Yellowstone has three seasons: Winter, Spring, and August

As the summer is winding down, my weekend activities have become noticeably less intense. Though I am a little disappointed that perfect opportunities for Epic Yellowstone Adventures are slipping away, I’m grateful as well because I’m provided with times for reflection and rejuvenation before heading back into the full swing of school in a few weeks. Don’t get me wrong, however, life here hasn’t been totally drab.

Two weekends ago (8/1), I and two friends, Molly and John, rented a motor boat from the marina and went out on the lake for an hour. I can’t speak for the other two, but I know that I thoroughly enjoyed myself that afternoon. The view of the hotel, the mountains and just the whole shoreline from the water was unlike anything I could have expected. The sky was clear and sunny and the air was warm. It was a wonderful day for boating. The next day, I drove an hour and a half to the small town of West Yellowstone (located 20 feet outside of the west entrance to the park) and visited the wolf and bear sanctuary. The sanctuary is basically a zoo of wolves and bears that either were abandoned as cubs, have been deemed dangerous to humans, or needed some safe place for recovery, etc., etc., etc. I wouldn’t recommend paying to visit the sanctuary because, if you spend enough time in the park, you’d see those animals in the wild. And, you’d see the same thing at any zoo you visit. Fortunately, being an employee in the park, I got in free of charge.

Later that week, I actually got to visit with a friend from high school who is working in the Tetons this summer. On Saturday after work, Eric and I joined some of my friends at the Boiling River in the northern part of the park. The water of the Boiling River is heated by thermal features a mile or so away in the Mammoth village. Basically, it’s a natural hot tub. It’s better than a normal hot tub, though, because occasionally you’ll get hit by a cool and refreshing wave of water. The river starts somewhere inside the park and is joined just outside the Mammoth village by runoff from the hot spring. We relaxed in the shallow water for an hour just a few feet from where the hot and cold water join forces. That Monday, Faith (Jillian’s sister) and I drove out to Cody for an afternoon spent in a relatively civilized region. We had a good time despite being caught in a vicious thunderstorm, which included hail, while driving over the mountains. I think that every single time I’ve been to that town, I’ve witnessed a thunderstorm. Cody has a fun shopping scene downtown and we spent a good portion of our time looking around the little shops and buying a few things here and there. Cody also has a Wal-Mart—which is wonderful. Before this summer, I never would have thought I’d be grateful for a Wal-Mart. It’s easily the biggest and most dominating building in the town. But, being a super Wal-Mart, it has everything I could possibly need for 3.5 months in (virtually) the middle of nowhere.

Believe it or not, it’s starting to get cold here again. I think we witnessed a solid 4 weeks of “summer heat” at the lake. On Sunday, I spoke with a woman who says that the park tends to see snow near the end of August. This is a little surprising (and maybe a little disappointing too) because the wild flowers are out in full force and I’d hate to see them freeze. I won’t be here for the most drastic changes anyways, so I won’t worry about it. More evidence of changing weather is that we’ve had thunderstorms nearly every day so far this month because the warm weather is clashing with the cold weather that’s starting to settle again. I really don’t mind the storms, though, because they provide phenomenal cloud viewing and amazing sunrises and sunsets. I also simply enjoy listening to thunder. I woke up this morning to a huge crash of it around 6:30 AM. Finally, my co-workers are starting to go home to head back to school. Some, however, such as my roommate, have chosen to take a semester or two off of class and extended their contracts. Many are now staying until the park’s closing date of September 28.

It seems that I might be spending two nights in Bozeman, MT before catching my flight home. This is so because of when the busses that shuttle people between the park and Bozeman run. If everything works out to plan, I’ll be riding up there on Aug. 23 and then getting a taxi to the airport on Aug. 25. I really don’t mind this, though, because I’ve heard that Bozeman is a neat town that deserves some exploring.
Shalom!