I have a contract at Yellowstone starting April 24th through July 30th. So less than a month and I will be heading west. I cannot wait to see the mountains again. This will be the first time I have ever opened the store. The earliest I have been there in the past was May 19th. I have kept an eye on the weather and what gates will be open. It seems the best way to travel is I90 and drop down at Bozeman to West Yellowstone. That gate will be, or is supposed to be, open on the 24th to get the new employees in to get unpacked. Last year I kept in touch with my friend Jack as he opened the store and he got caught in a snow storm around Sheridan Wyoming, when I90 was shut down. The company knows that weather can cause people to be late, so there is no need to rush through a snow storm. Jack set the example of just hunkering down and wait for the interstate to open.
On a side note, I have been watching "Ghost Town Living" on YouTube. It is about a man that bought the Cerro Gordo mine in the mountains around Death Valley several years ago. He is trying to fix it up and also explore the 30 miles of tunnels the mine created. The place was a Silver, lead, and zinc mine, that panned out in the 40's. It has great history and is really drawing me to visit. If I do visit I could not visit with the family van, but will have to use my truck. The reason for this is that the road to the ghost town is about 8 miles from the valley floor up around 5 miles to the mine. It is a very narrow and non-paved road.
Will be packing in my head for the next few weeks and then for real later next month.
