Swapping Hats....and More Yellowstone Bears

Fishing Bridge RV Park, the second campground I trained opened today at 8:00 a.m.  Two down and two to go!

As you can imagine, I have been up to my neck in training Guest Service Agents, but last week I had to swap hats and put on my "manager" hat for a couple of days of manager training.  Today...I put my "trainer" hat back on.  Bridge Bay Campground checks in today and training starts tomorrow morning.

The real interesting part is when the Canyon folks arrive next week...I get to wear both my "manager" hat AND my "trainer" hat.  Is there any wonder I'm waking up at 3:00 a.m. with my mind racing of everything I have to do.  Thank goodness for to-do lists (and a supportive husband)!

OK - enough about my craziness.  I'm sure you are more interested in the bears I mentioned in the title.  Although I've been working hard, I still get time off.  Bill and I went into the park yesterday and saw 5 bears!!  You read that right...F-I-V-E bears!  They were all black bears and seen within an 18 mile stretch between Mammoth Hot Springs and Roosevelt.

Here ya go.....

Bear #1

 Bear #2

After walking around a bit....

 

 ...he decided to take rest by sitting on a downed tree.

  

Bear #3

 

Bears #4 & #5

The picture isn't great, but this looked like a mom and a yearling. 

 

 Seeing the bears was fantastic, but Yellowstone's scenery never disappoints:

 

 

When we stopped for lunch, we had this pull-out all to ourselves.  In a few minutes, we were joined by a group of bison.

The moms were very careful to look both ways before crossing the street.

Working and living in Yellowstone...it's tough, but somebody has to do it!!

   

We Had a Bear-y Good Day

The east entrance road is open, and Bill and I headed out Saturday morning to take a long drive.  We were out of the door before 7:00 a.m.  The day was overcast, spitting rain/snow/sleet, but what fine day it was!

First stop was at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to see the waterfalls.  Here is the upper falls:

And here is the lower falls:

As we continued through the Hayden Valley, we spotted this guy near Mud Volcano.  Why do bears seem to always put their butts towards the road?  I have so many pictures of bear butts.

Digging for whatever grizzlies dig for must be tiring, as he promptly took a rest.

But our patience paid off.  He was soon up again and walking around.

After enjoying the show for a while, Bill and I continued our drive.  We stopped at LeHardy Rapids to see if the Harlequin Ducks had arrived.  These colorful ducks come to breed in the cold fast-moving water of the Yellowstone River.  We've only seen them at this particular location, and they don't stay very long.

First, Bill and I had to walk down a staircase covered with about three feet of snow.  Fortunately, other folks had been down and had made some nice "steps" in the snow.

And they have arrived!  They weren't very active today.  In fact, they seemed to be sleeping...standing on one foot...in fast-moving water.  How do they do that????

After watching the ducks, and getting very cold, we climbed back up to the truck and drove out the east entrance road (after stopping by Fishing Bridge RV Park to say hello).  We drove up to Sylvan Pass, where there was just a little more snow.  :-)

After turning around and heading back down, we came upon this mom and yearling near Steamboat Point.  Steamboat Point has always served us well when we want to see grizzly bears.

The yearling was so much fun to watch...he was digging, digging, digging!  At times, his whole upper body was in the hole.

Next, we stopped by Lake Village, where we had lunch in the Employee Dining Room.  And yes, the Yellowstone Lake is still frozen.

After lunch, we headed back towards Gardiner.  Of course we had to make few stops along the way.  As we were sitting in a pull-out in Hayden Valley, this big guy came sauntering by.

 He walked right by my side of the truck.

Our final stop was at Rustic Falls.  We drive by this waterfall any time we go into the park from Mammoth, but I hadn't gotten a picture yet.  This is one of my favorite falls.

And last, but not least, here is the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone.

The park is really waking up now.  We even saw a few tour buses and rental RVs.  Summer is right around the corner!

Now That's a Snowplow!

Today NPS opened more roads in Yellowstone.  Bill and I took advantage of my short day at work and headed over to Canyon Campground to check out our summer home.

These snowplows were parked just south of the closed road that leads over Dunraven Pass.  Located between Canyon and Tower and at almost 9,000 feet, Dunraven is the highest pass in Yellowstone.  We couldn't tell if they were getting ready to plow, or if they had already plowed.  Either way, the road is still closed.

We were fortunate to find the gate open at Canyon Campground.  Not knowing who opened it and when they would close it, we didn't spend a lot of time in the campground.  We sure didn't want to get locked in.

So, here is where we will be working this summer (once my training gig is complete).

I was happy to see there wasn't too much snow.  In the campground itself, the main roads have been plowed but none of the sites.  We still have a month before we open, so I'm not worried...yet.  :-)

In the Midst

Yes, I am in the midst of training Guest Service Agents.  I finished with Madison Campground last Friday at noon and sent them on their way.  At 1:00, I met the Fishing Bridge RV Park staff.

Training began on Saturday at 8:00, and we all had today off.  I admit today wasn't as exciting as my last day off, but it was productive.  

Bill and I headed to Bozeman.  Our first stop was a much-needed hair cut for me.  Hair cuts were the most frustrating item to deal with when we first hit the road.  I soon learned that bad hair cuts grow out...thank goodness!  Fortunately, I got a good hair cut at Great Clips in Bozeman.  And to make it even better, they were running a special with hair cuts for $6.99.  After a tip, I was still under $10.00.  Next, we stopped at Target, Costco, and Smith's Grocery Store, and then we were headed back home.

We did find a great place for lunch, Clark's Fork.  Bill and I split a delicious ham and turkey sandwich on focaccia bread.  This will now be our "go-to" place for lunch when in Bozeman.

I guess you can see not every day off can be one filled with wildlife and beautiful scenery (although the drive to Bozeman is pretty scenic, and we did see a few big horn sheep on the way home).  This is real life, and at times we have to do real-life things.  

However, my next day off is Saturday, and more roads should be open in the park.  Look for more pictures of our summer home, Yellowstone.

I LOVE My Days Off

I enjoy my job with Xanterra.  I meet the nicest folks, and my days off can be amazing.  Today was one of those days.  Bill and I headed out into the park and were greeted by this bald eagle.

We hiked out on the Rescue Creek Trail and saw lots of big horn sheep.

 

Bill and I have a bad habit of wondering what is around the bend.  So, we went off trail for a while.  We were on a bluff overlooking the Yellowstone River.

 As we made our way back to the trailhead, this is what we saw.  I think we left the trail at the perfect time.  But, it is good to see school groups in the park.  I only wish I had field trips like this.

 

 Back in the truck, we head to Lamar Valley, where we see MORE big horn sheep...

 ...and lots of bison...

 ...and beautiful views.

 But the highlight of the day was our first black bear.  And for a few minutes we had him all to ourselves.

It is days like this that make me realize how fortunate we are to be living in Yellowstone.  It is truly amazing!

A Drive into Yellowstone

Last week the National Park Service opened some of the roads in Yellowstone.  Bill and I took advantage of a free afternoon and headed into the park.  We were able to go as far as Old Faithful.


Here's the view as we drove out of Mammoth and up onto Swan Lake Flat:

We made it down to Old Faithful but didn't hang around for an eruption.  It was just too darn cold and windy.  Plus, we have six months in the park...I'm sure we'll see it erupt eventually.  So, here is the iconic geyser putting out a little steam.

And here is something most folks never see...empty bleachers at Old Faithful Geyser.  In a few weeks, this place will be crazy with folks waiting to see the famous eruption.

And the parking lot at Old Faithful...not nary a vehicle:

 And here's one last shot...the Old Faithful Visitor Center.  I know I have some blog readers who will be working for the Yellowstone Association at Old Faithful.  Believe me, it's almost impossible to get a picture without hordes of visitors milling about.

On our way back, Bill noticed something in the Firehole River.  He turned the truck around and stopped in a pull-out.  We were greeted by a pair of Trumpeter Swans.

 The next morning, as I left for work, we noticed the predicted snow had arrived.  Although it wasn't much, there was a layer of ice beneath the snow.  Bill drove me to work, and yes, we did a little slipping and sliding along the way.

Speaking of work, I have been busy training the Guest Service Agents who will be working at Madison Campground.  The class is going well, and our last day together will be Friday until noon.  Afterwards, they will move their rigs to Madison Campground and finish their training on site, and I will meet the second group checking in...Fishing Bridge RV Park...and it starts all over again.

Yesterday, while I was working, Bill drove into the park in search of a bear.  We still haven't gotten any really good pictures of a bear.  

He noticed Electric Peak had a little more snow on it than the first time we went into the park.

One of my favorite Yellowstone waterfalls is Rustic Falls.  When Bill drove past it, he found it frozen....

 And here's why it was frozen....yes, that is -7 degrees.

 The cold weather doesn't bother these guys:

And it was a great day for seeing Pronghorns:

 

Unfortunately, Bill didn't get his bear, but he did see four moose.  In Yellowstone, four moose trump a bear.  Here is a picture of the closest one.

I have today and Thursday off.  Isn't it funny how days off seem to come at just the right time.  Bill and I have some errands to take care of today, and we hope to get out for a hike tomorrow.  By the way, things have warmed up a bit.  We should be in the 50s tomorrow.