There was much rejoicing around Lake when the rain finally cleared up enough to go outside and have a semi-dry time. On Sunday, I went to a morning church service put on by the Christian ministry here at the park. Monday was cloudy, but I still went hiking with some friends from the national park Christian ministry. We went on two hikes-in the morning we on the Beaver Ponds loop (5.1 miles) and then in the early evening, we joined ministry teams from the other locations and hiked up Bunsen Peak (4 miles). Bunsen Peak was really steep, but the view from the top was amazing. We reached the peak right when a thunderstorm was breaking loose in the valley below us. It was fun seeing the dark clouds, lightning and rain in the distance, but I got down that mountain as fast as I could when we realized the storm was actually coming our way. And by “as fast as I could,” I mean that I ran down almost 2 miles of switchbacks and downhill trail to the parking lot. I was with a friend and we both got soaked by the rain, but that only made it more fun. Then, that evening, we all went to the house of the pastor who runs the Christian ministry in Yellowstone and spent a few hours relaxing before driving the hour back to Lake. Their house is in Mammoth. Those two people are probably the most hospitable couple I have ever met. They welcomed 20+ ministry kids (and friends) into their home and fed them all and invited a few of them to stay the night because roads were closed in the park.
On Wednesday, I went to a disco dance party put on by the employee pub. I went with Jillian and we met some friends there. We didn’t dress up in 70s attire, but we still had a lot of fun attempting to dance disco. One of our friends from Singapore was so excited for the dance that he said he planned to “dance his pants off.” Don’t worry—that didn’t actually happen, but he still had a pretty good time.
Tonight, there was a 3-on-3 volleyball tournament of Lake employees and my team won! This means we’re going to the Park-wide tournament in a week in Mammoth. The only reason I’m playing is because the rules require that a female be on the court at all times so some male friends of mine requested that I play with them. I had a fun time even though it was 45 F and we were playing on an asphalt basketball court. By the way, we are the Flying Bison.
Work is going well. I'm getting faster at cleaning rooms and making beds. It's even better now that I know I can accept tips that are handed directly to me as a room attendant! I think I've made a good solid $4 in the past week in tips alone. Bed time.
Shalom!
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$4?? What is wrong with those people? Love the Flying Bison. We just got a dog who used to be named Mojo and renamed him Mad Max.
ReplyDeleteI just caught up on your most informative narrative and looked at the Picasa "illustrations" too. Thanks for all that; I feel like I've been there now. Question: in May you said, "there is not one recorded bear attack on a group of less than four people." Does that mean you have a great chance of attack with more people?
ReplyDeleteCan you send some of the 45 degree weather back home? If we mixed it with our 90 degree weather it would be much more pleasant to be outside
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to do anything there that actually seems SAFE to a mother? Maybe volleyball (even on an asphalt court) in the middle of civilization... Incidentally, is that why some mothers actually tag along?
ReplyDeleteYes, I meant to write "more than four people." Thanks for the correction, Dad. Don't worry, Mom, these situations aren't nearly as dangerous as they seem.
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