i sing, i dance, i fall down

greetings from the land of the summer snow. yesterday it snowed 5 inches. in june. the 7th of june. the good news is it all melted by 5 pm. the bad news is it's snowing again. oh well. it could be worse.

this past week has been great, becca came to visit me on friday, stayed through saturday, and will be back on tuesday. it's been awesome seeing a friendly face from home! it makes me miss everyone so much more!

we spent friday in jackson, which is the coolest western town you will ever see. we stopped at mcdonalds for my first time in a month. then we drove to Idaho, just to say we were there. on the drive back to yellowstone through the tetons, we talked about God and life. it was great being able to fellowship with another christian again.

Saturday was spent roaming around the old faithful area. we missed the first eruption, so we had bible study in the inn. while having bible study, we missed the second eruption. so we decided to take a walk around the upper geyser basin and catch the third eruption, which we caught just in time. after lunch/dinner, we made the short hike up to mystic falls, which is my favorite hike so far.

Becca will be back on Tuesday, just in time for the disco at the pub! I doubt anybody will be totally decked out (who brings their disco gear to yellowstone?) but it should be tons of fun.

I had my interview for cocktail server today, and was informed two hours later that I got the job! I will still be a host for three days a week, and cocktailing 2 or 3 days. It will be nice to have more guest interaction and time to listen to the pianist and string quartet that palys in the sunroom. I'll get tips too! Mostly it will be a nice break in the routine.

Today I met a lady who is retracing the steps of her great aunt, who traveled to Yellowstone from Laramie WY. In 1906, the trip took 4 months. Today, it takes one week. This woman has her aunt’s diary to guide her. If anybody retraced my journey out west, they would have to stop at marriott and long john silvers.

missing you all, but it's great out here, you should visit!

saturday will mark the three week anniversary of my stay in yellowstone.

it's been crazy busy with work and sightseeing, plus i haven't been able to log into to facebook. so here's an update, a few days late.

i worked seven days straight, dinner then breakfast shifts. the work is easy and fun, and i meet so many people from all over the world. i've met a few people from rochester, and a gentleman who went to rit back in the day.

memorial day i went hiking with a bunch of people to mystic falls. it was supposed to be a 16 mile hike, but after hiking 4 miles uphill in the swamp and 3 feet of snow, we decided to call it a day. i aquired a nice sunburn on one half of my face and some on my neck.

yesterday was another day off, an i went exploring with my friends maggie and laura. we went to mammoth hot springs and walked around the boardwalks for a few hours. then we went to the pub to say goodbye to a few friends who are already sick of yellowstone.

today should have been laundry day, but i am much too lazy. saturday, a buch of us are going to cody to go to walmart, then out to dinner for some real food. maybe a rodeo too!

i'll write more later, as i am on a borrowed computer. love and miss you all!

so i was trying to write an update on wednesday for everybody, but the power went out just before i could publish it.

i arrived at the park on saturday morning, around 7 am. checked in at Gardiner, which is just outside of the park. drove into the park for orientation, and saw my first ever buffalo, followed by my 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th. they are HUGE! and all over. they really like to walk on the road and cause "bison jams". i have been in 2 bison jams so far.

after orientation, i drove down to lake to sign in and meet my roomate, whose name is Dara. she's really nice, she completely surprised me today when she told me she really likes having me for a roomate. it was really sweet and unexpected. we get along really well, and like the same music and movies. our room is really small, but comfortable. we are in osprey, which is the over 21 dorm. sometimes it gets really crazy, but i have found a few people to don't like to get drunk at night, and we hang out and watch movies or play cards.

this past weeek we have been stuck in training, preparing for the grand opening of the hotel, which was supposed to be today. my job as host seems easy enough, and i like my coworkers alot. there's this one old lady named harriett who has worked here for 28 seasons and kows everything about the park. she is so sweet, and has the best sense of humor. the lake hotel is the oldest hotel in the park, and we have alot of standards to uphold. our uniform is a white shirt, black tie and cumberbund and ugly black pleated pants. it's not the worst (if you have seen my disney oufit) and i don't mind it except for the pants.

the food here is really bad, so i have been eating alot of salad. it takes alot of courage for me to go to the dining room when my roomate cannot go with me, but i have yet to eat alone, for i always meet somebody who invites me to sit with them. i meet about 5 new people everyday.

the power went out on wednesday, due to high winds. we had to be emergency evacuated to a different location for heat and electricity. we were put up in a hotel, which was kinda nice. the power was off for 3 days, so we spent 2 nights in the hotel. they shuttled us back ad forth by bus.

on the way back to our "home" we saw a grizzly bear just off the side of the road. it was my first ever sighting, and it made me happy for the rest of the day. due to the power outage the hotel is delayed for opening til tomorrow. i however have until monday off.

communication is really hard here, i have no computer and am at the mercy of my roomate who lets me borrow hers. we also have no cell phone service, so i have to drive 10 miles away to make calls and send texts. so if you don't here from me, don't be offended. it's not you. in my down time i usually read, watch movies or take a walk around part of the lake and pray. i plan on tomorrow taking my bible to the dock and enjoying the nice weather (45 degrees tomorrow!!!)

i went with my roomate and a few friends to cody, which is an hour and a half away. we went to walmart and subway for some real food. the drive was amazing, wyoming is so pretty. i then walked to the post office to sign up for mail, and picked up a package from my mom. she sent me some snack bars and cheese mix and carrots, of course.

this is getting long winded, so i'll wrap it up. i miss you all, but i'm having a blast! hopefully, i'll get some pictures of artist point put up tomorrow after i visit!

I cannot tell you how having my dad on this trip has made all the difference. He's a sport, and I'm glad I have someone to share this with.

We left arount 8 am on Wednesday, and about 10 minutes outside Buffalo, we got a flat tire. So we called AAA and they came 20 mintues after we rang them. if was all very fast. Good thing I had a full sized spare, or we could have really be behind schedule. Pennslyvania and Ohio were pretty unadventerous. We stopped just past Cleveland to eat at King Wah's Chinese Palace. King Wah himself greeted us at the door. Our waitress was caucasian, which really disapointed me.

I'm not a fan of Ohio or Indiana. They are both flat, flat flat. We did pass the RV hall of fame, but we had no time to go in. We passed the rime by listening to Gomez, Howie Day and an Ian Fleming book on cd. It's casino royale, and I like it just as much as the movie so far, but we shall see. Side note: Gary, Indiana was the ugliest city I have ever seen. If anybody I know moves there, I'm sorry, I will not be visiting you. If you're from there, I am truly sorry.

Spent about 2 hours in Chicago rush hour traffic in pouring rain. We made the best of it by dancing to Radar Love and Always Be My Baby and making jokes about Gary, Indiana. After dinner at Long John Silver's, we drove one more hour to Madison Wisconsin in rainy construction surrounded be semis. not my favorite driving conditions. We checked in to our hotel (which was a very pretty courtyard, of course) and slept like babies.

Day 2 was spent driving through the rest of Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota. Wisconsin was surprisingly pretty and Minnesota is nothing by farms, as far as the eye can see. That got old real fast. As soon as we entered into South Dakota, a million billboards sprang up, literally. Every 100 feet there is another billboard advertising Wall Drug, which is 350 miles away, to the Corn Palace which was 100 miles away. Half of South Dakota is flat, and the other half is beautiful rolling hills. We passed the sign for the Laura Ingals Wilder house, but we had no time to stop.

We stopped at Wall Drug, which is world famous, for 20 minutes. It was a real tourist trap with a travellers chapel, cafe, museum, 20 specialty stores and enought kitsch to last a lifetime. After fueling up we drove past the National Buffalo Grasslands -no buffalo :( -the Badlands- stunning!- and the Black Hills- I want to live there.

We checked into our hotel which is connected to an indoor water park, and then had dinner at a steakhouse that was once a fire house. best steak I ever had, so good! Then bed, because we were weary travelers.

This morning we shall stop at Mount Rushmore, which is right down the street. Then coffee at the Dunn Bros (I hope we get a discount!). Later in Montana we will drive through a reservation. Only 500 mile to go to Gardiner!

Tomorrow I drop my Dad at the airport, then drive to Gardiner to check in for Yellowstone! all by 9am.

i've been a little busy. this past week i have driven to wyoming, moved into my dorm and started my new job. it's been a heck a lot of change.

to say that yellowstone is beautiful is a vast understatement. i cannot describe the beauty i have encountered in just my first few minutes in the park. i was greeted by five enormus(?) bison, all grazing by the side of the road. a few miles further, i drove over a stunning waterfall tumbling down the mountain face.

i was assigned to work at the lake hotel, which is the oldest hotel in the park. when we arrived, sheets covered the stacked furniture in the lobby, and it smelled untouched. they put us to work, learning all the policies and safety procedures. the heat had yet to be turned on, so we would bundle ourselves in coats and scarves as we sat in the meager light of the sunroom.

the hotel itself is a sleeping giant. an old lady that groans as winter releases it grip and spring loosens her cramped muscles. she is yellow, and rests on the shore of lake yellowstone as if to say that she watches and guards over her lake. her floors creak, and are slanted in some hallways. a giant fireplace welcomes all who enter the grand pink lobby with it's wicker furniture. a grand piano stands majestic in the center of the room, begging to be played. once guest arrive, string quartets will serenade them with the tunes of old.

she is a cross between older lake resorts and the hotel from the shinning, spooky when uninhabited, and grand when used by those who return summer after summer.

we are told we are privileged to work here, that we should be honored to spend our summer in her shadows.

it seems i can only post 9 entries a month, according to my posting history, so i'm going to keep it that way.

i now have officially less than a week until i leave for yellowstone national park to begin my summer employment. my dad has decided to make the trek with me! this is a huge weight off my shoulders. in a way i was looking forward to driving by myself, but i was nervous about the distance and length of driving days. now i will have someone to keep me company and take over driving when i get tired. plus i will not have to talk to myself, and scare other drivers around me with the faces i make when i am alone.

i have a few items on my to do list, including some shopping and packing. i still need to get an oil change and vaccum the tacks out of my car. my main concern right now is finding a laptop, as it the only means of communication i will have with the outside world. this has been a constant prayer of mine, and i am trusting that God will provide one for me.

my friend graduated from nursing school yesterday, and i am so proud of her.

jen has fibromatosis, her body grows tumors, many of which are around her spine. she has had many surgeries to remove the tumors. she has also had surgery to place metals rods in her back. it has been a long and painful road, and it's not over. but you would never know, looking at jen, that she has gone through so much.

jen always has a smile on her face, she is always laughing and poking fun at herself. she is so filled with joy that not even pain can remove that smile. this joy only comes from one source, her saviour Jesus Christ. jen will be the first person to tell you about him.

to be a great nurse, you have to know what it's like to be a patient. i know jen with be a great nurse, because she knows how it is to be a patient. she brings that infectious joy into everything she does.