It is finished......

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6:41 am - Wednesday - October 4th - 23º F (double BRRRR!), humidity 89%, wind - CALM....I would agree....forecast for Gardiner, MT is 51º F, and 49º F in Livingston, MT where we will be later today.....forecast today is partly cloudy this morning with rain later this afternoon.....well after we have rolled our wheels northward.

In spite of all my best intentions not to get emotional Tuesday as I exchanged one 'until next time' after another with more of my co-workers I guess it was inevitable.  I find myself emoting much more easily as I add years to my age.  The longer you spend with people the more attached you become to them, and the more difficult it is to bid them adieu......it is always our intent to reconnect with those who have become friends, but there is a part of me that knows I will never see some of these people again, and that is the part that hurts.....that is the part that makes me tear up.  It's not my intent to be maudlin, but only to describe as accurately as possible what I am feeling at the end of another seasonal job.  Those of you who have worked seasonal jobs know exactly what I am talking about.  Part of me....the part that doesn't like the pain of separation from friends thinks it would be better not to get so attached, but the better part of me knows that as I let people into my life I am changed for the better.....I take a small piece of each of them with me as I move on to another adventure.  When I think of Taylor in the future I will be able to hear her wonderful laugh in my head, and marvel at how brave she is at such a young age to be living her life 'outside the box'......

 Me and my 'Fountain' buddy Taylor together Tuesday for one last shift......this lady can scoop!

......when I think of Bryan I will remember all of the conversations we had about the outdoors, about backpacking, cycling, about his enthusiasm for this nomadic lifestyle he and Caitlin have chosen at such a young age......

 Bryan....the 'Fountain' supervisor....a good man

......when I think of Susan the word 'classy' will always pop into my mind first.......Chuck is the consummate professional.......he is always right to the point.....he always very appreciative of any help you might offer......

 TLE photo bombing......Susan (cashier with TLE) and Chuck (floor supervisor)

........she prefers to be called Caitlin, but Bryan calls her Caitie, and so do I......every time I see her I start smiling, because she is always smiling, upbeat, and professional.....when ever I called for help with a register issue she was there in a flash from wherever she might have been.......

 With Caitlin.....one of our floor supervisors and Bryan's significant other.....she is the sweetest and most conscientious supervisor I have ever had at any seasonal job.

.....then there is Paul, our custodian.......he is the kind of guy you meet sometimes that you would swear you have known for years.......when he talks to you it is like you are the only other person on the room.....we had so many wonderful conversations about everything under the sun, and I will miss that a lot........

Paul.....our custodian.....we had many very interesting talks (Susan the cashier's significant other)

....but now, once again, I must tell each of them 'until next time'......even though I will be separated from them, they will still be with me.....they have become a part of who I am.  Does that make sense?  

Tuesday was much like other recent days in the Mammoth Hot Springs General Store.....not extremely busy.  The time did not seem to drag by so much because I was moving from one 'until next time' conversation to another, and then repeating that pattern all day long.  Around 12:30 pm Kristal, the General Store manager, and our boss called TLE and I into her office to do our 'exit interviews'.  She is the best seasonal boss we have had in the six years we have been on the road......again, very professional, but personable at the same time.  Always a smile, and always a positive word......TLE and I both agreed that we would happily work for her again anywhere she may land.

Around 5 pm Caitlin asked TLE and I to bring our cash drawers to the break room one more time to do our final countdown......this time we kept our big bills.....for me I had two $100 bills, and just added five $20's to those to equal my final $300 count.....all the small bills and coins went into the drop bag, and that was it for me.  TLE actually had three $100 bills so her final countdown was faster than mine.  We turned in our ID cards, our name badges, our red aprons, and our gray jackets (I'm wearing one of them in most of my pictures for this blog entry), exchanged hugs one more time with Caitlin and then we were done.......of course, the tears were not done.....TLE and I both walked to the Beetle wiping tears from our eyes, and then we began our last drive down the Gardiner River Gorge......it has never looked more beautiful than Tuesday evening at 5:30 pm.

We were home a  little after 5:30 still feeling a little emotional, but eventually we began to change our focus to what comes next.....getting ready to roll our 38,000 pounds of steel north to Livingston, MT, and then the drive into Billings Thursday to catch our flight home to see our son, Tim, get married to The Beautiful Laila (TBL).....whew.....I am still tearing up as I finish today's missive......life is, indeed, so good....I am blessed beyond measure.

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One more time........una vez mãs

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5:51 am - Tuesday - October 3rd - Happy birthday to me! - 24º F (I believe it), humidity 82%, wind 3 mph out of the west by northwest......seems much higher than that.....at least 10 mph....cloudy with a forecast high today in Gardiner, MT of 48º F, and 44º F in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.  No rain forecast today.  As I sit here composing my latest missive the birthday wishes are dinging on my Galaxy Note 5 cell phone.  I've been saying I'm 68 for about 6 months now so I could get used to the sound of it.....now that the big day is here it seems kind of anti climatic.  Maybe I should take up TLE's tradition of saying she is just celebrating the anniversary of her 49th birthday each year.......hmmmm.

Well, Monday is in the history books, and we are down to 'one more time' driving up and then down the Gardiner River Gorge......that's it.....una vez mãs.....as Ferris Bueller is oft and famously quoted......"Life moves pretty fast....if you don't stop and look around once and a while you could miss it".  Thankfully we have been sitting in one place for almost 3.5 months, and while we have missed seeing a few things we made a gallant effort at seeing all the things that held interest for us this time around.  We found out that even if you have 3.5 months of weekends it is still almost impossible to see everything in YNP in that span of time.  Nevertheless, I believe we now have a good working knowledge of this, the first National Park in the world.

We arrived for our second to last work day at the Mammoth Hot Springs General store just after 8:30 am, and within a few minutes were busily getting our stations ready for the opening of the store at 9 am.  There are always a number of folks standing outside awaiting for the doors to be opened at 9 am so we get this initial flurry of activity as the store opens, then things settle down to almost nothing for about an hour.

The outdoor temp never got above 38º F, and every customer coming through our door was wearing winter outerwear.  Ice cream sales were slow, as one might expect, but pretzel sales were brisk all day long. We were fully staffed Monday so I remained at my 'Fountain' assignment for the entire day switching on and off the register with my co-worker Michael.

It was a strictly 'plain vanilla' day at the General Store with nothing new to report.......Michael and I cleaned the 'Fountain' area beginning at 5 pm, and were done by 5:30 pm.....I counted down my cash drawer for the 2nd to last time and was on my way home with TLE a little after 6.  We spent the evening watching the recorded finale of 'So You Think You Can Dance' which was won by Lex.  This is really a popularity contest since the winner is chosen by the viewers of the show, and the best dancer is not always the winner, however, this year I would have been happy with any of the four finalists winning.

We were in bed a little after 9:30 pm thinking about our last day working at the Mammoth Hot Springs General Store, and also about what we still need to do before we rolls our wheels Wednesday.

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Two more times........

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6:09 am - Monday - October 2nd - 32º F, humidity 89%, wind 5 mph out of the north by northwest.....cloudy......low chance of rain (less than 20%)....forecast high for Gardiner, MT today is 40º and 39º F in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.....WOW, where did that come from?   Woke up to the news that some lunatic male opened fire from a room in a high rise hotel in Las Vegas last evening on a crowd watching a Country Music concert.......50+ killed, and over 200 hundred wounded....makes me glad I spend most of my time in rural America.  My heart goes out to those families who needlessly lost loved ones, and to those who were wounded, or trampled in the madness that ensued.  A good friend, and her daughter managed to escape, but suffered injuries when they fell and were trampled.....fortunately no serious injuries for them......just scrapes and bruises.

What a ride this summer has been!  Friendships continue to deepen as the season winds down.  It's time for another round of 'until next times' replete with long hugs and promises to remain in touch, and to somehow reconnect in the future. These are not hollow promises.....they are heart felt, and I know we will see each other again......

Last 'usie' with Dodge & Christina at the Mammoth Hot Springs General Store.....left to right: Moi, Christina, TLE and Dodge (Kristen)

.......if it is possible, and it certainly is, Sunday seemed to be the slowest day, I believe, at the General Store since we arrived.....painfully slow.  I'm almost positive the clock was running backwards at times.  There was about an hour of pretty steady activity, but that was pretty much it.  One of our fellow employees injured her back slipping and falling on a patch of ice in the employee parking lot on her way into work.  She attempted to man her post as a cashier, but by noon she was sent home in pain.  As a result I was asked to move my cash drawer over to the retail desk for the rest of the afternoon where I once again got to work alongside TLE.  I've enjoyed the change of pace the past two days as it is a little bit busier at the retail desk than at the 'Fountain'.

We closed the store at 6 pm, and were on our way down the Gardiner River Gorge once again......this time headed for the Rusty Rail to have a few drinks with Dodge (floor supervisor) and Christina (stocker)........we laughed and did some crying....this will be our last time at the Rusty Rail this summer, and we will miss these folks terribly......

Last 'usie' with our good buddy Dodge (Kristen) at the Rusty Rail....."Love you, mean it!"

.......by 8:30 we hugged some more, then slobbered a little more, then went home.......just two more times up and down the Gardiner River Gorge before we roll our wheels!

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Three more times.......

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5:52 am - Sunday - October 1st - 29º F, humidity 83%, wind 5 mph out of the west by northwest.......partly cloudy......forecast high for today in Gardiner, MT is 44º F, and 42º F in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.....rain, maybe, this afternoon.

I know, the title was sort of predictable if you know me a little, but I like countdowns.....just three more times driving up the Gardiner River Gorge road to Mammoth Hot Springs to work, and the same number driving back down to our home.  The days are going by quickly as the General Store is staying comfortably busy during the day......

......once again I was paired with Addie and Jonah.  Under the new schedule (9 am to 6 pm) we begin our workday at 8:45 am in order to get the fountain area ready for business by 9 am.  It takes just about 15 minutes to get the hot dogs on the rollers, the chili heating up, the pretzels cooked and on display, and pull the lids off the ice cream tubs in the freezer.  Then we stand around for about 2 hours before things begin to get even a little busy.  Most of our early sales are coffee, hot chocolate and hot cider.....we may even sell a few soft pretzels.  Between 11 am and noon we usually get a small rush of folks dropping in for an early lunch at which time our hot dog and bratwurst sales accelerate, and we even begin to dish out a few scoops of ice cream.  Then there is a lull for about 45 minutes to an hour, but by 2 pm things pick up and stay comfortably busy for the rest of the shift.

The makeup of the post Labor Day tourists is completely different from that of July and August.  The people we are seeing now in YNP seem much more courteous in many ways.  We actually see folks pulling into the 'PULL OUTS' to let faster traffic pass them......we rarely, if ever saw this in June, July, or August.  Rarely do you see people just stop in the middle of the road to take pictures of a bison some 100 yards off the road......instead they find a place to pull over, and then stop to take their pictures...what a novel concept!  Those coming into the store seem much more aware of their surroundings, and rarely have to ask what a particular ice cream's ingredients might be, or where the nearest public restroom might be.....they actually either figure it out on their own, or actually read the numerous signs we have on display to explain the various flavors of ice cream we serve, and where the public restroom is.  For the most part the mix of folks, as one of our supervisors related, is made up of 'newlyweds, and the nearly dead'.....in other words......20 somethings and older retired folk.....very few young children.

As I was nearing the end of my shift in the 'Fountain' our floor supervisor (Dodge) asked if I would move my cash drawer over the retail desk at 5:30 as one of the cashiers went home ill (Thomas).....of course, I said yes.  Actually, we were done cleaning the fountain by 5:20 so I moved my drawer then, and spent the last 40 minutes working beside The Lovely Elaine.  We closed the doors at 6 pm, and then counted down our drawers......we were on our way down the Gardiner River Gorge by 6:15 pm.....the end of 'another day in paradise'.

Just three more work days until we roll our wheels......time is short, and another wave of 'until next times' is just around the corner.

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Four more times.....

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5:43 am - Saturday - September 30th - 39º F, humidity 84%, wind 5 mph out of the southwest......cloudy with rain on the way this afternoon.....forecast high for Gardiner, MT is 56º, and 54º F in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.  Tomorrow is a new month.....October here we come!

So, Friday has come and gone......just 'another day in paradise' as my good friend Roscoe would say.  For the second day in a row the weather was idyllic......low 60's, no wind, mostly clear skies.....we even opened all the entrance doors for the second day in a row.  The day began slowly, but ramped up to a moderately busy day.....I'm guessing we did over $10,000 again.

I spent the day in the 'Fountain' running the register about 98% of the time while Addie and Jonah scooped ice cream, which was what I expected.  They prefer not to be attached to the register, and that is fine with me.  By 5 pm, closing time for the 'Fountain', the customers had all but disappeared.  

Jonah, Addie and I had the 'Fountain' cleaned and ready for Saturday's business by 5:20 at which time I pulled my cash drawer to count it down for another day.  I'll do that 4 more times, and that is what it has come down to for me......4 more times driving up the Gardiner River Gorge......4 more times driving down.....4 more days working in the Mammoth Hot Springs General Store.....4 more days with our YNP friends......4 more days living in Gardiner, MT.  When we began our sojourn in YNP in mid June the days seemed 'unlimited', but now they have become quite finite.  Soon we will be changing our view without going through escrow.  We will simply drop the trailer on the hitch of the Newell and roll our 10 wheels once again.

With the end of our time in YNP my mind begins to think about what comes next......a round trip flight to SoCal for our son, Tim's wedding, our trip south to the Grand Canyon.....where will we stop along the way.....what will we see that is new.....what new friendships await us.  The future is not yet written, but thinking about the possibilities makes me happy.

We were home by 6:20 at which time I quickly changed clothes and began straightening up the interior of the trailer so TLE and I could drag the artificial turf inside before the rain comes.  It took me less than an hour to clear the rear of the trailer and then it was time for TLE to help me fold up the turf, and then drag it over to the trailer.  In just over an hour from start to finish I was once again locking the rear ramp door, and the turf was inside.  All the bikes are stowed for travel.....there is a little left to do, but that will all be inside the trailer, so the rain/snow will not be a factor.

In the middle of getting the trailer organized I noticed we were the beneficiaries of another wonderful Montana sunset......

.....the end of the season is upon us......Yellowstone RV Park will be closing for the winter in four weeks.....one of the two camp hosts has already departed.  Time is moving forward, life is good and I am content.

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9 to 6.....

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5:40 am - Friday - September 29th - 33º F, humidity 79%, wind 4 mph out of the south by southwest....should be sunny when the sun comes over the eastern horizon.....forecast high for Gardiner, MT today is 62º F, and 60º F for Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.  Beginning Saturday we are forecast to have 4 straight days of rain/snow.

Those overnight temps are getting consistently into the 20's and just over the next two weeks (if we were still going to be here) they will be dipping consistently into the teens.  When I get up in the morning (I'm first up about 99% of the time) I turn on two heaters to take the chill off the coach.  You're thinking.....".....he turns ON the heaters?  Why aren't they ON all night?"....I know, right?  Well, we both like it to be cool at night as we sleep better.  Plus the dry heat coming from any running heater (electric or gas) dries out our collective sinuses/throats......not good, or pleasant.  Anyway, no heaters on at night works for us.....at least for now.

So, we were on our way driving up to Mammoth Hot Springs by 8:15 am.....that's a mostly new experience for us.....we did two 'OPEN' shifts way back in mid June just after we arrived, but for the most part we have been departing for work at 9 am (only a couple of times), or later as we have had only 'MID' and 'CLOSE' shifts since then.  Having to be ready to go to work by 8:15 am means I once again must get up when it is still dark, and means I must go to bed much earlier than the 11, or 11:30 pm I have been used to all summer.  Oh well, it's only for a few more days.

Upon our arrival at work I felt compelled to go outside and take a video of the steam coming off the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces.....the colder it is the more noticeable the steam is.......

.......by 8:45 am we were both at our stations ready for another day in the General Store.  Micheal and I were manning the 'Fountain', and TLE along with Thomas was at main desk cashiering away.  I also put a cash drawer in as I would be relieving Michael for his breaks and lunch.  On Friday I will be the main cashier guy in the 'Fountain'.  Business was slow at first, but gradually gained steam and we finished the day with over $11,000 in sales.....much higher than the $6-8,000 we had done over each of the previous three days.  That is just busy enough to keep the time moving along.  5 pm (the new closing time for the 'Fountain) came quickly and it was time for us to clean it in preparation for Friday.  The store itself stays open until 6 pm, so I had to wait about 45 minutes for TLE to finish her shift and count down her drawer.  Under the new 9 am to 6 pm hours I work about 8 hours and 15 minutes.....TLE's works about 9 hours.....I like my shorter hours, except for the waiting part.

As we were exiting the door to the employee parking lot we were stopped in our tracks by the presence of two bull elk........

......my picture only shows one, but there were actually two two bull elk kind of sparring over one cow.....so we were stuck for a few minutes until they took their festivities elsewhere.  As we waited we could hear bull elk bugling in the distance.....these two were not bugling, but just glaring at each other.

Finally we were able to safely get to our car and begin the drive home.  As we passed the USPS we saw another bull elk chasing a car about 200 feet in front of us.....yup, it is the rutting season!  We were home by 6:30 where we changed our clothes and went outside to begin drying out our artificial turf by turning it over, and did the same to the awning mat I had in front of the trailer entrance.  They will get sun on them Friday, and then when we get home Friday we'll fold them up and put them in the trailer.  All I will have left to do is to organize the trailer just enough to pull it up to Livingston Wednesday....we will not be inserting the VW for the 52 mile drive.

Our last work schedules were posted Thursday and have us working Thursday through Sunday for the current pay period (all pay periods end each Sunday), and then Monday and Tuesday in our final pay period......we leave on Wednesday.  So, we will work 6 straight days to finish out our season here in Yellowstone National Park.

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Iconic......

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5:56 am - Thursday - September 28th - 30º F (Brrrrrr!), humidity 95%, wind 2 mph out of the south by southwest....when the sun comes up it should be clear blue skies.....pitch black right now.  Why am I up so early you ask?  Well, today begins our new 9 am to 6 pm hours.  Our shift begins at 8:45 am, which means we must depart Gardiner by 8:15 am, or thereabouts. 

Wednesday would really be our last opportunity to do some more site seeing here in Yellowstone National Park.  The one iconic view we had not been able to get even close to was Canyon Falls.  Every time we would drive by the entrances to the several vista points the traffic into them was at a standstill.  Some of the entrances to the parking lots can be anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 mile in length, and the thought of sitting in stop (mostly stopped) and go traffic for an hour just never appealed to us.  We were hoping that this trip over Dunraven Pass to Canyon Village would be different.......and it was.

We left home around 11 am to make the 1+ hour drive over to Canyon Village to first have lunch with our good friend Art Young who is a manager at the Adventure Center store there.  We first me Art at Amazon in Fernley, NV when we worked Peak Season there a few years ago.  We became friends and stayed in contact.  He is the one who helped us secure our job here at Mammoth Hot Springs, and we will be forever grateful.  At any rate, we met him around 12:15 pm at his store and walked the short distance over to the General Store and their Grill for lunch.  We were quickly seated, and placed our orders for food, and then commenced a non-stop conversation for the next 40 minutes before Art had to return to his job.  He is also going to the Grand Canyon this winter, so we are excited that he will be able to join us on some hiking adventures this winter!

From there we drove a short distance south to the 'Artist's Point' vista point for Canyon Falls....as we drove past the first two entrances we saw there was NO traffic......how exciting!  There was no traffic at the 'Artist's Point' entrance and we just whizzed right into the parking lot finding a parking spot within seconds......a few minutes later we got our first view of the iconic Canyon Falls.......

.....we gradually worked our way over to the optimum viewing point, and I have to say it exceeded my expectations by a mile.....it is literally the most breathtaking view I have yet seen here in YNP.....

 

.....unfortunately, the Uncle Tom Trail, which everyone we know says to hike, has been closed all summer for repairs.....I understand there are some 300 stairs that take you right down to the base of the falls.....we will have to return to do that hike in the future.....and we will.....

.....our next stop was the 'Brink of the Falls' entrance where you can hike down from the north rim to stand on a platform right next to the falls.......I wondered how many gallons of water are going over those falls every second.......

.......we managed to view Canyon Falls from every conceivable vantage point....we were literally able to drive into each parking area and secure a parking spot with no wait whatsoever.

Soon it was after 3 pm and time to begin the laborious trek back over the beautiful Dunraven Pass once again......it is only laborious as the traffic can be very unpredictable, even on an off season day such as September 27th.....we stopped near the top to get this pano shot looking southward......again, breathtaking......as you can see, there is still a lot of unmelted snow from our last storm.......

......on our way through Mammoth Hot Springs (a little after 4 pm now) we stopped off at the Yellowstone National Park Post Office to close out our P. O. Box, turn in our keys, and get our $18 deposit back......another sign that our time here is getting shorter!

We stopped off at the Gardiner Market for some minor provisions, and were home just before 5 pm.....another amazing day in Yellowstone National Park!  In fact, what a wonderful three day weekend we had!  I was in bed by 9:30 am in anticipation of getting up by 5:15 am....okay, I need a few hours to get myself going in the morning!

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Good news!

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9:15 am - Wednesday - September 27th - 39º F, 85% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the south by southeast.....clear blue skies with contrails......forecast high for this day is 59º F in Gardiner, MT, and in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY 59º F, also.  Headed out to do some more site seeing today!  Slept in until almost 9 am today.....wow.....double wow!

Well, TLE and I have very big news to share this morning!  I alluded to a new adventure awaiting us for the summer of 2018 (next summer!), and now it has been confirmed.  After submitting our resumes and then doing a lengthy phone interview we have been accepted to work at an RV park just outside the gates of Acadia National Park in Maine!  We will be living about 12 miles from Bar Harbor, and in the middle of one of the most beautiful places in this country for about 5 months.  We're going to keep the name of the RV park 'under our hat' for now, but suffice it to say that this could not have worked out better.  We will be in a location which enables us to explore New England at our leisure, something we have wanted to do ever since we hit the road nearly 6 years ago.  We will be paid $11/hour for all hours worked, and if we complete our contract we will receive a $1/hour bonus for every hour worked at the end of the season.  Now we must fight the temptation to get too far ahead of ourselves.......May, 2018 is still 7 months into the future......there is a lot on our plate before that time.  Nevertheless, we are happy to know we will finally be able to tour New England!

Tuesday was a very, very laid back day for us......we were off work, of course, so we slept in...... 

.....when I stepped out the front door I was greeted by 4 deer who had taken up residence on my artificial turf once again......my presence, of course, startled them, and they quickly made their way to another site.......

.......around 12:30 we began our drive over to Chico Hot Springs for one last soak.....on our way we changed things up, deciding to continue all the way to Livingston for a late lunch at Katabatic Brewing Company........after a brief 5-10 minute stop at a construction zone we arrived in Livingston around 1:30 pm.........

A signal controlled construction zone

.......Katabatic was relatively busy when we entered, but we were able to find a table and quickly ordered.  You may recall that they are directly next door to a good Mexican restaurant, so we ordered from them.....I had their Chile Relleño, and TLE had their Mexican Hot Dog......to chase those entrees we both ordered the Katabatic Scotch Ale, which is still the best of this title I have every sipped!  I love it when we make things up on the fly.....what a great lunch, and I am so happy we were able to visit Katabatic one more time before we depart.

On our way back north to Chico we stopped off at the RV park where we will be staying in just a week to check out the site they had reserved for us.....it is a long 65' pull through, which will be perfect for us.....we won't have to drop the trailer!

We arrived at Chico Hot Springs around 2:45 pm and were soaking in their hot pool within 10 minutes......we only stayed in the hot pool for an hour, but we emerged totally relaxed and refreshed.  On our way home we were stopped once again at the construction zone, but we didn't care......we had received our Maine job offer while eating at Katabatic, and we had just soaked in a hot mineral pool for an hour......no need to worry about a 10 minutes rest stop along the way!

We were home before 5 pm, and relaxing shortly after that......what a great day of pretty much doing nothing, but in the end so much was accomplished!  One more piece of good news......I was able to cancel my DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket without penalty, and received a full refund of what I had already paid.  Apparently DirecTV (AT&T) has decided that they don't want to be on the opposite side of millions of Americans who are fed up with the injection of politics into sports.  Normally, if you cancel in the midst of the season there is a penalty....usually you continue the monthly payments whether, or not you are watching.

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In My Life......

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8:27 am - Tuesday - Septmember 26th - 41º F, humidity 81%, wind 1 mph out of the southwest.......cloudy from horizon to horizon.....forecast high for this day is 52º F in Gardiner, MT, and in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY 51º F......no rain in this forecast.

Slept in Monday until almost 8 am.....I love slowly waking up as it gets lighter and lighter inside the Newell.....no sudden jolt of adrenaline caused by the sudden clanging of an alarm clock....it seems so much more natural to awake with this feeling of contentment which comes from a good night's sleep.  As I slowly reach a conscious state I reach across the bed to touch TLE, and the contentment I feels grows stronger.  We have a good life......a life being lived on our terms.  As each year of our nomadic existence passes slowly into the rear view mirror of life we find we are living more simply, and in doing so are learning to appreciate the small things in life that bring true contentment.  

There are no police, fire, or ambulance sirens waking us up night after night as was so often the case when we lived in our 'sticks and bricks' abode......in fact I do not believe I have heard a siren in the past 3+ months we have been living in Gardiner, MT.  There is no continuous hum of traffic in the background anymore.....just the occasional semi slipping into town riding its 'Jake' brake as it slowly decelerates to the local speed limit.  Sometimes it is so still and quiet my ears begin to 'ring' a little.  There is little ambient light at night enabling us to see the Milky Way and the trillions of stars that fill the night sky.  We see antelope, elk, rabbits, and deer on a daily basis in our campground and on our way to and from work each day.  We go to sleep at night to the sounds of the Yellowstone River as it makes its way slowly to ever lower elevations......I feel the breath of the night breezes on my cheek as I drift off to yet another peaceful night of sleep.  Yes, it is a good life......a life filled with like minded folks at each stop along the way.  Some become very good friends......some touch your soul in a profound way.....some teach you to look at the world in a new light.  All of those with whom I have worked this summer are now apart of the fabric which makes me who I am.....I am not the same person who arrived here on June 15th......I am all the richer for this experience.

Will we return to work in Yellowstone again?  I can't say right now.......there are new horizons still unexplored in this country that require our attention.  Will we return to Yellowstone again as visitors?  Absolutely.....there are still 900 miles of hiking trails which beckon us.....how can their call be ignored for long?

Within a very few days now we will be changing our view again........we will attend the wedding of our youngest, Tim, to his wonderful, beautiful, intelligent Laila.  The cycle of life continues unabated......weddings, new grand babies, birthdays, anniversaries, new vistas, new experiences.  Yes, it is a good life......it is our life.

"In My Life" by the Beatles

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Boycott.....

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8:22 am - Monday - September 25th - 29º F, humidity 95%, wind 1 mph out of the south southeast......clear BLUE skies.....forecast high for today is 50º F in Gardiner, Mt, and 49º F in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY......0% chance of rain.

Sunday was a very emotionally turbulent day for me.......if you have read my blog for any period of time you know that I love to watch both college and professional football.  Over the past couple of seasons a few NFL players began to protest during the National Anthem first by sitting during the anthem, then kneeling.  This practice escalated significantly this Sunday with, in some cases, entire teams refusing to stand for the National Anthem, and others remaining in the locker room until after the Anthem was finished.  I have become increasingly disturbed by this show of disrespect for our national symbols, which in my opinion, is entirely based on a false premise.  They have the Constitutional right to protest.....it's called 'Free Speech'......they do not have the right to be respected for their form of protest.  I was faced with a difficult decision......do I continue to watch, and therefore lend consent by my silence, or do I stop watching?  I wrestled with this decision the entire day at work, and by the end of the day decided I would also engage in my own form of protest.....I will no longer watch NFL games as long as this disgusting display of disrespect continues.   Politics continues to encroach into every aspect of our lives.....is there no corner of refuge from the political?  I cannot turn on ESPN anymore without being deluged with political opinions by the nattering nabobs foisting their politically correct opinions upon my soul.  I am boycotting ESPN, and I am boycotting the NFL.  When they decide to leave politics at the door of the studio and stadium I may return.....I don't know.....that is a decision for another day.  Until that day arrives I now have Sunday's free once again.

Our Sunday shift was the 'CLOSE' so, as is our custom, began our drive up the Gardiner River Gorge around 11 am arriving at the General Store around 11:15 am.  Including myself we had 4 workers in the fountain when we could probably have gotten by with 2, or even one for 99% of the shift.  I'm not complaining.....it is the nature of this time of year and the 8 am to 8 pm hours......once we begin our new store hours (9 am to 6 pm) and only work 4 days per week that, the over staffing, will disappear.  

There were brief flurries of activity during the day, but for the most part we, the 'Fountain' folk, spent our time talking about 'cabbages and kings' 95% of the time.  I spent my last 'CLOSE' shift working with Taylor.....we work well together, and when it comes to closing the 'Fountain' and doing the required cleaning we have it down to a science.  Once again it was 7:30  and I was saying good night to Taylor for the last time.  I had to wait about 30 minutes for TLE as her shift begins and ends after mine, but we were on our way home by 8 pm......not watching Sunday Night NFL, but the finale of Master Chef, which was won, deservedly by Dino.

We are off work the next three days, and we are awaiting a phone call from a possible employer at our exciting summer of 2018 destination.  They have read our resumes and want to talk to us......crossing our fingers that all goes well!

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