END OF AUGUST !

We've been gearing up for the Summer and all of a sudden it's almost over ! Three months has gone by and now there is only one month left. Hard to believe ! Norm has been busy with maintainence and I finally feel comfortable in the office. Well... until we got a new couple that started last Sunday.

      ' John & Jane' live about 70 miles from here and come to help with the end of season 'stuff '. Apparently, I said/did something that set her off! Maybe I did, don't know for sure,( probably did ) but she told me in front of a roomfull that , I was RUDE... really..really RUDE ! HMMM. Decided it was best to leave. Came back about an hour later and we duked it out. It's been awhile since I've been involved in a 'cat fight' but wasn't going to back down. Whew...now that we have that over Mary & I can be friends! Sometimes us girls just have to clear the air !

      You may have heard our favorite Coffee Shop has been sold and the Barista, that as been there forever, was let go. We had to go and have our final cuppa Joe with her this AM. She will be missed by many. While there, we read that another Grizzly fatality took place, last week-end on the Mary Mt. Trail about 5 miles from the trailhead. A 59 yr old Michigan man was hiking alone and was mauled. Haven't heard all the details but he didn't have any Bear Spray with him. The really scary thing about this, is, we hiked this trail a few weeks ago and posted pic's we took of a male Grizzly. Don't know if it is the same bear or not, but they are territorial. This bear has not been found, yet, and will probably be destroyed when they do. The Park Ranger's are always telling people not to hike alone, take Bear Spray, make noise and if you see a bear, any bear, leave the area. SAD...SAD !

        The weather has been sooo beautiful here for the last few months. ( We hear from many of you how the heat is so miserable or.... from our friends in the Pacific NW how wet and grey the days have been.) In the last few days, there has been a slight change. The clouds set in and the thunder & lightening can clamor for hours. The temps at night will be close to freezing on Fri & Sat. Guess Fall is trying to poke through soon. We just hope the Snow God's don't arrive anytime soon.

      On one of our outings to Hayden Valley, the Bison were everywhere.....in the meadows and on the road. Traffic was backed up for miles in both directions. It's most entertaining to just sit and watch them any time but now they are "rutting". If the female is ready she curls her tail up and off to the side. They circle each other in courtship as if teasing and then play a game of cat and mouse. This goes on for a few more weeks then POOF...next Spring we have new "red dogs" ! AMAZING !!!

      Can't believe Labor Day is this week-end. Most people will be returning home, resuming their normal lives after putting the 'camper' in storage. We hadn't really thought about life after our job here at Grizzly until we realized we lose one couple every week til the middle of Oct. (Our last day is the end of Sept.) The other couples have Winter jobs and have definate plans after leaving . We don't ! Sure feels weird not having a job we must return to or for that matter a place we must be!

       So, for all you who have a job or place to be...carry on! For the rest of you who have begun this "Gypsy" lifestyle and have paved the way....See you on the road ! :))

BIG RIGS !!

OMG! You guys should see the coaches in our park this week! A Prevost Rally has taken over almost every pull/thru site we have. 60, 45 ft motorhomes that start at about one million dollars +...each is towing a trailer about 25-30 ft long, painted to match the coach...and inside the trailers they have Harley motorcycles, also painted to match...and then a hydrolic lift comes down from the ceiling and they have some kind of car also painted to match !!! We have never seen so much chrome in our lives !

A few came in last Friday and we had to check them in. Women with diamonds all over their fingers, upscale clothes, and lots of plastic surgery (eyes,lips and boobs) and make-up. Norm says "Isn't it nice that all these old guys with these big expensive rigs thought to bring their daughters and nieces!" WOW !

I was told how they could be demanding but just seeing how competitive they are about everything, money, cars, bikes, young wives, etc its a wonder they live to be old. We can feel the tension and stress in the office when they come in.

Norm told me he wouldn't feel comfortable owning a coach like these...how would you be able to drive one into a State/Nat'l Campground and worry about scratching it...even if the park could accomodate a 45 ft coach! And if we got sand in it from the beach...YIKES!!! We laughed...just can't picture these gals hiking up a trail with sweat on their brow...or racing on the beach to dig a razor clam ! They don't know what they are missin'!

Speaking of hiking up a trail...last week we did just that and as I was working my way around to take pic's of Norm I started to slide on some loose gravel, caught my left foot on a rock, fell forward ( my behind just kept on goin' downhill!) and hyper-extended my knee ! OUCHY !!! It's been almost a week and it is still sore. (Just wanted you to know in case I can garner more sympathy over it ..haha.)

We finally got to see our first moose! I've been waiting 3 months to see a moose! A mama and baby were grazing in a stream near Island Park. Really weird looking animals...with very tall ears...they look like a donkey's ears. We watched for a while until mama became nervous having a growing audience. She decided enough was enough, took Jr and went into the forest.

On Wed., we were sitting at our favorite coffee house and realized that In-Service & Route Pick was probably on Thurs/Fri. morning and for the first time neither of us were going to be attending! We would have left this area a few days ago and headed 'home' and summer would almost be over for us, again. Can't tell you how happy we are to be able to stay here. Most of the families have headed home to get ready for school so the park is much quieter. We are still full every night but the clientele is mostly couples. As soon as this rally is over it'll be even quieter... I like it !

Some of the other couples working here will start leaving right before Labor Day. I think we are one of two couples staying until the first of October. It felt weird to lose our first couple 2 weeks ago so we'll see how things go from here. We're just now getting the hang of things and the season will soon be over! We can already feel some chill in the mornings and of coarse it gets darker earlier in the PM. (I don't like to get up early enough to see when it gets light in the AM! I'll have to take Norm's word for it!)

Sooooo, to all our Bus Driver friends (and Secretaries) so sorry we're not there but we'll be think' 'bout ya on the first day of school. (Only 179 more days after that!) Luv ya guys !

Today is our first day off this week and we planned on driving to the Grand Teton's for the day. Norm always check the weathrer forcast and it didn't look all that good, so off to our favorite Coffee House ! Ran a few errands and back at the coach til this afternoon. Thought we'd try to catch some wildlife photos later in the evening.

The wind has really begun to blow and it's raining pretty hard so we've decided to get a few things done here at home til it blows over.

We have this BIG raly coming this next week-end which will fill the Prak to capacity. I work the day they arrive and I'm not looking forward to checking in almost 60, million dollar coaches. We've been told they are a very demanding group so we'll be drained of all energy by the end of it!

Friday was the Barbeque hosted by the owners of our park. Ellie Povah and family have a ranch near town and one of the outbuildings houses a huge bar and collection of old horse drawn buggys, saddles and other old cowboy paraphinallia. Just the collection is worth a fortune! As we walked in they have a mammoth saloon type bar with stools made from seats of old tractors. The actual bar was shipped from England a gazzillion years ago and is absolutely gorgeous! It is made from cherry wood, stands about 12 feet tall and runs about 50 feet in length. All the cabinets in it have beveled glass and a large mirror hangs in the center! AMAZING !! The dinner was catered...serving steaks (of coarse), green salad, pasta, and a huckleberry bread pudding for dessert. Yummy. The problem was we had to go back to work for 2 hrs afterwards. I just about fell asleep, my tummy was sooo miserable from way too much food. Uhg.

One of the couples we have worked with gave notice and left a few days ago. The Managers were a bit upset but not surprised. I guess when workampers have trouble with the work, conflicts with other workampers or anything they just leave. It's very hard to get and keep good help. Gives us some leverage if we decide to come back next summer. We're really getting the hang of this now and also enjoy putting our extra funds in savings.

Norm has some projects he wants to get done on the coach and already is getting appointments set up for this fall. I really hadn't thought much more about what we were doing after we leave here. Seemed like it was going to be a long way away. Funny, how quickly the days have gone by. Does feel good to have some plans.

Guess we're not going anywhere today... the wind is REALLY blowing and it's starting to thunder and lightning. Sky is dark. I'll have to write about the Teton's next time.

A "GIT-ER-DUN" KINDA DAY !!

Norm was so excited to have another day off today! He jumped out of bed this morning and went right to work washing GRIZ (our coach). This last week we have had a number of rain and hail storms roll through later in the afternoon. The wind really does a number on GRIZ and T-Bear (our Jeep) and they haven't looked as pretty as they should. (Grizzly RV Park is expanding another 30 sites and the dust that the workers kick up could choke a mule !) He spent most of the day cleaning and polishing. Sure looks good! Batteries are checked and our windsocks are flying again.

I, on the other hand was able to get our clothes, some dainties and the bathroom rugs washed. The inside was given a clean and now we're ready for a new week.

The neighbors, Jerry & Lorraine came over to tell Norm how fabulous the grass around our sites look and then told us one of the couples we work with have left, gone, no longer working here ! Gads, we thought we would be the ones to leave first ! From what we have heard, they have workamped for nine years and finally reached the burned-out stage. I'll have to learn more about this tomorrow.

Last week was the Annual Rod Run. There were so many vintage cars here in the park it looked like we'd gone retro. Norm was reminded of his
younger days when he had a white W/ black convertible top ,'56 Chevy. Ohhh, how he loves to tell the stories associated with that car !! Fortunately, there were a bunch of old guys ready to listen and then tell their own tales.

This week we are seeing Motorcycles! They are not just motorcycles, they are Harley's and they're on their way to Sturgis for a HUGE Rally. I'm told we'll see them again on their way back. Sure are noisy bikes!

We were hoping to do something in YNP, yesterday, but the road from here to Madison Campground is being chip-sealed this week. Norm won't take the Jeep anywhere near that stuff so we checked out a couple of the Forest Service Campgrounds near town. They are actually pretty nice ! It's primative camping but quite do-able. I like the sweet, pine fragrance especially after a rain, and the fact you can have a campfire. I can taste those S'Mores !!

One of my favorite things to do for breakfast is have coffee at The Book Peddlar in town. Norm treats me every once in awhile and as you can see they now have a gargantuan size for those of us with the need for CAFFINE !! Ha. Sherry owns the shop and was quite happy to serve me this perfect cuppa Joe. YUMMMMMM....

Norm reminded me...usually when August gets here we start feeling the end of our summer looming all too close. We would be thinking of going back to the BUS BARN to pick our routes for the next school year and do our Kindy Orientations. Nerves begin to show up...will I get my route back, who would take it, has Beth mucked up all the routes,again, will I get my bus back or do I have to completely clean another one?, and then when are the first days off? I have to say...we are sooo incredibly glad to NOT go back to that!! Yes, Maryann, retirement IS a good thing !

We are full with reservations again this week. Looking at what is ahead for this month, we have a big PREVOST Rally (these are very high end coaches, over a million dollars each). There are about 50 of them staying with us and it will last about 4-5 days. I sure hope they aren't a bunch of cranky girl's and boys. Funny thing, they had to reserve a cabin with a lock to keep all their booze in! Only the guy handling this event will have the key ! Kinda weird.... they can afford really expensive rigs but can't be trusted with the booze! Hmmmmm....

After this, things appear to be slowing down some. That will be nice. I feel like we've been on a real roller coaster ride! Our last day here is Sept. 30th. It's odd to be saying that, it feels like we just got here and now everyone is talking about where they're going to work over winter and are we coming back next year? No, we're not working this winter and we don't have a clue about next year. We are both excited to move on to another adventure.

A Day to Myself !

      Today is Wednesday and the last day off before 4 more days of work.  Norm has gone fishing on the Madison River for the afternoon and evening.  This is my quiet time and I find it as necessary a part of my life as eating and sleeping !

      The 'house' is clean and neat and I am sitting outside in my rocking chair watching people go about their evening as I write and drink my coffee.  We had a storm come through yesterday and it rained, with thunder & lightning but it certainly cleaned the air.  It smells like fresh pine with a hint of sage. Ahhh......The temp outside is 76.9* here on the patio ( 7:30 pm) and just a slight breeze is blowing...just enough to keep any lingering mosquitoes from landing.   Ahhhhh....no TV....I love these moments!

      Got my sewing machine out and altered Mr. D's Tee-shirts from last year.   He's lost a bunch of weight and doesn't want to buy anything new yet.  I also finished two more banners for our outside poles.  I would put pictures on here except my camera is in the car with Norm !  I'll do it next time.

      The beginning of April, our beautiful and talented daughter, Nikki, insisted I start a "Blog".  She said it would be a great way to keep in touch with friends and family.  She ran me through the preliminaries and then said just click on things to see what they do and learn.  Okay, I'm still learning alot but I have surprisingly,  found this to be a good way to relax and 'talk' about day-to-day events.  One of the ladies that works in the office with me, Terrie, came in and asked if anyone knew how to blog.   Well, next week, guess who is giving a class to several of our staff on Blogging !!

      We have also been asked by a friend we met at a "Life On Wheels" conference many years ago to send some pic's and funny stories to her along with our work schedule info so she can write an article about us in the RV Life Magazine.  Arline Chandler, is a well known author among RV'ers, and writes many articles about this lifestyle.  She is also an authority on many aspects of life in Branson, MO.  I'll have to have Norm do the funny stuff, he is much better at that than I. 

      While on Facebook this morning Elise L. posted photo's of herself  in her "Happy Place".   Norm & I both said , "She's in OUR  happy place, too!".   It was wonderful looking at all her pic's as we have many of the same photo's.  ( Only ours have us in them).   Yellowstone is a fabulous place but our hearts will always be happiest at the beach.  Enjoy, Elise !

      One of our favorite families (we both drove their kid's, Wilson & Libby, on our schoolbuses) is moving to California.  It will seem odd not to have her sending us posts about all hte things going on in Redmond, WA.   Hopefully, a few of our other Favorite Families  will  continue to keep us in  the loop !  Right Mary, Elise and Birgit ?   Ha.

      The picture I put on the last blog was taken at a Fabulous  little coffee shop in the back of  "The Book Peddler"  book store.  It's not only adorable inside but the barista really brews a GREAT cup o' joe !  There are absolutely no Starbucks anywhere near here so we have now become regulars.  She has our cups ready as we walk in the store.  Ahhh...

       Since this is a tourist town many of the people who work here are seasonal, like us.  We have met many of them and in the process have heard how to find work in other areas of the country, who's good to work for, or not,  what places pay the best, etc.  It's amazing how much more there is to this nomad life style than we could possibly imagine.  All this knowledge,  and all we have to do is listen !  I like it !!

      Next week we plan on spending a day in the Grand Teton's.  I really want some photos of  moose !  ( Funny how it's goose/geese but not moose/meese ?!)  Hmmm.....The weather needs to co-operate and we have heard they may be chip-sealing the road from here into YNP.  Norm will absolutely NOT drive on it so we may have to wait another week.  Oh well.....

      I do believe my honey is home from chasing those fish up & down the river.  He'll have to tell you those stories.  Just remember...he loves to spin a yarn !! 

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      I have said many times how every day at our house is usually an adventure.   Well, working here at Grizzly RV Park has, so far, exceeded anything we have experienced, to date!  

      Working with the public has always been pretty easy for me.  I enjoy drawing peoples personalities out, getting the "old fart" to smile, and making each guest feel welcome.  This job has been quite the eye-opener for me.   At the Front Desk we are 'entertained' by as many as 90 incoming campers (plus all their family members) per day. 

      Traveling affects each one of us differently because we go about it in different ways.  Some people drive up to 20 hrs each day to experience Yellowstone.  They have about 2 weeks to vacation and are determined to see as much as possible in that time frame.  That's great but it takes it's toll.   When they arrive to register, we can see they are wound tight.  Tempers are short.  The family has spent all day in a small space,  they are not used to being together 24/7 and all this family bonding time is more than they can handle.

      One dad was trying to get all his site info while his young son pleaded to play video games in our Game Room.  Dad snapped in front of an office full of other guests and yelled at the boy to be quiet.  He didn't realize what a scene he had made for several minutes.  The face on that man was so striken with embarrassment, he had to leave and send his wife in to finish.

      An older man with  full 'mountan man' attire approached the desk and as usual I greeted him with a cheerful  "Hi!".   He really took me by surprise because his reply was "No, very Low".  He wasn't more than about 3 1/2 ft tall !  What a sense of humor he had !  Had us all in stitches ! 

      Yesterday, a balding, very heavy set, grumpy man in his late 60's started to unload on Lorraine (she and I work together alot)  about how he needed to be put in a better site because his 5th wheel trailer would not fit in the site he was assigned to.  I watched her back up slowly in disbelief as he went on and on.  Finally, our manager, Mark, came out and tried to help Mr. Unreasonable with his situation.  All our sites were full so there was nowhere else to move him.  They went back and forth until Mark just said leave and I'll refund your money.  (Sounded good to me !)   No, the guy knew there were no other places to stay in town so he did back down.   When Norm & I got home that evening guess who was in the site right next to us ?  YUP, it was Mr. Unreasonable !!  Gads !!

     A lady came into the office insisting on a refund.  When asked why, she said her daughter was very allergic to mosquitoes and unless we could move them to another part of the park,  that had no mosquitoes, they would be leaving !    (You have got to be kidding !)

      Kate Plus Eight were here filming for one night. I couldn't believe all the complaints we received about all the noisy children there were playing outside.

      The big RV that arrives after hours.....like at 1:30 in the morning.....takes 6-7 tries to back into the site with his headlights on high beam and the reverse beeper going like crazy.....spends another hour setting up his rig with ALL the outside lights on and then wonders why none of his neighbors are friendly.  DUH.....

        These are just a few of the weird situations we encounter...all in a days work .  I honestly did not expect to have this much adventure here at Grizzly...WOW !