Yellowstone Adventure 2026 - Week 5

  Week five is in the books and the tourists visiting the store has slowed down.  It is to be expected, as historically business slows down once kids go back to school.  Business will pick up again after Labor day.  This week our stores celebrated Christmas in Yellowstone on August 25th.  You may be wondering why we are celebrating Christmas on August 25th. A popular, though unverified, legend claims that an unseasonable August blizzard once trapped guests inside the Old Faithful Inn, inspiring them to put up a makeshift tree and celebrate the holiday together. Other theories have come to light, but it really does not matter as every year I have worked here Christmas has been celebrated on August 25th. The store managers really go all out to bring a good time to the employees.  This is a great morale booster. The cooks also go all out to create a great meal for all the workers.  The night before the 25th we all gathered at the lower general store for a time to have some great finger food and they even had a white elephant gift exchange.  The store managers gave gifts and Christmas ornaments to all workers.  I told the managers several times that I really appreciated the effort that they put into this celebration.

  The weather here has turned slightly colder at night but the days are still hovering around 84 degrees.  We had a very nasty thunderstorm this week.  Lightening at eight thousand feet can been rather startling.  One bolt set off a fire nearby, but the torrential downpour quickly put it out.  The interesting thing about the rain here is that once it stops raining, it takes very little time for the ground to be dry as a bone. 

  I have included a picture of a person driving a camper and their great parking job.  I just have no idea why a person with a camper did not use the very large parking area that is available for those visiting Old Faithful. The person chose to park in front of our store in an area that really was not made to park a camper.  The store manager called the park rangers and told them that they needed to come and see for themselves the problem. They arrived and proceeded to examine the situation.  They then waited for the driver of the rental camper to come and back out of the parking spot.  They wanted to see if they damaged the car that they were no more than an inch from.  They also were preparing a ticket for the person for their parking obstruction. I did not hang around for the person to come back to the camper, but believe me there was a nice crowd around wanting to see how it all played out.

   This week has not been good for our employee's health. My grocery boss Ron collapsed in pain while moving a case of water.  He was transported to a local hospital and it was determined he has developed a small hernia.  He is on light duty and we are protecting him from lifting anything heavy. He will be meeting with a surgeon in the near future to decide a way forward. He is a tough guy and it is hard to keep him down, but he told me he does not want to experience that pain again.  We also lost William to kidney stones this week.  He was taken to Bozeman hospital and they told him the bad news about the stones.  He will be leaving in the near future for home in Texas to get them taken care of. We also are losing Eric, our lower store fountain lead, to care for his mother.  He has been recouping from recent surgery and has been on light duty also.  One thing for sure, we are an aging work force and these issues come up every year.

   On my day off I decided to head to Idaho Falls to have a zero day in a hotel.  I needed a hair cut and the truck was in need of a good washing.  Once my co-workers found out I was heading to Idaho Falls I was given many items to buy for them while I was in town. No problem doing this, as some of my co-workers do not have a vehicle.  On my way to Idaho Falls I stopped by one of my favorite spots.  Johnny Sack's cabin at Big Springs.  I have included a picture below. The place is very peaceful and if you are lucky you can spot a moose.  I have been blessed to see a mother and her baby twice while visiting there.  I like to just sit next to the cabin and listen to the sound of the springs shooting out of the ground creating the river.

  That is about it for the week. I thank you for reading and I hope you are well.  By the way I would be remiss to not say Rest In Peace Dolly Parton.   

 

 

 

 

Yellowstone Adventure 2026 - Week 4

   I can't believe it has been a month since I have arrived to work.  The weather has finally changed from hot to chilly.  We are getting highs in the 70's to low 80's and at night the temps dropped to the 40's.  Which makes sleeping a lot more comfortable in a dorm that is not air conditioned. Storms that have hit us recently have been quick.  The area is under drought conditions and I was reading that the local Powder River has stopped flowing around July 23rd.  That is a major river for some and from what I gather the fish have found deep pools to survive in until the river starts flowing again. It is amazing to me with all the water around me that the area can be under drought conditions. I can walk 10 minutes in any direction and reach flowing water.

  This week I met several more Continental Divide Trail hikers.  Some were heading south to Mexico and some heading north to Canada.  I still feel the north hikers will have a better chance of finishing the hike before weather gets too bad.

   I have witnessed several people stealing from the store over the years I have been here, but mostly they get away before the manager can get involved. This week we had a different story.  An under aged kid grab a vodka bottle and headed out of the store. Unfortunately for him a park ranger was at the door at the same time. He was arrested and since this is a federal park, he was transported to Madison jail to await a judge to come and hear his case.  Stupid decisions can cause a lifetime of regret and I am sure he is regretting the action as he sits in a cell for several days because judges don't reside here all the time.

  The store has seen business drop off this week.  They expect that to happen, as every year the kids go back to school.  Business will pick up again around Labor Day. So Delaware North has cut hours for several workers and has given some workers three days off versus the normal two.  

   There has been a cook crisis in one of our general stores at Grant Village. It seems that all the cooks, including the head cook left.  There was only one cook helper left to feed the entire store.  So Delaware North has asked our cooks to do double duty.  So one of our cooks gets transported to Grant Village a couple times a week to cook.  The lower store is also sending one or two of their cooks also to help out. This is a very tough issue for Delaware North, as it is too late in the year to bring in a person who can not only cook but run the employee dining room.  So far this year there has been several issues with store managers also. Our manager has to run our store and run the lower general store at the same time.  Our managers husband, who was supposed to be running the lower store was transferred to Canyon to run that store.  So Delaware North has been doing a lot to keep the general stores running this year.  I would not want to be in charge of having to staff all the general stores in this park with temporary workers.

   On my day off I decided to go see a special historical town called Three Forks Montana.  Historical for those that like history and study it.  Three Forks refers to the three rivers that converge to form another major river that was important in the United States expanding to the west.  The Madison, the Jefferson, and the Gallatin rivers converge to create the Missouri river.  It was at this spot that Lewis and Clark had to leave the river and start their arduous trek across the mountains to Oregon. The sport where the rivers converge in located in a very nice state park. The town of Three Rivers has two very nice museums and an historical hotel call Sacajawea.  I have included pictures below or the trip.  I spent a few hours in each museum and talked to the local volunteers who oversee the museums.  One was a railroad museum and one was a town history museum. Both we excellent and the staff was great to talk to. 

   Not too much else about week four other than pray for my back and my new knees.  The job has been putting a lot of stress on both.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellowstone Adventure 2026 - Week 3

 I am siting in the historical Jackson Lake Lodge presently working on this blog. From where I sit I can see the Tetons Mountain range.  The place is very expensive to stay for a night, but does allow people to come into the lodge to look at the view.  They have outdoor seating so you can watch the elk herds when the are around.  The weather today is rainy but what you see in the pictures is also smoke from the Canadian and Oregon fires. The past several days the smoke has prevented seeing how spectacular the mountains really are around us.  The tourist have been very disappointed in their visit, as the views are half the reason people come here to visit. 

  The store has been busy this week but not as busy as July.  So the managers have been letting us go early in our shift, but just a half an hour to an hour.  It seems that once school gets in session business slows down until Labor Day when it picks back up. So far I am adjusting to the altitude and the work.  I estimated before that it would take a month to really feel healthy about doing the job and I am probably going to be correct about that estimate.  So far this week I have put in 88,000 steps. That is roughly 44 miles of walking and lifting in the grocery section.  My new knees are holding up well, but I have no desire to do much hiking on my days off.  So mostly on my days off I explore outside the park.  Yesterday I went to visit the historic town of Virginia City and then explored other small towns looking at their historical buildings. Below are pictures of a very old catholic church I visited. I think it was over 120 years old.  Very nice and well maintained.

  I experienced my first major power outage and fire alarm this week in the store.  The fire alarm was understandable, as the EDR filled with smoke from a breakfast mishap.  Nothing major just smoke and it was cleared out quickly but we still had to wait for the fire department to come and turn off the alarm and verify all was ok.  The power outage was a major one and affected all of the Old Faithful area.  It took a while to get power restored.  The store has contingency plans for when power outages occur and a back up power system.  So the store stays open until the backup system fails, then they go to the old fashioned knuckle dusters to process credit cards.  The don't like to do that but it is the only way to keep the store going and selling items. I am glad we did not get to that point as it is hard on all workers.

  I was able to talk to many continental divide hikers (CDT) this week. If you are not familiar with the CDT, it is a trail from the southern border of US and Mexico and runs all the way to the US Canadian border.  Some of the hikers I talked to were heading south and some were heading north. I felt that the ones heading north had a better chance of succeeding then the once heading south.  I always ask the hikers for their trail names, as when you start a major hike you choose a name for other hikers to know you by. I have met "Chef", "Peach Pit", and "Instant Coffee", as well as a few I did not remember.  They all looked physically fit, if not fairly skinny.  They stop by the store to get supplies for the next leg of the trip.  Mostly the supplies are high calorie items, such as gummy bears and protein bars.  They also by our dehydrated hiking food packets.  We sell a variety of packets that they would just add water and get a complete meal.  They are light weight and provides a good amount of calories.

  Working in the store I get to converse, or at least try to converse, with many tourists from many different countries.  I do my best to understand what they are asking, but sometimes I have to get google translator out on my phone to understand what they want.  I have talked to people from China, France, Russia, Italy, India, England, and one from Australia.  Most are pleasant, but sometimes they get a little rude.  When that happens I just retreat to my walk in cooler and work on making sure we have enough water to be sold.   

  Not too much else has happened in the store this week.  The weather has started to cool down, which makes sleeping in the dorm and lot better.  Mornings have been around 45 degrees and by mid day it is 85. I see rain and cooling in the forecast next week. So we may be entering fall here shortly.  Thanks for reading and I will blog next week.

 

 

 

Yellowstone Adventure 2026 - Week 2

  I made it through another week of work at the grocery store at Old Faithful.  The weather here has beenn hot and sometimes humid.  It has been continuing this trend for several days now, but relief is in site for a few days.  The forcast shows we will start to get nightly lows in the 30's and highs in the 70's.  Myself and all those living in the unairconditioned dorms would welcome the relief.   

   Not too many exciting things have happened this week at the store. Yes we had a person pass out from the heat, but that seems to happen often when the temperatures reach 80's and 90's at 8,000 feet.  The one thing for sure is at these temperatures we are selling a boat load of water in the store.  The water gets delivered once a week and we are running out of water to sell a day before the truck is to arrive.  Speaking of trucks, I get asked quite often in the store about fresh food.  About 95 percent of all the food items we get delivered here comes frozen.  The only fresh things we get for food are fruits and some vegetables (potatoes and onions).  So the sandwiches we sell come in frozen and we have to let them thaw in the refrigerator before we can put them in our display for sale to the public. We also have 28 days to sell the item once we receive it or the item gets thrown out.  Just some FYI for those interested.

  This week I was able to talk to a woman who was hiking the CDT (continental divide trail).  This trail runs from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada.  She was on her way north to Canada and seems to be making good time.  She was loading up on high calorie items for her backpack and I helped her find some items she needed.  Everyone who does the CDT has a trail name and hers was "Chef". She was very pleasant to talk to and I wished her good hiking the rest of the way for her trip.  The CDT is pretty tough to hike, but you are rewarded with some beautiful scenery.

   This week we celebrated Halloween in the store.  The store always celebrates holidays ahead of time, just to give us something to do.  In a few weeks we will be celebrating Christmas.  These celebrations usually involve decorations by the managers and some great food.  This week we had steak and shrimp.  It was very good and seems to help morale a lot.

   Not too much else to report other than I got in 87,000 steps in the store this week.  The steps are not bothering me as much as the lifting and toting of stock items.  My back and knees need the rest for sure.  I am writing this from Idaho Falls, as I will be staying the night here to watch a couple of movies and just relax for a couple of days before I have to go back to work on Thursday.

  Thanks for reading and so far it is Bison 1 and Tourist 0.