I was supposed to be working on programs, but needed a break, so I was working at the front desk. Outside, the clouds were getting kind of dark. A few minutes later we thought it was raining, then saw it was sleeting - then it was sleeting so hard it was practically a whiteout, and I couldn't see the top of the ridge behind Old Faithful! It went to rain for a minute, and then it was snowing... I looked up a few minutes later and it was sunny with a blue sky and white clouds. One of my coworkers who'd been upstairs said it was sunny out one window and stormy out the other.
Now, still sunny and windy - but I'm sure if I wait a minute, it will change!
There is a reason everyone who went west on the Oregon/Mormon trail talked about Independence Rock. It is really big! It really stands out against the mountains behind it and the utter flatness of the sagebrush plains all around it. We didn't climb up on top like we did in 2000, but we walked around it - and even that took a while! It was really, really windy - my cap blew off several times, and would have been lost except some of my hair had gotten caught in the velcro. (OUCH!) There is a reason everyone who went west on the Oregon/Mormon trail talked about Independence Rock. It is really big! It really stands out against the mountains behind it and the utter flatness of the sagebrush plains all around it. We didn't climb up on top like we did in 2000, but we walked around it - and even that took a while! It was really, really windy - my cap blew off several times, and would have been lost except some of my hair had gotten caught in the velcro. (OUCH!)
The highlight of that spot was that when we were at the far end, while my dad was climbing up to get pictures of some of the 1800s graffiti, I spotted a bald eagle flying. We both got a good look – big black bird with a white head and tail, flying along the Sweetwater River. At Independence Rock.
Driving on along the Sweetwater, we continued to follow the trail – there were signs for Devil’s Gate, Split Rock, and Sixth Crossing. We got into Riverton in midafternoon, having decided to skip a side trip we’d been considering.
I got a voice mail from Yellowstone – my background check has gone through! That means I can actually move in when I get there! I would have been in limbo if it hadn’t finished processing!
No turkeys today, but we saw another eagle flying as we drove, a lot of pronghorns, horses, and two very cute ground squirrels at a rest stop. They sat up just like little prairie dogs when Dad started squeaking at them! They had a burrow right outside the building!
So, a month and a half ago, I got a phone call from someone named Rita, at Yellowstone National Park, asking if I was still available for a Park Guide position there. Why, yes, I said! I had some time, so we had a preliminary interview, talking about my experience at the Arch and what the position at Yellowstone would be like - at Old Faithful, the busiest part of the park! This was just an availability check, not a formal job offer, but a few days later I got a voice mail asking if I would be interested in accepting the position.
I called back and said that I had gotten this message and I wanted to make sure I understood it correctly. "Brenda, would you like to work at Yellowstone National Park?"
Yes. I would. Very much.
It's going to be a seasonal job, May 12 through Labor Day. I'll be working at the Old Faithful complex - information desk in the visitor center, creating and presenting a variety of interpretive programs (guided walks, short talks, evening slide shows), and conducting roving interpretation - walking around answering questions, providing information, giving two-minute talks, etc. It's going to be very, very busy - scrambling to get programs ready, then interacting with a LOT of people. I know I'm going to enjoy it - and also be glad for the downtime at the end of the day!
This being a federal job, there were a lot of forms to fill out, fingerprints for a background check... It didn't help that I suddenly had to fill out forms to get my student loan payments figured out, just when I was supposed to start packing!
I finally did get things together, over the last few days. My dad is going to drive out there with me so I don't have to drive all that way by myself. We were going to leave today, but for several reasons - the rain, the expense of an extra night in a motel, and the fact that I was Not At All Ready - we waited one more day. Now, I am ready. I think. We are going to try putting everything in the car, like a giant game of 3-D Tetris. We're leaving early tomorrow.
So I will be checking in at Old Faithful on May 10, assuming my background check has gone through; I'll have a day or two to unpack and get acclimated to the 7000+ foot altitude, then I'll be going off for training! So I have no idea when I'll be able to write again. I am posting this so that my talk of bison and geysers and mountains and snow and lack of oxygen will not come as a total surprise!
Edited to add: Not only did everything fit in the car, but it looks neat! I think we set a record for getting everything in quickly! One thing that helped was that I remembered to pack a lot of smaller bags and boxes, and only a few big ones - so we could fit things in between more easily. Looks like we're ready to roll!