Old Faithful Through Heidi's Eyes; Work & Play

The 6/2/12 Ranger Talk was about all the dead trees in Yellowstone.  There are lots of them.  They die in fires and get knocked down helter-skelter by the wind.  Then it takes a long time for them to decompose.  There is a group of them by one of the geysers and they are referred to as “ghost trees” because they are whitish and just kind of hang around.  Some of the dead trees still have their roots attached when they fall down, and when the dirt gets washed off the roots, some very interesting root sculptures are revealed.    

Short-lived life of the Lodgepole Pine: shallow soils, winds, fire.

The dormitories have names associated with natural features of the area.  Lupine is occupied by mostly young people and has a reputation for being noisy.  Ours is called Obsidian and is a “24 hour quiet zone” because many of the occupants have gray hair and work weird hours.  The rooms are like motel rooms… nothing fancy.  Two beds, two closets, a desk and a space-saver bathroom with a nice shower head and an unlimited supply of hot water, as well as Catalin’s special soap.  We have lovely teal draperies on a window overlooking a no parking zone and another dark brown dorm about thirty feet away.  The floor is covered with plum colored carpet which has a zigzag pattern of dots and many little bits of the ubiquitous obsidian.  Those little bits of obsidian get stuck in the non-slip channels on the bottom of our shoes every time we step outside and accompany us wherever we go.  I sweep them up at work and see them on the wooden walkways surrounding the geysers.  They are in the visitors’ center and the post office too.  There are numerous books in the gift shops about the geology of the area, but here at Old Faithful we have obsidian, and lots of it.   

Our Own Post Office  Box: Connection to the Outside World

Internet access here is not always available and people complain about it all the time.  That is one reason why you may not hear from us as often as you might like.  We spend half our computer time trying to get online.  Another reason why you might not hear much from me is because sitting makes my back hurt and we don’t have a standup place to use our laptop.  It isn’t as bad as it was after that first plane ride, but it is a limiting factor, so I think I’ll go for a walk now.  Maybe I’ll walk to the clinic. 

Speaking of time, it is an issue.  We are strongly encouraged to leave our watches at home because they are a “health hazard” in the kitchen, and I think there may be other reasons too.  There is a clock in the dining room which we can’t see unless we are dining, and there is of course a time clock in a hallway near where we work.  We are “allowed” to clock in up to five minutes prior to our assigned work time.  We are “allowed” a lunch or supper or breakfast break of “at least 31 minutes” during each work shift, but don’t you dare take more than 35 minutes to eat, or one of your colleagues might not get their break at the assigned time.  We can take bathroom breaks when necessary, but be sure to tell the boss where you are going in case there is a fire drill or something.  Smokers get smoke breaks but they have to hide behind a trailer out back while they smoke.  Non-smokers have to beg for a cookie break or an apple break or a minute to put their feet up.  Our boss is very good at assigning our next chore before we have finished whatever we are working on, so it is hard to find time to ask for a break.  I think I need to practice saying “I need a break” or “gimme a break” or whatever it is that normal people do to maintain their sanity.   

The day I thought was my day off but I ended up working because they changed the schedule, I was so mad I broke a fingernail and had to go to the office to request a (bright blue) bandaid.  The next day, I broke another nail and had to go to the office again for the same reason.  Then I bought myself a little pack of emery boards to keep in my work locker for such emergencies.  Then I forgot to put the little pack of emery boards in my backpack to take to work so I could have it in my locker just in case and guess what… yup, I broke another nail.  So when I got back to our room I filed all my nails down to nothing, and put the little pack of emery boards in my backpack.  Now maybe they won’t poke holes in the flimsy plastic gloves I wear at work either.  Sometimes when I try to put on a fresh pair, they get stuck half way on.  I don’t know if it is because my hands are too wet from wearing gloves or if they are swollen from wearing gloves or what but it is another of many minor annoyances.

Old Faithful Eruption in the Evening Light

A few days ago, as I was passing Old Faithful on my way to work, a guy in a baseball cap asked me how often the geyser blew.  I said I wasn’t sure but thought it was roughly every hour and that there would be a sign at the nearby visitors’ center indicating the most likely time of the next eruption.  He thanked me and we parted ways.  Then his friend, who had been sitting on one of the benches surrounding Old Faithful asked me if I knew who I had been talking to.  I said “no, who?” and the friend said “Bob Newhart.”  So then we had a little chat about television and acting and advertising and stuff like that, with Bob rejoining us after a couple of minutes.  When I asked Bob’s friend what his name was, he said “Lance Sterling.”  I have no way of knowing whether they were real or fake, but that was my interesting story for the day, and they were charming gentlemen.   

New Job, June 7 

Old Faithful Inn's Bannisters & Railings, All Hand-Chosen to Fit

Today’s interesting story is that I got a new job.  A couple of days ago, I was complaining about having to mop the floors at the end of a strenuous eight hour day.  I had been told that if I wanted to try another job, I could request a transfer, so I did.  The following day was my boss’ day off, so his boss and his boss’ boss interviewed me and asked where I wanted to go.  I had heard that there was an open position in the pantry at the lodge, so I mentioned that.  B and BB said they had a similar position available in our building.  The next step was to talk to my boss.  But he was off the next day too, so nobody talked to him.  Then today, I was scheduled to start work at 7 am, so I got into my uniform, ate a quick breakfast, and clocked in.  The first thing on my list of things to do was wash dishes and after I had been washing them for about an hour and a half, my boss’s boss came and said that I was now “in pantry” and that today was my day off.  But I had already gotten up early and started working and didn’t have any special day off plans, so I offered to keep washing dishes until my replacement showed up.  She never showed up, but my boss did, scratching his head and asking why my name was crossed off the schedule and somebody else’s name was added.  I suggested that he talk to his boss about it, so he did, and I kept on washing dishes.  Then I got to serve lunch and eat lunch and tend to the spilly, slpashy drink line and fix dessert for dinner and finally clock out.  After that I asked if I could follow my new boss around for a while to get a glimpse of my new responsibilities.  She seems bright and lively and cheerful and optimistic.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to do the work.  And it is just at the other end of the kitchen, so I will be able to smile and wave and occasionally rub elbows with my former colleagues.  I’m ready for a new adventure.  

There is a lady who plays the piano and cello (one at a time) in the lobby of the Inn, which is a great big tall wooden space.  I think I’ll go over there tonight and listen.  The first time I heard her play, it was a dark and stormy night, so she played “Raindrops Falling on my Head” among other favorites while the lightning flashed in the windows and the thunder rumbled overhead.  I wonder what she will play tonight.  I think I’ll take a water bottle and a book and my phone with me.  Maybe I’ll even see someone I know.  So that’s it for now.  I hope all my readers are happy and healthy.   

June 15 (Heidi’s Saturday, Dan’s Monday, everybody else’s Friday)



Old Faithful Overlook, Observation Point

Today is the first of my first two whole days off!  WOW!  This morning, Dan and I hiked up to Observation Point, which overlooks Old Faithful, The Inn, The Visitors’ Center, The Lodge, The Snow Lodge, a store, a gas station and our dormitory, among other buildings.  At the overlook, we met people from Sacramento and Pennsylvania and along the trail we heard Germans speaking their native language.  Everybody had a camera and a shirt advertising wherever else they have been.  The view was quite impressive, and worth the effort.  The hike up reminded me of the hike up “Sunshine Mountain” as a kid after school every day, only there was no hot sun beating on our backs, and instead of watching out for rattlesnakes, we were watching out for bears.  We didn’t see any bears, but we did see a marmot on a rock, a chipmunk on the trail, and a squirrel in a tree.  There were lots of pretty flowers among the gazillions of trees.  On the way back, we detoured to see Solitary Geyser, which erupts every five minutes or so.  It did, but its eruption was just a quick blubbety blub, and then it was over.  Years ago, Solitary was just a spring, and Yellowstone decided to pipe the warm water down the hill for heating or bathing or something, but lowering the water level disturbed its delicate balance and caused it to change from a spring to a geyser.

Out for a Walk on the Upper Geyser Basin on Firehole River

Yesterday evening, Dan and I went to town.  We ate at the Three Bear Restaurant in West Yellowstone.  The food was good but the best parts were the soup and salad bar, so next time we will just have that.  On our way to a  gas station after dinner, we noticed the old Union Pacific railroad station which now houses a museum.  Maybe we will go back there some day.   

We had dinner in “West” a couple of nights ago too.  That time we ate at a Chinese restaurant which was very good.  Even the décor was nice.  There were even groups of Chinese people eating there and speaking Chinese.  We interpreted that as an endorsement of the quality of the food. 

Several nights ago, after leaving work at nearly 11pm, I saw a coyote as it was exiting the parking lot.  The next night, after dinner, Dan and I went for a walk down the geyser trail and we saw another coyote.  The night after that, we stopped at a roadside rest area and saw another coyote…three in a row!  And we saw many raggedy looking bison too. They are shedding their winter coats.  One group of bison was “enclosed” in an area surrounded by a log fence.  The bison didn’t care.  They just knocked the logs down and went where they wanted to go.  

Coyote Cruising Midway Geyser Basin Parking Lot for Easy Pickings

On our way back from one of those trips to “West,” we encountered an ambulance going the other way in a hurry.  Apparently, somebody had a medical emergency.  Medical emergencies are not uncommon around here.  People underestimate the dangers, and overestimate their own abilities.  Maybe that is true everywhere.  

Ribbons of Color Around Hot Springs, Heat-Loving  Bacteria

A couple of days ago Dan and I drove down the road and walked up to Grand Prismatic Spring.  Sometimes you can see the colors of the spring reflected in the mist rising from it.  While we were there, the mist mingled with rain, sending us back to our car almost as soon as we got there.  But before we left, we saw a coyote, sniffing around the parking lot.  Also while we were there, we saw our friends, the two German guys, who we had met on the deck of the Inn, watching Old Faithful erupt a day or two earlier.  They happily reported that they were still enjoying their visit, and we were happy to hear it.

That’s it for now . . . there is too much to see and do and blog about.

Happy Juggling Day! 

Today is Juggling Day (June 16th), according to my little purse calendar.  I am sure someone must be doing some juggling around here.  I wish we had a big wall calendar.  All the calendars in the gift shops here are for 2013. 

Yesterday I had a nice walk and talk with Ann, one of our girlfriends.  Our destination was Black Sand Basin.  Its name doesn’t do it justice.  It is a beautiful blue pool with copious amounts of steam rising from it and occasional bubbles accompanied by thumping noises and vibrating ground.  Hypnotic.  On our way back, we noticed people gazing in wonderment at something in the sky and it turned out to be an osprey with a fish in its talons, circling above us.  Some of the gazers had seen it grab the fish from the river.  What a sight!  What a place!  There is so much to see and do…  

Black Sand Geyser Basin at Dusk

If you want to come here but you are on a tight budget, let us know.  We get special (ridiculously low) dorm room rates for family and friends.   

This evening, I attended an informal talk about waterfalls.  There are many waterfalls in this park.  The guy who gave the talk is one of the authors of a book about Yellowstone waterfalls.  He has had many interesting, scary, and strenuous adventures hiking to the waterfalls with photographers and others interested in waterfalls.  Something he pointed out in his talk is that Yellowstone’s waterfalls have not all been discovered yet and that the number of waterfalls in Yosemite National Park has been overestimated.   But Yosemite’s waterfalls have not all been documented yet either.