Shouldn't winter in the caldera of a super volcano be mild?

Written Wednesday 5/11

I made it to Yellowstone Lake Hotel Monday morning after 2 hours of driving through heavy snow. Along the way, I passed snow banks in the Hayden Valley that were 30 to 40 ft tall. It was obsoletely incredible. I don't think it is even possible for me to describe how much snow there is here right now. I can tell you about it and show you pictures, but unless you were actually standing here, you wouldn't  be able to fully grasp how much there is. 

Driving into the Hayden Valley on my way to Lake last Monday

........wow

As soon as I got here, I went to the Fishing Bridge General Store (operating on limited hours of course) to get coffee. As I  approached the store, I noticed caution tape surrounding what used to be the gas station. Where the gas station once stood was a pile of debris and snow. The snow had accumulated so much on the roof over the winter that the building finally just collapsed. Rumor has it, there were several antique cars inside during the collapse. Why anyone would leave cars like that in the park over the winter is anyone's guess.

What's left of the Fishing Bridge gas station

I guess this person learned the hard way.

When I arrived to work at Yellowstone Lake Hotel Monday afternoon, we did what we've been doing for the past few weeks (distributed linen, got things ready, etc.). The only difference here was that you could see snow drifts at eye level outside of second story windows. At a few spots in the hotel, it looks like you can slide right out of the second story window and land safely on the ground. There is a loading dock for linen and other hotel supplies. Trucks will back up to the dock and unload their cargo. Right now, we can't even use this dock.......not because the road to the dock hasn't been cleared but because of the snow hanging off the edge of the hotel roof. If the snow were to dislodge and land on an unsuspecting employee, they would be dead instantly. 

First floor?.......nope, this is looking out a second floor window in Yellowstone Lake Hotel

As bad as it is here, reports indicate that Grant Village is far worse. To give you an idea of how much snow there is, a member of the snow removal team that's been working in Grant Village said that someone on his team STEPPED OVER one of the basketball goals next to the pub. This is not a snow drift……….this is the actual snow depth. Our personnel manager, Pat, said that the entrance to the dorm is not even visible. She also said the registration building and several employee cabins are completely covered. According to a maintenance team that came back from Grant today, the visitor center's back porch roof is even partially collapsed due to the weight of accumulated snow. It's looking like it is going to be impossible for anyone to move into Grant until at least Sunday or Monday (almost a week behind schedule). Moving in and getting started later does not push our opening (to the public) back at all. It's going to be a hectic two weeks (or less) trying to get everything ready.

Oh well, enough about the snow. 

Life here at Lake is about as simple as it gets. There is no internet, cell signal, or tv. We work, eat, and sleep. Nights are spent hanging out and talking to other managers and trainers. It's a nice change of pace from the "real world". I use quotations like that because maybe life here in the park should be considered the real world. It's much simpler, and life outside of the park is just a blur. 

The rooms we live in are in the annex of the hotel (aka Spider Alley). I don't know who gave the annex that nickname, but it is very fitting. I am living in a room with at least a dozen spiders. When I first arrived, I tried to clear the room of them, but my efforts proved futile. Now we coexist. I only kill them if they come within a certain distance of my bed. I'm not alone in my this fight. All of the other trainers are having the same problem. If you ever come to Yellowstone and decide to stay in the Yellowstone Lake Hotel, DO NOT let them put you in the annex………..unless you really like spiders.

On Friday, we train the new RAs. I'm scheduled to be off Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I doubt I will actually have those days off. I'll probably end up driving down to Grant Village to begin work there…………..hopefully not with a snow shovel. I am so happy that it's almost time to move to Grant. As exciting as it's been, living out of a bag is tough. The lodges and hotels we are housed in do not have laundry facilities. This means everything must be worn two or three times, and there is a constant rotation of clothing from the car suitcase to the suitcase that I actually carry to my room. My car is packed to the roof, and to make things worse, they were discarding comforters at the Old Faithful Lodge. So of course I had to take one………….or three. Looking back, I should have just not taken any. I can barely fit myself in my car right now. Passengers are definitely out of the question. I'm just so ready to move into my dorm room and to have my car (and fuel economy) back.

Since I don't have internet at the moment, I will probably have to wait to post this until I either get to Grant (wishful thinking…….. Grant probably won't have internet for a couple weeks) or drive to Cody, WY. I would like to drive to Cody for groceries, internet, etc., but right now, it's just too risky. Over the past few days, the road to the East Entrance has been closed a majority of the time. I can't get stuck there and miss work.Tuesday morning, an avalanche covered the east entrance road, and it was closed for most of the day. According to the rangers, it may be like this for a while. I ran into a family at the general store Tuesday afternoon that got stuck in the park. All of their belongings were in their hotel room in Cody, but they were stuck in the park. It's all very surreal right now.