Weekend Off - Where to Go?

With my car wheel bearing replaced, I was ready for a little weekend adventure.  Even better . . . my first "weekend" off without rain in the forecast. It is nice having Sunday & Monday off as my weekend off, and I made the most of it this past weekend, as the weather was warm and sunny. 

My initial plan was to head north towards Glacier National Park and its sister park Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta (yes, in Canada).  I had done a basic routing, figuring I'd have plenty of time at the St. Mary's entrance to Glacier on my way to Canada.  Unfortunately, when I got the border crossing, I learned I needed to be a registered visitor on their ArriveCAN website.

I guess I should have done more research, but I has under the impression that with the COVID pandemic concerns lessened and the borders open between the US & Canada, there were no onerous processes in place.  I was wrong . . . and got turned around . . . told by the Canadian border agent that I would need to go back into the USA, find a signal and register online with my vaccination status.

Given the border was only going to be open until 6pm local time, and it was already 2pm, it hardly seemed worth the effort.  Having looked up the information online since returning home to Gardiner, I've decided it's OK if I never get back to Canada as long as they have such onerous requirements.

The other thing that happened was that I realized the direct border entry point between Glacier NP and Waterton Lakes NP has remained closed since pre-COVID.  I suppose staffing the extra entry point in such challenging times is the underlying reason, but I don't know.  It was unfortunate that I got all the way to that border only to see this.  All in all, pretty poor planning on my part.

That said, it was still a really great couple of days, so not being able to get into Canada didn't deter or upset me.  I did realize about mid-afternoon, that I was going to need a hotel room near Glacier NP.  I started calling around, and was happy with being able to land a hotel room in the Izaak Walton Inn, in Essex (about 20 miles from the West Entrance into Glacier National Park).

Before trying to enter Canada, I did stop by the St. Mary's Entrance into Glacier NP.  At the entrance, they were allowing unrestricted entrance.  When I asked about the advance reservation system, the guard at the gate said they were allowing folks to enter since the Going to the Sun Road was still being dug out at Logan Pass, and from this particular entrance, you could only go about 14 miles.  Knowing this, I went to the visitor center to stamp my passport booklet and use the bathroom, as I wanted to get up to Canada ASAP and maximize my time there.

Once turned around at the border, I did head back to the St. Mary's entrance and did drive the 14 miles to explore what I could.  This is one of the beautiful overlook viewing areas.  It was a nice drive through the park, but no wildlife to see in this part of the park.  The ranger did say that some folks had seen mountain goats with spotting scopes earlier in the day.

From the east entrance area, I headed for the main (more central) entrance in West Glacier.  Because it was after 6pm, the gate was unattended. I had hoped to get to the visitor center to get my passport booklet stamped from this entrance too.  But alas, they were already closed, so I figured I could come back the next morning.

Another miscalculation on my part . . . thinking what I had been told earlier at St. Mary's entrance would hold true at the west entrance, so rather than driving what part of the park I could Sunday night, I opted to go find supper.  BAD DECISION!

Dinner at the Glacier Highland in West Glacier was very good, I had the chicken pot pie.  So I was happy I decided to eat since I hadn't had lunch and didn't want to wait until 8pm (or later?) to eat at Izaak Walton Inn.

It's just unfortunate, because the next morning I ventured back to the park around 7am, but they were tightly monitoring all entering vehicles for their advance timed reservations.  When I explained what I had been told the day before, he said that several people inside the park were giving out bad information.  Further, as the busiest entrance into the park, they were following the reservation system, even though the road wasn't open all the way through.

So I missed out on driving the road for wildlife and scenic photo ops, as well as not getting my West Glacier passport stamp.  Oh well.

One of my wildlife viewing and photography  spots turned out to be right on US 2, a few miles east of the Izaak Walton Inn.  There were a lot of cars pulled over at a waterfall area.  When I got closer, I realized they were seeing a group of mountain goats . . . several ewes with lambs.  I pulled over and parked safely to join the people.

Look closely to see the small lamb behind its momma.  It was amazing watching them, as they are very agile and capable walking around on the steep rocky incline down to the water below.

This cute little one stayed very close to her, until she decided to leave the waterfalls and head back up to where the others were.

All totaled, I counted around 12 goats in this area.  Some never did come down from the grassy area where they were grazing.

With this little bit of excitement over, I headed to my lodging.  I was pretty tired, so getting in before dark was good.  I was surprised that it really didn't get dark until close to 10pm!

There was no TV in the rooms, as things were kept in the tradition of no-frills lodging built for the railroad workers of the 1930's.  I was OK with it, actually.  I enjoyed some time outside in the fresh evening air, watching the trains go by.

During my hour on the porch swing, there were three orange & black BNSF trains that passed through, as well as Amtrak's Empire Builder (which runs from Chicago to Portland, OR/Seattle, WA).  I've done the Empire Builder twice . . . once (roundtrip) from Milwaukee to Whitefish, MT and the other time home from Seattle.

About the drive to/from Glacier National Park, I took two different routes.  And while the trip north was lovely . . . the best part of the drive was coming back to Gardiner through Kalispell and the Flathead National Forest.  Some of the views were simply amazing throughout Montana.  Snow capped mountains surrounding in all directions, in expansive valleys.  Some areas were sparse of trees, mostly ranchland . . . while others had tall ponderosa pines.  The pine tree lined mountains reminded me a lot of the area around Lake Tahoe.

Here are just a few of the photographs I took of the landscape seen throughout my 1,100 miles (yes over just two days!).

On my way home, I stumbled upon the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site . . . just off I90 in Deer Lodge.  I wish I had more time to spend there, as they offered tours of the 1860's ranch.  Unfortunately, I arrived around 2:15pm and the next tour wasn't until 3:30pm . . . plus it was pretty hot (mid/high 80's).  I really wanted to get home as I had some grocery shopping and laundry to do once back in Gardiner. 

From My Last Trip Inside the Park

With my work schedule providing Sunday & Monday as my "weekends" off, I've been able to get into Yellowstone National Park every week since my arrival . . .  that is until June 13th when the flood took out the road providing access from Gardiner through the North Entrance into Mammoth.  At this point in time, the one lane Old Gardiner Road has been worked on to provide limited access into the park for essential personnel and administrative support of concessionaire operations.

So for now my only route into the park is by going north to Bozeman and then southwest through the West Entrance at West Yellowstone, Montana.  This would be roughly 3.5 to 4 hours, depending on road construction between here and there.  With the time involved and price of gas, I don't know that I'll be making that journey any time soon.

For now, that's alright, however as today it's raining AGAIN.  Plus my car developed a bad rubbing sound a couple of weeks ago, which I've learned is a wheel bearing.  So until I get that fixed, I'm pretty much grounded to local driving to/from work (which is less than 3 miles round trip).  Hopefully the part arrives in the morning and I can get it taken care of this week.

During my trip last Sunday (and a week ago today), I was up and out early and on a nice bear viewing opportunity south of Tower Fall.  It was in full grazing mode, munching through the grass right along the road.  Fortunately there was a turnout in the area, providing for a comfortable spot to simply watch.

More and more people arrived, stopping to take a photo or two, and then moving on.  I enjoyed just watching . . . and was provide a wonderful viewing when I realized this was a momma bear with two COY (cubs of the year).  It wasn't until one of the little guys decided to come down and check out what mom was doing, that folks had the excitement of seeing these first year cubs.  Shortly after they made their appearance a ranger came to the area, to maintain traffic and crowd control.

This little fella spent time eating, and would seemingly get startled, and then head back up to the safety of the tree.  Unfortunately its sibling wasn't as adventurous to come down from the tree where they had been.  It wasn't until much later when they were summons down, as she was ready to head off into the woods, and the family went out of sight.

Here's a short video of this Momma and cub eating grass on the hillside.

Later in the day, I made my way to another area of the park where I had been successful in seeing the pair of brown/grizzly bears known as Raspberry (mom) and Jam (her 2 year old cub).  By the time I got up to the East Entrance road that they had been seen almost daily since coming out of their winter den, it was raining pretty good.

Bear jams don't lie and while they were way up on the hillside, there were a lot of vehicles stopping to catch a glimpse.  In the rain, and given their distance from the road, you could barely see them with the naked eye.  Fortunately, I had binoculars, plus my Nikon P900 which has great range.  Getting decent photos was a challenge due to low lighting and the distance, but I did get a couple worth sharing here.

I feel blessed and fortunate to have been able to get inside the park each of the times I have.  It's unfortunate that my access is going to be seriously limited moving forward.  For this reason, my friend Valerie's visit scheduled for next weekend has been cancelled.  We'll see if it might be possible later in the summer.  Right now, I'm keeping focused on not worrying and waiting for things to settle into whatever the "new normal" will be for the operation and visitor experience at Yellowstone National Park.  Because things continue to evolve here, I encourage those interested, to follow the official announcements from the NPS, which are being posted on the Yellowstone National Park website and Facebook page.

The good news is that our YPSS stations will continue to provide work for us in the offices here in Gardiner.  While things were pretty slow Tuesday through Friday, yesterday was a nice 8.5 hour day for me.  And I know there will be a lot of work coming in for my return to the office on Tuesday, so no worries for job security at this time.

Learning to Accept and Adapt

You might recognize this house from the news reports coming out of SW Montana with all of the flooding we've experienced earlier this week.  Both the house and adjacent garage went down the Yellowstone River on Monday.  This is literally a block from where I'm living, across the street.  This was a housing unit for Yellowstone employees working inside the park.

Last night, this is what it looked like along the Yellowstone River.  Not only were the buildings gone, so was a significant portion of the river's shoreline and the surrounding trees.  Simply heartbreaking to see.

While Monday was looking rather bleak, giving everyone stranded here pause for concern, the local authorities and the Montana DOT worked feverishly to assess the damage to the road heading north, making it possible for the tourists to continue their vacations outside of the devastated area at the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park.  Guests and park employees over in Cooke City and in the communities at the North East Entrance are not as fortunate, as there is still much to be done to get them out of the towns affected by the floods and damaged roads.

There was horrific damage to Yellowstone National Park's road system and infrastructure.  Many areas inside the park had no electricity for hours, doing into days.  The main power line into the park was also washed away here in Gardiner, literally 100 yards north of where the house washed way.  Throughout the day Monday and Tuesday, the electric company was working on restoring power.  They were using helicopters to provide assistance to the linemen working the project. 

I've been told power has been restored as of late yesterday, which is good news for the park to be able to reopen and resume operations, hopefully by first of the week.  It's already been reported by the National Park Service, that the northern/upper loop inside the park will not resume normal operations this season.

For anyone interested in the most current information and park status, it is best you follow the information being share on the Yellowstone National Park website.  I will tell you, there is a lot of misinformation out there coming from inside the park on social media . . . mostly from concessionaire employees who either have limited information from their employers or are simply making things up to suit their own narrative.

On a more personal note, so far this experience has contributed to my continued personal growth of learning to be patient and to realize there are things in life that are simply beyond my control.  Admittedly, I have struggled throughout my life (both personally and professionally) with what many know as the Serenity Prayer.

I don't need a 12-step program to be enlightened by the concept, and yet I have struggled (especially at work) when dealing with others.  Sometimes working for associations and other membership type groups, you are beholden to a board of directors, other volunteers, members and outside stakeholders.  Too often, personal agendas, lack of knowledge/experience and egos get in the way.  I've learned perhaps the hard way, that some things you just cannot change.  And if you are unable to accept it, and move forward as best you can, you must make the change necessary for YOU to be happy.

This week, in spite of the devastation and uncertainty all around me, I was remarkably at peace.  I knew there were several scenarios possible . . . from "nothing will change" to "I'm going home because my gig is over" . . . but all that would play into such, would most likely be well beyond my scope of control or influence.  All I really could do was to do what I do best, think out logical scenarios that MIGHT occur, and determine my own personal course of action for each.

I feel this has been a moment of growth for me!  I am comfortable with where I am, my game plan moving forward, and if the course of direction is changed . . . so be it.  I will get by and all will be fine.

Not Taking ANYthing for Granted

I am dedicating this blog post to my friend and brother-in-law Rex!  For those of you who know me, or follow me on Facebook, you know Pam (my sister) and Rex are an important part of my life . . . best friends in fact.  You may also know he recently passed away after a second bout of cancer.

Rex came into "our lives" back in 1986, when he moved into "The Townhouse" where my then boyfriend Ken was living.  Not long after that, he met and married Pam.  They'd been married for 35 years!

The four of us back then, and later after my divorce from Ken, the four of us including David were friends.  In spite of my moving to Wisconsin in 1994, I spent a lot of time with Pam & Rex over the decades.  And in more recent years, we traveled quite a bit including trips to Florida, Tennessee, New England and the US National Parks of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado & Wyoming.  I visited them often back home in Virginia, most recently this past Thanksgiving.

I've already written that COVID changed much of my thinking about life and what is important to me.  Family and making time for those I love and care about became a renewed emphasis in many of my personal decisions . . . ultimately including my decision to leave BCAW in 2022.  "Retirement" per se wasn't as much of a factor as just wanting to dedicate my time and effort to those in my life who are important to me  And while yes, "work" and "bowling" were important, they just had lost their luster during the pandemic.

During the early part of 2020, several people who had been very important to me died.  First was my ex-husband Ken and shortly thereafter, another dear friend $teve $ipe.  David was caring for one of his long-time friends Marney, who was also struggling with cancer and due to COVID ended up unable to continue treatment outside of her senior living facility.  When she died, we only found out about a month later, while doing an obituary search.  I cried because I knew she died alone, but also thankful we had spent a lovely holiday with her in late 2019 and could treasure those memories.  David did see her just prior to the COVID "safer at home" lock down, but I still think it sucks she died alone!

So back to Rex . . .

Rex was given the news that his renal cancer was back, but in new places.  This came near the start of the pandemic, and with the news that he probably had one to three years as the cancer was not treatable with chemo, radiation or surgery.  A pretty shit prognosis to know you are facing the end, thanks to the beast known as cancer.  And a real shock too, because he had been more than five years cancer-free, a benchmark all cancer survivors pray for.  Rex faced this reality with strength and positivity, and a real zest for life with his family and friends.

None of us know how much time we have here on the Third Rock from the Sun.  Rex's diagnosis hit very close to home for me, not only as my sister's husband, but as a fellow cancer survivor. (I've been cancer free since my surgical treatment for ovarian cancer in 2015.)  Making time every day, month and year for those important in my life, had become a renewed priority.  And that included my decision to step away from my executive level position and all that entails.  THAT became MY new priority.

While it was a decision that was probably building for months, it really reached a decision making head literally the weekend before an upcoming board meeting as I prepared my resignation letter to give to my board of directors in less than 72 hours.  I was solid in my resolve, supported by my family and clear in my conscience that it was not only best for me but also best for my association.

When the end came for Rex, I don't think any of us were really prepared for it.  He and Pam had just been in Milwaukee the month prior, and while feeling the effects from the beast raging inside his body, he was doing pretty well and getting along day-to-day.  Folks that spent time with us on the WI Vintage Alleys Tour remarked after his death, how shocked they too were.  For him to have taken a turn in such a short period of time (less than three weeks) and be dead a month to the day from their leaving Milwaukee, is just a hard reality to come to grip with.

All of this ties to what I'm doing now . . . today . . . living in the moment for the here and now.  I cannot take ANYthing for granted.  Not next week, next month or next year!  And while I'm sure some might not understand my choice to take roughly 20 weeks to be away from David and my family in Wisconsin, I know others can fully appreciate the choice I've made to pursue a dream while I'm still physically able to do so.

Nothing is promised or guaranteed.  In business we talk about being ready if the proverbial bus hits us (or a co-worker).  And yes, that could happen while I'm out here living in Montana and working in Yellowstone National Park.  But with David's love, support and blessing I am living the dream!

Here's to happy memories with Rex & Pam!

A Packers' Bar in Florida

 

Dinner in Milwaukee

New Year's Eve in Virginia

Random Photo Download

Well it was my intention to share a more thorough post with photos from here in Yellowstone this afternoon, but once the skies cleared, I headed into the park for a couple of hours.  So here I am after 9:00pm with some photos of the animals I've seen so far.

Keep in mind, not all are great shots, as sometimes they are just too far away . . . moving to quickly . . . or hidden in dense vegetation, etc.  So for now, please enjoy this random dump of images from my first four trips into the park (May 24th, May 25th, June 1st and June 5th).

Adios until next time!

Two Weeks - Four Park Visits

I arrived here in Gardiner two weeks ago today.  It seems like so much longer ago, because of all that I've already done and seen here.  My work is going well (I've actually worked seven days since arriving) and I've been able to spend a little time in Yellowstone National Park.

With the high cost of gas ($4.99 as of this writing) . . . and expected to continue to go up throughout the summer . . . my initial thoughts of spending A LOT of time inside the park might not happen.  Yesterday I filled up inside the park for the first time, and even with my YPSS employee discount (we operate the service stations), it was $54 for 12 gallons (I still had a quarter tank when I gassed up).  I could easily see myself spending a tank or two a week given a "short trip" inside the park is 100 miles and a moderate one is 250, give or take.  So a short + moderate trip would be one tank or $65~ish.

I do like that I am so close to the NE Entrance (less than two miles from my apartment to the gate.  And the upper portion of the Grand Loop Road has some outstanding wildlife viewing opportunities including the world famous Lamar Valley, aka the Serengeti of North America (or so they say).  Bison, moose, wolves, bears, pronghorn and big horn sheep all call this home.  Some days it's a challenge to see any animals, and others they seem to be everywhere . . . especially the bison.  Here's a short video of the bison jam I was in last Wednesday night after work. 

Over the past seven years, I have vacationed here in late May/early June.  I cannot remember so much snow still on the ground . . . and NEVER ice still on Lake Yellowstone.  Locals tell me they had lower than normal snowfall this past winter, so all I can think is that it's been colder than normal this spring hence the lack of melting of snow and ice throughout the area.  It is true what the say that the park never looks the same . . . year-to-year and month-to-month.  I'm excited to see it again this year, just a little different that in my past visits.

Lake Yellowstone May 25th

Dunraven Pass June 1st

With springtime comes wonderful waterfalls as the snow caps melt.  And with all the rain we've had over the past couple of weeks, they are especially beautiful.  This is one of the roadside waterfalls on the East Entrance Road.  There have been times in the past when I've driven by this spot and it was barely a trickle!

Rain is good, and it's the reason why I'm here at home on my day off processing photos and blogging instead of being out in the park today.  I woke up to loud rain against my window, and the forecast throughout the region is for more rain.  So I decided to stay in and take advantage of the time to share more on my blog!

For true outdoors people, rain doesn't deter them from being out, doing what they love.  Yesterday I saw men out fly fishing in the rivers that run through the west side of the park.  They look like dots here but I loved this image!  "Everything" you think of when you talk about Yellowstone NP. 

Some of the streams are still snow packed, as the water runs through melting along the shoreline.  I found this to be a pretty scene as I was driving through the park one afternoon

It's been fun watching families as they drive through the areas still covered with snow.  Children playing in the snow, making snowmen and doing things that kids growing up in the deep south may never have experienced.  I like to try to see the world from the perspective of others . . . and especially a child filled with wonderment for things they have never experienced.

This is one of the marvelous things about Yellowstone National Park . . . there is always something to marvel at . . . experiences and sights yet to be had.  You just never know what you may find yourself encountering on any given day because each day brings a new view.

Who Knew? Von Is a Bookkeeper!

Many know the inside joke with me that while I'm pretty good at the business side of financial management like budgeting and projecting organizational performance, I AM NOT AN ACCOUNTANT!  Too often in non/not-for-profit organizations, volunteers and staff do not understand these are different skill sets.  With my last executive director position, there continued to be challenges for me, which at the end of the day, was part of the reason for my deciding it was time to move on from BCAW as their executive director.

I doubt anyone would challenge my expertise in providing a foundation that would provide the association seven very solid years financially, and for the most part, we were able to assure our accounting practices were fundamentally sound.  Well, that is, until March 2021 when "the big woo" happened.  Then things seemingly came unraveled at the seams.  Sadly, I struggled to get some folks to understand being an executive director and good business manager was not the same as being a bookkeeper (a position BCAW has had pre-dating my tenure).

Anyway, I share this because some would find the irony that I left an executive level position, to get away from the issues relative to the accounting function, including bookkeeping, and yet, here I am today living in Montana where my primary function is doing bookkeeping and auditing various reports for YPSS.

YPSS is the Yellowstone Park Service Stations . . . one of several concessionaires approved to provide guest services inside the confines of Yellowstone National Park.  This is through Federal contract, that we operate the seven service stations (gas & convenience stores), plus four service/repair shops.  My days working for Southland Corporation/7-Eleven is coming in handy, some 30 years later.

My daily work consists of review/auditing the sales reports for each of the seven locations, plus maintaining inventory reports for all.  Gasoline is a big part of our business model, so having accurate daily reports for senior management is essential.  My critical eye and attention to detail is a great asset in the work I'm doing now.

I have an office co-worker who is also new to YPSS this year, so together we are learning all facets of the accounting functions under the leadership of the accounting manager.  She started about two weeks before I did, and her tasks are more accounting in nature than much of what I'm doing currently.  Today was just my fifth day of work . . . and each day I'm being taught additional tasks in the accounting process for the store locations' financials.  I must be doing well, because they keep giving me something additional in the work flow towards the end result.  I leave each day feeling I've accomplished something . . . learned something more to help with the overall work effort . . . and knowing I can leave at 5pm and not worry about anything more until I'm back in the office at 8am my next scheduled day.

The other essential duty I perform is relative to providing emergency roadside assistance to those park visitors who may incur troubles with their automobile or RV.  We have wrecker service to cover the entire park including roads and campgrounds.  While the accounting work is pretty black and white, the responding to inbound calls and dispatching wrecker services, take a bit more problem solving and creativity.  It's a nice yin to the yang in my daily work.  And our shop managers and their team members are wonderful to work with.

I feel very blessed that this job opportunity became available to me this year, after two disappointing years of it not working out.  This is a small company, and everyone is treated like family . . . like family you like!  I cannot say enough good things about my co-workers and the culture that exists to help others.

So at the end of this summer, I can add "accounting clerk" to my resume. My LinkedIn profile has already been updated.  Who knows what the future will hold for me in 2023 and beyond?