Living the Dream in Yellowstone

I arrived in Gardiner, Montana on Monday, May 23rd . . . checking in with my employer Yellowstone Park Service Stations (YPSS) the following morning.  This was the first photo I took later that day . . . the first of over 3,300 that made the cut and came home with me from my summer of living, working & playing in Yellowstone.  For those who followed along on Facebook, you probably saw this and others I've also shared here on my blog.  I've tried to share my experiences more real-time on Facebook, while also wanting to document more for the long term through this blog.  I sincerely appreciate folks following and commenting both publicly and privately.

One of the most frequent questions I got was some variation of "So, how was it?  And was it all you thought it would be?" And the pretty obvious "Would you do it again?"  I'll get to those "inquiring minds" questions shortly.

First, how about the wonky statistics and numbers?  I was gone 20 weeks from my family and home in Wisconsin.  Ironically, this is the same number of weeks I worked for my now former employer Bowling Centers Association of Wisconsin (BCAW).  I mention that because while it's the same amount of time, I can tell you the 20 weeks in Montana seemed to go much faster than the first 20 weeks of the year.  I'm not going to make comment on "better or worse" but rather say it was truly a tale of two phases in my life and my personal growth as I transition towards a full and hopefully rewarding retirement from work and Wisconsin.

From start to finish, I put over 17,000 miles (and lots of palindromes) on my Hyundai Santa Fe this summer.  Other than the right front wheel bearing going a month into the trip, it did fabulously!  Gas mileage was roughly 28-29 mpg locally and in the park; while it took a beating on the highway miles (at 75-85 mph) . . . just 22-23 mpg.  For the entire summer, door to door, I spent $2,000 in gas and another $300 in routine maintenance (not including the $600 to replace the aforementioned wheel bearing).

I visited a lot of really cool places too . . .
. . . 9 National Park Service sites
. . . 4 State Parks in MT, WY and ID
. . . I even got to the gate of Waterton-Glacier International Park at the border heading into Canada!

The western United States is rich with history, and there are wonderful museums and public access areas to experience what it might have been like as this region of the country was being explored and settled.  Some of the places I visited and thoroughly enjoyed in Montana were Virginia City and Nevada City. Livingston, Earthquake Lake, Deer Lodge and Three Forks.  The Wyoming towns of Cody, Meeteetse, Thermopolis and Rawlins were all interesting and were well worth to time to explore and learn.  I also made it as far away as Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, which was beautiful!

If this is the first blog post you're reading here, I encourage you to scroll through and read more about each of these interesting places. (There are also lots of photos shared to help tell the stories of these places.)

This summer, I remembered how much I do enjoy reading.  I bought a Kindle reader probably five or six years ago, but had lost interest when seemingly I had no time to sit and read.  Prior to leaving for Yellowstone, David loaded a bunch of books for me . . . plus I had several paperbacks I had never made it through.  In total, I read a very eclectic seven books!  Thank you's go out to my friends Gail Drake and Barb Conradt for providing some reading material they both knew was going to be of interest to me.

I expected to make some new friends this summer.  Through working at YPSS, there are several people who I would like to keep in contact with beyond this season.

It was especially nice to reconnect with some friends from other points in my life . . . especially Deb from Billings, Sandy & Doug from NoVA and Patty & Rodney in Rawlins.

It is my belief there are no strangers, only friends we've yet to make, and on this trip this was especially true.  Carma & John were my hosts at their quaint bed & breakfast in Virginia City . . . and Wendy & Mohammad were visitors from the Madison (WI) area.  And to my "egg lady" Peggy, thank you so much for teaching me about chickens through your small family farm.  I sincerely hope to continue friendships with these newly found friends!

So back to "So, how was it?  And was it all you thought it would be?" . . . and "Would you do it again?"

The short and easy answer first . . . I would do it again and in fact hope to in 2023!  There are some lingering concerns, like "Will my car at 200,000 miles be able to go another long summer with lots of rough miles?" along with "Wonder where we'll be living next summer?"  But for now, I'm saying I think it will be a 80/20 probability I'll return to Gardiner to live, work and play in Yellowstone in 2023.

As for how was it, etc. I will say when less than a month into it, you experience epic floods that destroyed local community economies and hindered visitation to one of the most iconic national parks in the world, not much is going to be "what you expected" going into it.

In addition to the obvious issue of access to get into the park, in Gardiner we also endured an extended order to boil water for consumption and food preparation.

And while there was loss of property and belongings suffered by many, there was no loss of life reported as a result of the flood of June 13th.  That was indeed, the good news, no doubt!

Because of the significant drop in visitation in Yellowstone National Park, YPSS suffered significantly in terms of business and revenue.  To their credit, the owners of YPSS (an official concessionaire of the National Park Service) did amazing things to assure their summer seasonal staff were taken care of in terms of employment and personal income.  The owners Hal & Jeff were very generous and demonstrated great concern for their staff of roughly 60-70 seasonal workers.

On the other side, as an employee, the work itself was at times slow and tedious but I always kept perspective that I was hired as an accounting clerk and by the general nature of that type of work . . . it was going to be a lot of data entry and tedious at times.  And I left there after my summer, with new skills, a more in-depth understanding of QuickBooks and a deeper appreciation for accounting type people.

I enjoyed working the phones when guests and future visitors would call our office.  Often our phone number was the only one they would call and actually get a human voice on the other end.  Calls ranged from people in need of automotive and/or towing services (which our company provided) to others who just wanted to know what the best restaurants are in any one of the gateway communities of Yellowstone National Park.  Getting to share my firsthand experiences and knowledge of the park and surrounding areas, was very rewarding.

Perhaps the biggest personal sacrifice I had to make was the very way I chose to recreate there.  Ordinarily, I enjoy the park at daybreak and the evening prior to nightfall.  Mornings and evenings are very special if you're interested in wildlife and photography.  With employee access restricted from Gardiner to specific "convoy times" being in the park was now on a timetable, that wasn't always conducive to what I wanted to do in the park.  I was eternally grateful when we got access starting the July 4th weekend after not having it for nearly three weeks.  It was just not very convenient.

I decided about a month into it, I would go into the park on Saturday night after work on the 5:30p convoy and camp in the park at one of the many wonderful campgrounds . . . most of which I had camped in on previous summer vacations to Yellowstone.  This afforded me the ability to not only be in the park at dusk, but also first thing in the morning at sunrise.  It was an added expense since I was already paying rent for my employee housing in Gardiner, but it was well worth it to be able to extend my time in the park without having to take the long way home out the West Entrance in West Yellowstone. (The long way "home" was about an extra two hours and 120 miles!)

Speaking of the financial side of living & working as a seasonal employee . . . people generally do not work in Yellowstone, or any of the national parks for that matter . . . for the  money.  It is really an experiential thing.  Many if not most of the people I met working there were either young people right out of high school or college . . . or older adults nearing or in retirement.  It was my interaction with these sorts of people over my past several years of summer vacations in Yellowstone, that led to my wanting to have this experience too.

David & I discussed the financial aspects, whether I had been able to do this back in 2020 while on an unpaid sabbatical from BCAW . . . or once departed from their employment altogether.  We felt that if we planned well and saved money, so long as I at least made enough money to cover my living and vacation expenses for the summer, we'd be fine.

The wages being $15/hour isn't a lot to live on, but fortunately all of the park concessionaires have affordable housing options for their employees.  In fact this past summer Xanterra (operators of the hotels, most campgrounds and some of the restaurants) waived housing expenses for their summer employees.  My housing worked out to $150/two week pay period.  Check out the great view from the living room and balcony of my apartment!

As I wrapped up my final week last week, and having kept financial records throughout the summer (May 22nd - October 8th), I was happy to let David know I got to live and play in Yellowstone . . . and travel throughout the region during my weekends off (Sundays & Mondays) . . . and STILL banked close to $2,000 for the summer.


As far as I'm concerned, I made $2,000 ON VACATION this summer!  Who wouldn't like that gig?  So would I do it again?  YOU BETCHA!

Gardiner, Montana: Home Sweet Home (for nearly 5 months)

In spite of the epic floods of June 13th, there was so much good about living just outside of Yellowstone National Park.  This was the view for much of the summer, as Yellowstone celebrated the people native to this region long before there was a national park.

Gardiner is an interesting town, with a few hundred year-round residents . . . people who like the owners of YPSS, came to work seasonally and came back to live permanently or perhaps, just never returned to their home towns/states.

I can see the allure of living in what is essentially a valley encased by mountains on all sides.  I loved the views, and mostly the weather too (spring, summer and fall).  Winter, on the other hand would most likely be a deal breaker for David & me in terms of our final retirement relocation.

The climate was dry, which if you're unprepared, can cause some issues like nose bleeds and dry, cracking skin.  In the summer, I was surprised at the long stretch of high 80's and into the 90's temperatures.  But you know, it was a dry heat, so not really unbearable at any time.  Our apartment did have central air conditioning so that was helpful on hot nights.

With the floods washing out the North Entrance Road into Yellowstone National Park and the subsequent limitations with convoy access via the Old Gardiner Road, the town essentially became a dead end from the north, thereby cutting off most tourism through our town.  This adversely impacted the lodging and food outlets, as well as the operators of tourist related services.  It was a very unfortunate situation given the past couple of years coming through the COVID pandemic and all the disruptions that created.

Many have called Gardiner "the favorite gateway community of the wildlife" because of the variety of animals that can be seen throughout the year right in town!  From my window at work, I frequently saw elk, deer and pronghorn.

Late in the summer, bears appeared in town, creating concern and controversy.  To be honest, I didn't really understand why this became such a polarizing issue.  People living in Montana, and part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, KNOW they are living in bear country.  "BE BEAR AWARE" signs are throughout the areas, in local and state parks as well as the National Forests.  Why people living in Gardiner were not securing trash and other attractants, known to bring bears into areas where humans live, was unfathomable to me.  And if the presence of bears freaks you out . . . you probably shouldn't be living in bear country.

Being a remote and rural town, everything was a little more expensive, especially essentials like groceries and gasoline.  I did most of my food shopping in town, only buying when things I needed/wanted were on sale.  For some items, I shopped at the Albertsons in Livingston (about an hour north) or even WalMart in Bozeman (about 90-100 minutes away) when in those areas.

I did dine out in town a few times, wanting to support local business owners hard-hit due to the loss of tourists.  I will not mention names here, out of my desire to not create more financial adversity for them . . . but cannot help but to say that my experiences were less than what I expect when spending my hard earned money in restaurants or bars. (Again prices were very high . . . think $12-$15 for a burger with a side of fries!)  While the food was good to excellent, the service was lackluster and inattentive as a general rule.  When I'm eating out, and have to leave my table to go to the bar or service counter to get another beverage, that's a problem in my opinion.

All in all, I did enjoy living in Gardiner and having it as my home this past summer.

Livingston, Montana: The Gateway To Yellowstone

While the movie "A River Runs Through It" took place in Missoula, the actual filming was here in Livingston and on the Yellowstone River that literally does "run through it."

Livingston is about 50 miles (and less than an hour) away from where I'm living in Gardiner.  It became my equivalent of Andy Griffith's trip to Mount Pilot from Mayberry during my summer working in Yellowstone.  If I needed a larger grocery store, a movie theater or more dining options, Livingston was close enough to spend an evening or perhaps a weekend day off.

The Empire Twin Theaters was a cozy small town place, where I saw first run movies Top Gun:  Maverick and Elvis for about $7 in prime time.

I also enjoyed several wonderful meals here, including Chinese at The Wok.  There is something about small town America that just draws me in.  I love old "Main Street USA" type places, and Livingston with their shops, restaurants and "ghost signs" feels historic and contemporary at the same time.

This past weekend, I spent some time at the Yellowstone Gateway Museum, which I cannot recommend more highly.  I've visited a lot of small community museums, and this was one of the best I've seen for telling the story of a town that truly was the gateway to Yellowstone National Park before there was a highway system to facilitate guests coming to witness our first national park.

Of particular interest was their current temporary exhibit entitled "Pull Up a Chair:  Tales from the Seats of History."  Such a creative way to depict the life and times in Livingston.  In additional to the display and story boards for 30+ chairs, they provided a more in-depth narration about each chair and the family (or business) it was used by.

I also enjoyed their Native Cultures Room, which has many artifacts of tribes that have made Montana and Yellowstone their home for generations.

Like so much of the westward expansion of the United States, the railroad system provided early access to Yellowstone National Park.  The Transportation Room has several authentic pieces to help tell the story of the Northern Pacific Railway and how guests rode the train in the early years from Livingston to Gardiner, which today many consider the real gateway to Yellowstone . . . that is until the epic floods earlier this summer cut off most tourist access back in June.

There is so much more to learn about at this museum so check out their website or better yet . . . pay them a visit!

The Montana Grizzly Encounter is located about 15-20 minutes west of Livingston.  For anyone interested in seeing bears up close in a safe and protected environment, it is worth a visit as well.  Brutus the Bear was beloved by the locals, and after his death in 2021, was memorialized with this pretty mural in downtown Livingston.

Here is one of the resident bears currently living at this sanctuary.

I hope folks visiting Yellowstone, or traveling across I90 between Billings and Bozeman will stop and explore Livingston.  It has so much to offer, whether you have a couple of hours or a couple of days!