Snow, Snow, Snow and Snow some more

Snow, Snow, Snow and Snow some more

As the calendar says today is April 28, 2017 well over a month and a half pasted the first day of spring somebody forgot to tell ole man winter out here in the Yellowstone region. We arrived in Yellowstone to a sunny day last Thursday and about 2 feet of snow on the ground. We had to dig out a bit to get the trailer in our spot but got set up with little problem.  But since then it has snowed every day since our arrival but the awesome beauty of this place helps you forget that you are an hour and a half from a town of any size in the middle of this winter wonderland.

Friday April 21, we began our first official day of work for Xanterra. Xanterra which is a made-up word taken from “Xanadu” meaning paradise described in the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and “Terra” the Latin word which means earth. Hence Xanterra means “Paradise on Earth”.  

We had to report to the HR building in Gardiner to get our paper work finalized, receive our employee ID cards and pick up our uniforms. This process was scheduled between 7 and 10 am. We were advised by some of our experienced co-workers to arrive early in Gardiner, because around 9 am the buses started arriving from Bozeman Mt. with those who flew here and this would lead to a longer wait. So we departed at 630 am for our 1 hour 15 minute drive. Turns out we encountered our first snow storm of the week and the drive ended up taking 2 hours. But we did arrive safely in Gardiner. Our first training session was at 1030 am and continued until around 4pm with an hour lunch then we had to make the commute back to our home at Fishing Bridge. Thankfully this was the only day that we had to go to Gardiner for training and the snow had stopped on the way back.

Lower Falls of Yellowstone River in Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Road Side Water Fall near Mammoth Springs 

For the rest of the weekend and first part of this week our training was held at the Lake Hotel. This hotel just celebrated it’s 125 anniversary and is the oldest wooden structure built in the national parks system. (Yosemite NP has an older wooden structure but it was built when Yosemite was still a state park) The building is painted bright yellow and sits on the banks of the Yellowstone lake. As for our training Paula and I are both going to be Guest Service Agents and will be checking campers into the campground here at Fishing bridge RV park elevation 7792 feet.  The training has been computer based and we have been learning how to properly check people in, make reservations, check people out and book activities for guest offered throughout the park.  

Now we were told when we applied that because of our location here in Yellowstone we could expect to see snow at some point every month we would be here. But it has snowed every day since our arrival on top of the 2-foot snow blanket already on the ground. One morning we woke up to 7inches of new snow. The silver lining is that the snow makes for beautiful scenery and makes it easier to spot wildlife. But thankfully at least with the new snow it is light and dry as soon as the temps rise it melts away quickly from the roads and trailers.

Beginning Of The Yellowstone River

On Wednesday, we had our first day off in a week so we headed off to Gardiner to the grocery store to pick up a few things and refill our propane tank before heading off to the Lamar Valley part of the park for some exploring. Because Gardiner and the Lamar Valley are about 2000 feet lower in elevation there is very little snow on the ground and the wildlife is more active in this area. 

Never no where you may see wildlife

Here are some of the sites we saw on our day of exploration in Gardiner and the Lamar Valley. The Bison (proper name) are starting to give birth to their spring newborns called “Red dawgs” because of their color and similarity to a large dog.  Other wildlife is very visible as well at this time of year as the animals start moving and recovering from a long winter. To this point we have seen 2 Bald Eagles, an Osprey nest, Bison, Elk, Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep, Pronghorn, Mule Deer Coyotes, 4 Grizzly Bears (at a distance) and assorted birds.   Below are some of the sites we have seen.

"Red Dawg"

Osprey Watching over her eggs

Coyote cleaning a carcus

Sandhill Crane

Now on a funny note as we started home from our day of exploring we got caught up in a “BISON JAM” which is one of the things Yellowstone is known for.   A “BISON JAM” is when the Bison decide to use the road for travel instead of the meadows or fields and in some cases it makes for easier travel for them to avoid obstacles such as a mountain cliff or deep snow.  Now too the funny part. As we started back toward home from the Lamar Valley we encountered a “BISON JAM” of about 20 or so Bison. Thankfully they were moving, unfortunately in the same direction we were headed and they were taking up both lanes with a steep mountain on the left and a steep cliff on the right so not a lot of options for us or them except to plod along at Bison speed. After about 20 minutes or so behind this herd a Park Ranger approached from the opposite way apparently responding to an emergency call of some type because he had the emergency lights activated on his truck. After he had weaved his way through the herd (which is discouraged for visitors to do) and passed us, he accelerated quickly to respond to his call. Now I don’t know whether it was an echo off the cliff walls or his rapid movement but the entire herd changed direction rapidly and in a full sprint began heading at us. Now thankfully the other lane was clear and there was a wide pull out on the shoulder because as they approached our vehicle they split like Moses splitting the Red Sea and they went around both sides of our vehicle. Now 20, 2000 pound plus Bison might have been plodding along before the Ranger passed but believe me those beasts can move at high speeds when they want too. Now there are no photographs or video of this incident as my sidekick was slightly occupied worrying about whether we were going to get stampeded.

Bison Jam before the stampede

Thursday and Friday, we returned back to the Lake Hotel to wrap up our computer training before we begin practical’s next week in preparation for opening day May 5^th.

As I am writing this our forecast low for tonight is 12 degrees, but 40 for Saturday’s high and next week is supposed to improve to the upper 40’s maybe 50 by Thursday. SO maybe ole man winter may finally be deciding to take his summer vacation.

We have Thursday May 4^th off and are praying for warmer conditions so we can hopefully make a trip to Cody Wyoming which requires a trip over Sylvan Pass which is around 8500 feet elevation. The road over the pass is scheduled to open then if we don’t get any more major snow. There is a Wal Mart there and a real nice Buffalo Bill western museum that we want to check out.

So for all you folks suffering in the 90 degree heat enjoy, and remember to turn before you burn and think about US living the dream in the winter wonderland of Yellowstone.

Never forget to look and see where you just came from

Until next time the RamblinRuis

Allen and Paula.