"Say there is no truth. Say there are only scraps that we feebly try to sew together."

-Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.







Winter in Yellowstone has officially begun.

"Endings are my weakness and I hate them and mistrust anybody who knows when they occur."

-A Complicated Kindness

Incase I haven't made this clear, the weather here at Yellowstone is seriously bipolar. You can wake up to clear blue skies, and two hours later it might be pouring down rain. And two hours later it might be snowing. So whenever there is a clear sky that looks like it might stick around for more than two minutes, I always try to take advantage of it. Last night I went out and walked on some of the trails around Old Faithful. When I got out there, there was a big pack of bison all headed towards Old Faithful. They literally surrounded it, and I got out my camera thinking that it was as perfect as a photo opportunity can get. Then, right as I was about to take a picture, Old Faithful went off! The bison continued to calmly snack on the grass, and I once again was overwhelmed with how happy I am to be here.

"We like companionship, but we can't stand to be around people for very long. So we go get ourselves lost, come back for awhile, then get out again."

-John Krakauer

Max, Terry and I had the same day off last week, so we decided to do something fun. Employees can go on any of the tours for free as long as there is room available. We showed up for the Firehole Basin Tour and there were exactly 3 seats left. Yay! By the end of the tour it was very, very, very cold, but we didn't mind. Well, maybe I minded a little bit when I couldn't really feel my hands anymore, but I guess that's what I get for leaving my gloves in my room. Lesson learned!





The tour bus-car thing had a roof that you could take off, which was really cool because then we could take pictures as we were moving. We eventually had to put the top on after awhile because it started to rain, but for the first hour we got to ride around with no roof.


We stopped at a rest area so people could use the restroom. Max and I took the opportunity to run down to a nearby clearing and it was sooooo pretty. I would've been happy staying there all day, but unfortunately we only had ten minutes to wander around. Oh well.




We spent the rest of the tour looking at various geysers and waterfalls. You know, the usual stuff you see when you're living on a volcano.

"I feel myself bracing, feel my need to gather everything up so I can finally lay it down."

-The Mermaid Chair

Vicki and I both had the day off today. We left our room at 7 AM to go have breakfast at the Inn, and then we spent 3 hours walking around the park. Today was one of the most beautiful days that I have seen since I have been here, and it was a great day to take pictures. Enjoy!



















And last but not least, look! This rock was sticking its tongue out at me! Amazing!

"I know you'll be calling me soon, and if I don't answer I'm calling the moon."

-Dar Williams

A couple of days ago, I went on the Full Moon Hike. It was a really pretty hike, and it was really fun because almost everyone from the Housekeeping department was there. The hike started at 9:30 PM and went until a little after 11 PM. It was a beautiful hike, but I couldn't really get any of the prettiness on film because it was so dark. However, I did get lots of fun people-pictures. Enjoy.

"Deep behind my face is a safer place, but old gears are hitched tight to the gate."

-The Indigo Girls

Last Saturday was the Opening Party at the Employee Pub. The pub has been open for a couple of weeks now, but this was the official "Yay the pub is here" party, so everyone went.

Here is a picture of some of my peeps on the way to the pub. Left to right: John, Harley, Terry, Max and Vicki.


Here is Max and John, and then a picture of Max and I.



Classic pool shot:


Here is Patricia and Vicki. Vicki is my roommate, and Patricia is her daughter.


And last but not least, here I am with Vicki. I'm not sure why it looks like I was about to pour my beer on her, but whatever.