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| At my duty station, Albright Visitor Center |
Last entry in May was titled "Been Awhile." Guess this one should be "Been a Long While!" Since arriving in Yellowstone for my new seasonal ranger job I have been trying to get adjusted to my new new surroundings and the work itself. I had not done Ranger programs since the 2008 summer season and not had to put together all new programs since 1999, my first year in the Tetons. It has all been pretty exhausting for me.
I think I may be getting too old for this kind of work. Not only that but it does not have the same excitement for me any more. However, it is fitting that if this is my last season with the Park Service it be working in the oldest and "grand daddy" of them all. Yellowstone National Park.
I have to say that they have done well for me here in some respects, starting out with giving me an apartment by myself instead of the original shared quarters I was supposed to have. My boss, Brian e-mailed me on my way up that I was getting this apartment. That has turned out to be the most important element for me sticking things out here. The first week I was here out my front door is where the "Buffalo Roamed." That is not to mention the great view.
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| My front Porch at Mammoth in Yellowstone |
Probably have not taken full advantage of the park as I should. The thing is, the people I work with are OK but it is not as close knit a group as I had at Colter Bay in the Tetons. The days off that I have do not lend themselves to having anyone to hike with . . . and, hiking alone here in Grizzly country is not advised, nor would I chance it. I have taken one trip down to the Tetons and Jackson to visit friends and get a haircut (will go again next week). In addition I have stayed at Roosevelt Lodge cabins and gone over the Beartooth highway, as well as a stay in the Lodge cabins at Old Faithful. So am taking full advantage of being up here. I do love the area.
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| The Beartooth |
My most frequent weekend destination (my ranger Lieu Day as they call them, Thursday and Fridays) has been Bozeman, MT. I have been there six times, twice overnight for both days off. It is the closest place to reasonably see movies and do some shopping. Plus, I just like the town. When Mom died I considered moving there. Over the fourth of July, my most recent day off I spent them there partially because the park has become a zoo with all the "visitors."
One of my reasons for heading to Bozeman last "weekend" was to finally go hiking in Hyalite Canyon, a place 22 miles outside of the city. I had read about it a year ago in Bozeman Outside and thought it looked like a nice place to hike. Friday morning I awoke very early, as usual here, to find it raining heavily. I had thought this would cancel my hike, and it did to a certain extent but decided to drive out and take a look at the place. It was really beautiful forested canyon. There was a let-up in the rain so I was able to do about a mile of walking before it started up again. It is definitely a place to file away for a future trip. Plus, there were numerous campgrounds fairly near the trail just off the road. May try to plan a car camping trip up that way before I leave.
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| Hyalite Creek Trail |
Even though the job is not for me anymore it has afforded me the opportunity to be up here and I am thankful for that. And, of course I will be the best ranger I can be while on the job. But as I mentioned above I think this is my "Last Hurrah" at it. Eight hours on my feet five days a week just does not cut it with me physically. I have never had to do that before, even in the Tetons, and most especially not in my career as a college instructor. No matter how much time I spend in the gym that amount of time on my feet is too tiring for me.
As for films . . . I have seen too many to mention here since my last blog so will just note some of the best and worst (in my opinion). The most recent and disappointing was The Lone Ranger. I had hoped for much better as I did with "gal pal" cop film with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, The Heat. To be sure there were some funny gags with McCarthy, but overall it was not that good a film. My favorite of the summer so far has been the new Star Trek movie and I am not even a "Trekie!" Before leaving for Yellowstone I saw Mud featuring Matthew McConaghy. It was an excellent film, probably the best I've seen so far this year. Gatsby was OK but a bit of a disappointment. Now You See Me was interesting and not bad. The new Superman offering, Man of Steel, was pretty good as well. I was pleasantly surprised by Brad Pitt's film, World War Z. Usually Zombie films are not my cup of tea but this one was done well and more a comment on contagious desease than zombies. In a way it is much like the movie Contagion that came out last year. So, as is usually the case with summer films, there have been some hits and misses. I know there have been some decent animated films out there but I do not do those.
Cheers all!
