlife over rode all these factors quickly.  It's a great way to start the work day driving past the spectacular mountains each day.  We see moose, elk, and even bears on the way to work each day.  We've had to add some extra commute time due to pulling over frequently to check it all out.  

Grizzly Bear and her cubs

Teton Range

Old Warehouse

We were one of the first employees to arrive. They wanted us here early because the warehouse where all the inventory is stored was moving to a new location. Plus, part of my responsibility in checking in new staff.  

John helped move some of the inventory into the new warehouse. There is a lot of "stuff".  Plus, all the new orders quickly arrived too. Part of his responsibility is receiving inventory and sending it out to all our locations.  There are six main book stores and a few forest satellites.

In their free time the staff have also been organizing the warehouse to make it run more efficiently.  He says he's so lucky to work with such a great group of employees.  Everyone pitches in and they seem to always have a good time despite the hard work.  He especially likes going out to the bookstores and delivery the merchandise.The scenery is spectacular!  At first he came home and collapsed but he's now adjusting to it and seems to like it very much.  

Setting up the new warehouse

Delivery vans & new warehouse

Grand Teton National Park Headquarters

My job is in the park headquarters across from the warehouse.  The GTA staff have a small area in the park building.  Eventually the office staff will move over to the warehouse in some new space but probably not until next year.  

I support the office and bookstore staff in all kinds of ways.  For example, I help the book keeper file and post remits from the bookstores, help the Executive Director get ready for board meetings and special functions, order supplies for all the bookstores,  order change from the bank for the bookstores and coordinate delivery to them, answer phones, open mails, get new staff members their uniforms, parking passes, and name tags, and "other duties as assigned".   The day just flies by and I like working here very much.  It's been by far my most favorite workamping job to date.  

One day I went out to one of the locations that was opening and helped them price inventory.  It's a beautiful bookstore in Colter Bay.I was really impressed with the inventory. The National Park has to approve all items which are sold in the stores and it's nice quality.

It takes a lot of staff members to run the bookstores and warehouse. It's been interesting seeing all the bookstores start to open and get ready for the busy season ahead. I think we are going to like it here very much.  If you are in the area be sure to stop by.

ElkFest - Record Year For the Annual Boy Scout Antler Auction

Jackson, WY (53 degrees, blue skies)

In a little over four hours $233,613 dollars was raised during the annual Boy Scout Antler Auction. That's a whole lot of cash and antlers (13,698 pounds)!  At the National Elk Refuge every spring the elk shed their antlers and these are collected by Fish & Wildlife staff, volunteers, and Boy Scouts to sell each year as a money raiser. This weekend was a record setter.  In fact, over $100,000 more was raised compared to last year.  It was a long, cold winter and the elk lingered and shed their antlers at the refuge instead of along the way as they migrated into the highlands.  Check out this slide show for more details.  

It's a huge undertaking to get ready for this auction.  After the antlers are collected they are sorted and graded.  Bundles are put together, tagged, and weighed.  Over 2000 hours are donated by the scouts and their leaders. and in return they receive 25% of the profits.  The remaining 75% is  donated to the National Elk Refuge, which manages approximately 25,000 acres as winter range for the Jackson Elk Herd. The funds are used for habitat enhancement work on the Refuge.

Check out the salutes

After the national anthem and flag ceremony the auction began.  Anyone can bid and many were circled all around the area and others sat in bleachers.  It was lots of fun to watch.  The scouts brought up each bundle and sometimes struggled with the weight of them. It was really a lot of fun to watch them. The weather was perfect and the crowd became very excited during some of the special antler sales. There is an Asian market which has recently raised the price per pound of the antlers. 

These miscellaneous cartloads sold for $5000-6000 each

Stacking up the purchases by the buyers

Around the square there were also private sales by others who had collected the antlers off refuge land. There were also all types of skulls and bones being sold.  It sure was an interesting and unusual event.  

Buffalo Heads

Coyote

One of my favorite sights was the crossing guards.  We're really loving the west. 

Crossing guard

Crossing guards

We had heard so much from others about this event.  It sure was fun to attend  and see a whole community come together to help the scouts and refuge.