Hello All!The fun continues out here in the great Yellowstone Wilderness. The animals seem to have subsided somewhat so I don't have any really great stories for this week. However, every time I think "hey I'll just wait till I have some more stuff", I end up with emails that are two pages long. So to save y'all from that I decided to update you on the few things going on here at the land of yellow stones.
Starting Tuesday the 11th, I was scheduled to work a utility day and then head to the Tower area for some Park EMS training so that I could help more during medicals (i.e. paperwork, the stretcher, and other things with the ambulance). So I started my day by chopping up some invasive weeds and thereby saving the world :) (well maybe not but when you're cutting weeds out of the ground with scissors these ideas pop into your head). Then I headed down to the Tower Junction to see if I could help with any animal jams. Instead, because there were no animal jams, I got the task of defacing and cutting up antlers, once again saving the world from antler wranglers. Seriously, though it is illegal to take resources out of the park and that includes dead bodies so we have to deface these antlers so no one tries to make furniture out of them or other classy home furnishings. :) We also then have to hide them because in some Asian cultures the antlers can be ground up into a powder and used as an aphrodisiac. And that was basically my day because about 10 minutes before training was suppose to begin we had a medical and the ambulance along with the instructor had to transport the patient to Livingston, MT. It was a fun day because I got to work with people I normally don't and I got to do some new things. But the work of a Park Ranger is not always as glamorous as some of you may think... :)
On Thursday my Dad's parents came to visit the area and I went and spent my weekend with them. I got to see some pretty cool things in Montana including a real ghost town, not just some tourist attraction. We also went to the Bair Family museum, the Shiloh Sharpshooters factory, and the site where they filmed The Horse Whisperer. It was a really great time. I finally got to spend sometime with my Grandparents and I really enjoyed it, although our visit was cut short by another Park visitor.
On Thursday night around 9:30 PM my supervisor called and informed me that I had been chosen to work the Presidential Visit Detail. Pretty big deal because my supervisor wasn't the one making the selections, and neither was her supervisor, so this order came from pretty high up in the pecking order out here at old Yellowstone. So here is how it went down. On Friday morning I received three memos: the first one is orders on how everyone is suppose to be dressed and that everything must be polished and pressed, next one is when and where I have to be, and the third one was instructions on how to salute the Presidential Motorcade (if you are laughing at the third one, join the crowd, but I guess there are some people who don't know how to salute, so it makes sense in its own special way). Anyway back to the day. I left my Grandparents early in the afternoon so I could get everything ready. As I'm in the middle of polishing my shoes the power goes out, and of course I saved the ironing of my uniform for last and therefore I'm SOL at this point. (Back to that in a second.) So I have to report to the Old Faithful staging area at 7am, which means I have to leave my station at 4am, which means I have to wake up at 3am, and they want me to look my best... haha you can see now why they choose me for this assignment ;). So I "wake up" at 3am and the power is back on so I press everything really quick, take a shower, get dressed, and meet Coach at the truck. I offer to drive because as the younger of the two I felt it was the right thing to do. We drove down to the Buffalo Ranch and met up with the District Ranger and formed up our caravan and made our way to Old Faithful. By the time we got half way there, we had a line of six or so Ranger vehicles, maybe more, but a pretty impressive sight. Until of course we checked in to the briefing room and there were nearly 100 Rangers there. Officially, I can't go into much detail at this point, but after checking in I was handed a packet that was stamped secret material on every page and we went through the briefing with each branch on the detail. I was assigned to the Presidential Motorcade. The original idea was to fly the First Family in and out, but the weather was calling for snow (I know, middle of August, doesn't process well for a Southern boy). Anyway, so if they couldn't fly in or out my detail and I were suppose to advance the motorcade and clear the road and stop all traffic/clear any jams if need be. Well the weather turned out to be just fine and I got paid 14 hours to watch the Secret Service wash the President's Suburbans, watch the helicopters land and take off, and listen to stories about the other Presidential visits people had experienced. Although I didn't get to meet the President or work actually at Old Faithful itself, I was still honored and really glad to be chosen to take part in the event. There are going to be plenty of Presidents to come in my future, so I still have time to meet one. An interesting fact for you, though: for a Presidential visit, it cost the Park Service (alone!) $80,000 for a two hour visit. How is that for stimulus... :)
Since that weekend things have been very slow in the Park. It is nice to get a break after the way July and August were, but it sounds like I'm going to have to take up learning the guitar or something in September because there will be nobody in the Park. Luckily though this weekend I had two friends from Glacier NP come down to visit. For those of you who know her, Adrien and her friend Addie came down to visit the Park and I took them around on Thursday. We did two hikes in the Valley, went to the Canyon VEC, the Artist Paint Pots, and the Museum of the National Park Ranger! :) Exciting for us Parkies. It was actually pretty cool - the museum is one of the original solider stations from the days when Yellowstone was run by the US Army before the Park Service was formed. It had a lot of information about the evolution of the Service and the System. We watched one of the videos about how the Park System was started and how it expanded to include Monuments, Battlefields, and Recreation Areas. Added bonus... Fort Sumter was in the film!!! Toward the end, as they were doing the conclusion, they showed a clip of a Ranger giving a talk atop one of the 15inch Rodmans! :) I got a kick out of it.
Well, I always think these are going to be short and they never are. Oh well, I hope you all enjoy them anyway. I know this one wasn't as adrenaline packed as the other ones but the wolves are moving back into the valley, the bears are about to start packing it on for their winter slumber, and the elk are about to start their rut, so maybe more excitement in the future.
Until then you know the drill... :)
Yours Truly,
-- Brent Everitt
Visitor Use Assistant
Northeast Entrance Station
Yellowstone National Park
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