Welcome to Wyoming!

Dad and I decided to tour around on Saturday instead of unpacking. The only road that's open year round is the road to Cooke City so we headed out that direction.

We of course got stuck in a bison jam on the road. There was no one else out though so it was nice to have the road to ourselves (besides the bison). We drove until the road got snowier and turned around to head back. There was a garage sale going on at the community center down the road so we swung by there. There wasn't anything too interesting but they did have hot dogs and chips for lunch so we took advantage of that. 

In the afternoon we stopped by Mammoth Hot Springs. Dad has video of Mammoth from when he went to Yellowstone as a kid but he didn't really remember the area. Of course it was windy, rainy, and the boardwalk was covered in snow so I can understand how that wouldn't trigger a memory. It's such a different experience to see the thermal features in the snow. I can see the terraces from my apartment so it's cool to walk around my new "backyard".

Later in the day we headed into town again to get some groceries. When Dad moved me out to Colorado we had eaten hot pockets since all I had was a microwave so we bought some hot pockets in celebration. We also stopped by Roosevelt Arch and the YNP sign to get some pictures of me in my new workplace. It's nice to be here before all the crowds and tourists.

The northern entrance to Yellowstone is always filled with wildlife. You are pretty much guaranteed to see bison, elk, mule deer, and pronghorn all mingling about. We settled in for the night and around 7:00pm the power went out. We didn't think too much of it and then an hour went by and it still wasn't back on. As the daylight faded, I could see dark clouds moving in and the wind kicked up so strong that it was rocking the Uhaul in the driveway. Then it started snowing icy pellets. My neighbor came over with candles and matches and a headlamp and let me know that a microburst had gone through Emigrant (about 30 miles north) and knocked out 8 power lines. I was so appreciative of her stopping in to check on me and give me supplies. We bundled up to go to bed and the power finally was restored around 10:30.  

Dad headed out on Sunday afternoon to return the Uhaul to Bozeman and I finally started unpacking and organizing since I had to start work the next day. It was a wild trip across the country and then a snowstorm and power outage welcomed us to Wyoming so I can already tell this is going to be one hell of an adventure!

Moving West: Day 3 and 4

Minuteman Missile

Our first stop in South Dakota was Minuteman Missile. It is a National Park site right off the interstate. It tells the story of the Cold War and the missile defense system. It was really interesting and even more so to hear Dad tell me of growing up during the Cold War and all his memories of it. It had started snowing while we were touring. We continued on down I-90 and stopped at Wall Drug.

South Dakota

I had been there once before. It's not really that interesting so we just did a quick lap and left. We turned the elevation on in the GPS. It was crazy to watch it keep going up while we were driving across the plains. We finally crossed over into Montana.

Little Bighorn

Little Bighorn Battlefield is another National Park site right off the interstate. We got there late in the day so we just watched the film and took in the exhibits. There is a tour road but it was snowy and we didn't want to drive around in the Uhaul.

Little Bighorn

We decided to stop in Billings for the night. I hadn't realized that Billings was such an industrial town. It is dominated by 2 refineries. We got there early enough that we decided to actually go out to eat. We had been just grabbing stuff along the way so it was nice to sit down and eat a real meal. Another snow storm moved in overnight and it was still snowing when we got up to leave. The interstate was covered in snow so it was really slow going. We got off in Livingston, MT and headed south! The sun finally came out as we got closer to Gardiner.

I met my coworker Sarah in Gardiner and we unloaded my car from the trailer and unhooked the trailer to leave it at the Yellowstone service center so it would be out of the way. Then we all caravaned to my new home! I had been sent pictures of it so it was nice to finally see it in person. Sarah kindly brought cardboard to lay down on the newly cleaned carpet so we wouldn't track snow and mud everywhere. Rick, my other coworker, stopped by and between the four of us we got that Uhaul unloaded in about a half hour (after we threw hot water on the lock since it had frozen solid). We basically just dumped stuff on the floor without any organization just to get it done. We were pretty hungry at that point but didn't feel like driving into town so Sarah took us to the employee dining room for lunch. Then I went to get my parking pass for the car and she took us on a quick tour of the neighborhood. Finally, I was back in the apartment and I had to start unpacking.

My front yard

Since I had no food, we headed into town to get some elk burgers for dinner and it was delicious. The sun had come out so it was a really pretty evening. We both celebrated not having to be in that Uhaul anymore! 

Moving West: Day 1 and 2

Effigy Mounds

Dad and I left Scottsville at 6:00am. Everything went smoothly until we got to the Ohio border. The interstate was closed so we had to divert. There were flaggers and cop cars so it seemed like a last minute thing. Apparently a bridge over the interstate was deemed structurally unsound so they had to demolish it immediately. We got stuck in stop and go traffic for an hour. Finally we got back on and were headed west again. After lunch, I convinced Dad to let me drive. He was hesitant because it was a 15' Uhaul towing my car behind it. I wore him down though. I had planned on letting him drive again before we got to the Chicago metro area but that never happened. Traffic and construction picked up and there was never a good spot to pull off and switch so I ended up driving all the way around Chicago with Dad navigating. The traffic was heavy but still moved along pretty well. The bigger issue was stopping constantly for tolls. We spent over $100 just in tolls! It was getting pretty late and we had been driving in the rain all day but I wanted to get to Madison, WI to spend the night so we could be out of traffic the next day. Dad took over driving again and when we crossed over into Wisconsin the rain turned to snow. We finally got to our hotel at 9:00 pm. It was a long and exhausting day.

Effigy Mounds

The next morning was sunny but everything was covered in snow. We headed out of Wisconsin and into Iowa. Our first stop was at Effigy Mounds.

Effigy Mounds

Effigy Mounds

 It's a National Park Site. Apparently Dad had been there as a kid on one of his family road trips but he didn't remember it at all. To see the mounds you have to walk up a pretty steep hill. It was snow covered but the sun was bright and the Mississippi River was sparkling so it was a nice walk. We saw deer and even a bald eagle! The snow defined the mounds really well. I had been to the Hopewell Mounds in Ohio but these were animal shaped mounds so it was pretty neat to see.

Pipestone

We hopped back into the Uhaul and continued on into Minnesota. The next National Park site was Pipestone. It closed at 5:00pm so I stepped on the gas. We got there a little before 4. Pipestone is where the Native American's quarried stone to carve into pipes. It was cold and windy so Dad stayed in the visitor center and watched the film while I went to hike the quarry. Most of the trail was snowy and icy and parts of it were closed but I still got to see the stone and a waterfall.

Pipestone

The visitor center had some gorgeous examples of the carned pipestone. We hopped back in the Uhaul and crossed over into South Dakota for our second night. We stayed at the Kelly Inn. I chose it for the name but it had this really cute lodge theme going on so it was a good find.

Life Changes

Well life has taken quite an interesting turn since my last blog. I knew that I wasn't planning on going back to the ranch in 2018 but I wanted to continue doing the marketing for the ranch since I really enjoyed it. It was a lifesaver the past few months to have a job to do besides looking for a job. But the majority of my time was devoted to looking for a job. I really hadn't been job hunting since I graduated from my MBA in 2010. After countless iterations of my resume and searching and hearing nothing back, I finally got a break in January with an interview. It was in an industry I had absolutely no experience in but it was a small, growing company so I was excited. I was turned down for that after an in-person interview and I got frustrated. So I decided that maybe my next stop should be doing my own thing. I had really enjoyed all the marketing I do for the ranch and figured maybe other small businesses would like the same type of marketing services. I cold called and emailed many places around Rochester. I got a few bites and put some proposals together but was really just making it up as I went along. I was still looking for full time jobs but I found myself not even applying anymore because nothing was capturing my interest. All the job descriptions and companies seemed boring. I got to thinking one day that people always told me I should work in a National Park because that was my passion. I never really considered it in my job hunt because I didn't live near any National Parks. The whole reason I didn't want to go back to New Mexico was that I missed my family and I hated leaving my house sitting empty for 2 years. I didn't really want to work for the government so I started thinking of companies that work for the parks and looked on Xanterra's website. I had known their name since they are a concessionaire in many parks. They had one year round marketing position listed so I applied. The next day I was asked to schedule an interview, which I did two days later and then was hired three days after that. All of a sudden I had a job offer to live and work in Yellowstone National Park doing marketing.

Me at Yellowstone in 2009

It was everything I ever wanted, I just had to move 2,300 miles to get it. As much as I love my family, and especially the past few months of being with them all the time, I knew that I really wasn't happy being in NY because I didn't have a fulfilling job. So thus commenced a fast and furious couple of weeks to prepare to move across the country again. Dad again offered to drive with me. This time however, we rented a 15' Uhaul and towed my car behind. I was able to push my start date back to April so I could spend Easter with the family. The day after, Dad and I spent 3 hours loading up the Uhaul and I had to say a bittersweet goodbye to my beloved Cabin in the Woods. Then it was time to hit the road!