'18/#12 Welcome To Our New Home

The trek is over. We made it to West Yellowstone and will be here for the rest of the summer. The weather has been clear and cool but the temperature still drops below freezing at night on occasion.That means we still have to keep an eye on our water lines. There is quite a bit of snow still piled up on the side of the roads and at higher elevations but it is melting. The rivers in Yellowstone are running heavy with all the snow run-off.

We went into Yellowstone our first full day here looking for wildlife. Of course we found buffalo everywhere there was grass not covered with snow and we came across an elk munching on the grass along side a river. Mary is determined to find a moose this year but none on this trip. At the Old Faithful visitors center we saw snow piled up all around the parking lot and there was a snow bank that reached up to the eaves of the building and beyond. There were not a lot of people here but the season is just getting started.

The next day we decided to take a drive into Bozeman MT since that is where all the bigger stores, malls, and restaurants are. This summer that will be a scheduled trip to get supplies that are not as readily available here in West Yellowstone. The population here in town is only about 1300 so the big stores aren't found anywhere nearby. There are couple of independent grocery stores, a hardware store, gas stations, and a few other small businesses for the locals to shop. As for the tourists there is an abundance of small restaurants and souvenir shops. A number of them aren't even open yet but that will change soon.

Speaking of tourist shops and attractions....we start work  this Monday. Our duties will be in the RV park, gift shop, and I-Max theater. The day we got here they had just gotten a delivery and I'm sure the empty shelves will be full of t-shirts and souvenirs in no time. Several tour buses have been here the past few days and from what we understand that is our "bread and butter" for the gift shop. The theater shows a movie about Yellowstone and then the buses head into the park. Of course to get in and out of the theater you have to go through the gift shop. This layout is no accident as anyone who has traveled to a tourist destination knows. I'm sure we will have fun and stay busy during the season.

Anyway, today is our last day before we start work. We will put the final touches on setting up the trailer for our stay for the summer so it feels like home here in our rig in West Yellowstone Montana because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary