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| Sunset at Old Faithful at around 9pm Photo credit: Han Xu |
This was something I wrote one day when I was working opening shift at icecream and there was not much customers yet :)
What I love about Yellowstone
01. Large size - Spanning 8987 sq km across 3 states (96% Wyoming, 3% Montana, 1% Idaho & hence diff taxes in the respective villages:P), it is more than 12 times the size of Singapore. Though most of the area is inaccessible by humans to preserve the natural habitats, there are more than enough villages to visit and endless trails to explore. The 7 villages each have their own unique characteristics: Old Faithful for its geysers and other thermal features, Mammoth Hot Springs for its spectacular terraces of limestones created by volcanic hot water that runs on its surface, Grant for being the prime grizzly habitat and beautiful West Thumb basin nearby, Lake for the breathtaking Yellowstone Lake & fishing, Canyon for the picturesque Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Roosevelt for its horses and stagecoach rides, Gardiner for being company HQ and like a full small town. All these mean that there is never short of places to explore, never lack of something to do!
02. Ever-changing weather - sitting on top of an active supervolacano, the weather is unpredictable. It can be sunny, then snow, rain water or ice - changing every couple of kilometres we drive, or within a few hours. I first experienced snow in late May when it was almost Summer. The whole place can look like white christmas arriving early in the morning, then the sun would come out and melt all the snow by afternoon. It warmed up towards mid June and July. But now in early August, it's back to hoovering around 20 deg celcius in the day and below 10 degs in the night again. The mostly cooling and dry weather may take a toll on our skins, but it makes hiking a more comfortable experience! And I love the surprises that mother nature presents:D
03. Friendliness of people - When I first arrived in Yellowstone, I was taken aback by the number of strangers that smile and greet me even though I have never met them and do not know who they are. This gives the whole place a good vibe and makes me cheerful everyday!
04. Friends & the kindness they extend - I really thank God for all the people he has put around me. The people are really a large part of this whole Yellowstone experience, and it wouldnt have been the same without them. Besides the friends from Singapore, and the friends from America, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Malaysia & Europe, I thank God for a very special group of American adults who have extended their kindness to drive us around/out of the park. The fuel cost is actually quite high such that we always have to pay a fee when we go on employee rec trips, but these people have gladly brought us around just so that we can see as much as possible while we are in Yellowstone. I thank God for these angels in my life :)
05. Work - Despite sometimes working till everyone's frustrated and I just feel like walking out, being able to work here has been one really an experience of a lifetime, literally. I dont think i'll ever get to work this kind of jobs overseas again (hopefully not for my livelihood anw:P). I do love working at the bakeshop & icecream shop i must say, it's one of the best positions i think, so I'm really thankful for it, and dishwashing was a good experience too! Plus working at Yellowstone is the only way to stay long-term in the park, so as to thoroughly enjoy what this park has to offer. Being a tourist is just too expensive!
06. Heritage - Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is the world's first national park. That saying, it is not surprising to hear people I know/visitors saying "I came here twenty ++ years ago when I was much younger..." An old man came up to me one day and said, "I was here 30 years ago and there was only one building facing Old Faithful, which one is it?" And as I watched a BBC documentary on Yellowstone that was filmed a couple of years back, it seemed as if Yellowstone never changed, it was all too familiar, yet Yellowstone's changing, every single minute, every single day. Perhaps I'll come back one day and say "I was here xxx years ago..."?
07. Retired couples/people coming here to work together, or just to take a break - Everyone seems to come here to take a break from something, and with Yellowstone being almost 2-3 hours drive to/from any nearby town, its exclusivity and back-to-nature lifestyle makes it perfect for a summer getaway. I especially admire the older people that come up here to work, I actually went on a Class III-IV whitewater rafting trip with a 87 years old lady! (can't imagine her swimming back if the raft capsized..) And isn't it lovely if you can share all the amazing sights and sounds right there and then with the one you love most? Dancing in the snow/stargazing/strolling on the boardwalks/wildlife watching.. Maybe I'll come back here for retirement one day :)
08. Staying fit and healthy - This point is actually linked to the one before. I have met many old people who are in their late fifties/sixties/seventies and are still actively involved in outdoor activities. I met a guy who goes hiking everyday after work to photograph wildlife/scenery. There was also a couple where the husband was a mountain biking instructor in the Tetons at 60 and they still go biking/climbing together frequently. These people looked at least ten years younger than their actual age. These people really inspired me and I want to be like them thirty, forty, fifty years later! & I love it that in Yellowstone there are so many peaks to climb and outdoor activities to do, plus we walk everywhere - to work, to the EDR, to the general store, to our dorms etc, so it's much easier to keep fit while enjoying all that nature has to offer.
09. Rec Hall activities - I thank God for the activities organized by the rec hall, they were really appreciated by international students like us who do not have our own means of transport. We got to visit several nearby towns, go on hiking trips at different parts of Yellowstone because of all these employee rec trips.
10. Long summer days - I was shocked at first at how early the sun rises and how late the sun sets here. Never got to catch the sunrise even when I had to work at 6am as the sun rises about 5 plus in the morning and only sets some time after 9pm.This makes our days extremely long which is kinda a good thing cos you feel as if you're given more hours to do things! Sometimes we forget that it's time to start closing the shop cos it's still bright outside! That also explains why we start sleeping later and later :P
10. Long summer days - I was shocked at first at how early the sun rises and how late the sun sets here. Never got to catch the sunrise even when I had to work at 6am as the sun rises about 5 plus in the morning and only sets some time after 9pm.This makes our days extremely long which is kinda a good thing cos you feel as if you're given more hours to do things! Sometimes we forget that it's time to start closing the shop cos it's still bright outside! That also explains why we start sleeping later and later :P
11. Wildlife - from bisons at our doorsteps/trudging towards our car/blocking all the roads, 'Frank' the squirrel running around Old Faithful Lodge, chipmunks everywhere, to black & grizzly bears, pronghorns, marmots, pikas, elks, geeses, cyote, fox, ospreys, moose, deers, bighorn sheep - this is the closest you can get to wildlife at its best. A paradise for wildlife lovers, don't forget your telephoto lens and binoculars!
12. Scenery - And I can only stand in awe of God's creations: majestic mountains, valleys, canyons, lakes&rivers, petrified trees, thermal areas, beautiful sunsets, starry skies, lovely flowers. They will take your breath away. Pictures can't substitute the feeling of being right there, witnessing how there must be a divine artist behind all these wonderful works.
I love you, Yellowstone ♥
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