I'm falling in love with Yellowstone! Last night I went camping with three other really cool, down-to-earth girls. We camped next to the Yellowstone River, which is beautiful but frighteningly powerful. We decided to set up camp at about 8:00 and then explore. As we were walking back to the tent, Becca said, "Hey guys, I think we should maybe just stay here [and not keep exploring in the other direction]... because there's a bear right there!" It was walking where we had just come from, about ten yards away from us! We started clapping and yelling to let him/her know we were there as we hurried into our tent. It was HUGE, but it slowly meandered away, fortunately! We only really saw the back of it, so it's hard to say whether it was a grizzly or just a black bear, but it had a honey-brown coat of fur. I've never seen one so light. It just might have been a grizzly! We ate all the snacks we brought with us then so our new friend wouldn't come back during the night to visit. I slept pretty peacefully, even though I was paranoid it'd come back.
Oh--good news! I start training for serving tomorrow, so I'll be out of the dish pit :). Actually, being a server is one of the best jobs you can get around here--though I'm sure it will add some stress to my life.
Joy and our friend Jesse and I went to me and Joy's first-ever rodeo Monday night! We took THE MOST BEAUTIFUL drive I've ever taken to Cody, WY--Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. It looked like we were in "The Lion King." We even saw the real-life replica of pride rock--seriously, it looked just like it ;). Oh, and we saw a RAINBOW on top of this plateau. It was gorgeous! Jesse grew up doing rodeo stuff, so he explained all the events of the rodeo to us. Jesse left Yellowstone yesterday and is now following his dreams and moving to Nashville to make it big in country music. He's from Washington--I didn't realize people other than in the South listened to country music, but all the cowboys here do! Jesse's definitely a "hard-core" cowboy.
I still haven't received any mail here and am very dissappointed! But it's not too late--I'll be here till at LEAST late July. I'm contemplating leaving early, honestly, and going to my friend's wedding in Sweden July 29! Hmmm... Anyway, send me mail! I will feel so loved! :)
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Free Greyhound Ticket
Wanna come visit me for free? You can stay here for $2 a night as my guest since I work with Xanterra! I have a free [Greyhound bus] ticket from Greenville to Bozeman (then you have to get a ride/shuttle to YNP?)--it can't be transferred to another city, unfortunately, and I have to use it within 120 days. So, in order to come, you have to answer the following questions:
What was the first-ever national park?
Which national park hosts 2/3 of the world's geysers?
Which national park is the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined?
Where am I right now?
Seriously, guys, think about coming to visit me, espeically if you live in or near Greenville. I'd love company! And I have a free bus ticket than just can't go to waste! It's a 2-day, 9-hour bus ride, but whatever. :) Tell me if you want to come!
What was the first-ever national park?
Which national park hosts 2/3 of the world's geysers?
Which national park is the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined?
Where am I right now?
Seriously, guys, think about coming to visit me, espeically if you live in or near Greenville. I'd love company! And I have a free bus ticket than just can't go to waste! It's a 2-day, 9-hour bus ride, but whatever. :) Tell me if you want to come!
Safe and Sound
I'm here in Yellowstone--I don't have much time to write, but I'm having a blast so far. I'm working in the DISH PIT in the kitchen, which can be depressing. I think all of us dish pit people had mental breakdowns at different times throughout the week. But I've heard rumors of my moving to another part of the kitchen soon. I'm at Roosevelt, which is the most primitive section of the park. There are four girls in my little wooden cabin. We make fires every night in a little stove and by the time we wake up (no later than 7:30 am) it's freezing cold! My roommate Joy and I sleep in our sleeping bags. Joy's awesome--we get along so well, think alike, and have great spiritual conversations together. I was so excited to see she'd brought books by C.S. Lewis and Carolyn Mahaney. We are hiking buddies :). The word of the week between us has been "hard-core." We've met so many "hard-core" hikers--we just pretend we're hard-core, but then we are comparing ourselves to these people who are so hard-core it's ridiculous.
Oh--the dish pit is awful, but on my hikes I'm reminded of why I'm here! It's gorgeous. The hiking is amazing. The people are so down-to-earth. It's been great. Mountains are so glorious! I'm amazed by the sites we've seen. The wildlife's awesome, too! I've seen four bears so far, lots of elk, deer, bison, and "whistle pigs" (ground squirrels). Bears scare me to death, by the way; but when you tell someone that, they tell you about all the other ways you can get killed at Yellowstone, which freaks me out even more! Like getting struck by lightning, falling into a hot spring, or being hit by a boulder in a mudslide. It's crazy.
I didn't know what to expect with the people who'd be working here, but a lot of them are kind of "punks" and partiers, surprisingly! I've even met people who don't like to hike! Where I am at Roosevelt there's a corral, so there are lots of cowboys and cowgirls around (the real deal!). But I'd say most of the people who work full-time here just love nature.
Oh, where I am at Roosevelt they just got the internet set up and it's dial-up! It was set up yesterday and get this: the building was struck by lightning in a hail storm yesterday afternoon! I didn't even get to use it there--I was so bummed. So right now I'm in Mammoth, which is more like a civilized city. They have Wi-Fi, which is such a blessing :)--haha. I'm such a spoiled American. Everything at Yellowstone seems to be about 10 years behind the times. Especially at Roosevelt! I feel so hard-core just living there.
Hey--write me! I looooove mail.
Cate Raff
#1 Roosevelt Lodge
YNP, WY 82190
Oh--the dish pit is awful, but on my hikes I'm reminded of why I'm here! It's gorgeous. The hiking is amazing. The people are so down-to-earth. It's been great. Mountains are so glorious! I'm amazed by the sites we've seen. The wildlife's awesome, too! I've seen four bears so far, lots of elk, deer, bison, and "whistle pigs" (ground squirrels). Bears scare me to death, by the way; but when you tell someone that, they tell you about all the other ways you can get killed at Yellowstone, which freaks me out even more! Like getting struck by lightning, falling into a hot spring, or being hit by a boulder in a mudslide. It's crazy.
I didn't know what to expect with the people who'd be working here, but a lot of them are kind of "punks" and partiers, surprisingly! I've even met people who don't like to hike! Where I am at Roosevelt there's a corral, so there are lots of cowboys and cowgirls around (the real deal!). But I'd say most of the people who work full-time here just love nature.
Oh, where I am at Roosevelt they just got the internet set up and it's dial-up! It was set up yesterday and get this: the building was struck by lightning in a hail storm yesterday afternoon! I didn't even get to use it there--I was so bummed. So right now I'm in Mammoth, which is more like a civilized city. They have Wi-Fi, which is such a blessing :)--haha. I'm such a spoiled American. Everything at Yellowstone seems to be about 10 years behind the times. Especially at Roosevelt! I feel so hard-core just living there.
Hey--write me! I looooove mail.
Cate Raff
#1 Roosevelt Lodge
YNP, WY 82190
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Bozeman, MT
Here I am in the lovely Bozeman, MT. I leave in an hour and fifteen minutes for Yellowstone on one of their Greyhound shuttles. It's about a three-hour drive. This is a beautiful country! Bozeman is surrounded by mountains--the ones far off are black and snow-capped, and the closer ones are green. It seems like the town is full of young people who ride bikes and are sweet and down-to-earth. Downtown Bozeman is safe, cute, and small, but it's got an artsy flair--lots of flyers for small bands playing at local joints.
The lady sitting by me on my plane from Salt Lake City (gorgeous) to Bozeman is probably in her late sixties and she is also working at Yellowstone :). She's a neat lady. Her husband passes away eleven years ago, so she's tried to stay active and involved since then, taking trips to Europe and now working at Yellowstone for seven weeks. She's from Georgia, so we had the South in common. We actually ended up staying in the same motel room last nigh--it was more of a suite--we had separate bedrooms.
More later. I can't believe I'm (almost) here!
The lady sitting by me on my plane from Salt Lake City (gorgeous) to Bozeman is probably in her late sixties and she is also working at Yellowstone :). She's a neat lady. Her husband passes away eleven years ago, so she's tried to stay active and involved since then, taking trips to Europe and now working at Yellowstone for seven weeks. She's from Georgia, so we had the South in common. We actually ended up staying in the same motel room last nigh--it was more of a suite--we had separate bedrooms.
More later. I can't believe I'm (almost) here!
Friday, June 02, 2006
Attractive Lifestyles
Forget "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." I'm more interested in the lifestyles of the poor and unnoticed. These are keywords for some of the lifestyles that strike my fancy, or interest me long-term.
Simple--not necessarily poor, but not excessive. Maybe a lifestyle with no electricity? But what about laptops... I like my little Mac. Did you ever have Dr. Rhonda Galloway for an English class? I had her for American Lit. my freshman year at Bob Jones. She told me about her sister and brother-in-law who lived in a TENT in California for a year--with their family! Today they enjoy all the luxuries that come with modern civilization, like computers, but for a year they separated themselves from that. That's hot :). Ask her about it sometime.
Natural--Have you ever been to Whole Foods? The people gracing that store are so natural--they eat only organic foods. But they're pretty much all wealthy. The hippies at LEAF--so natural and beautiful. The girls don't shave, but you get used to it. It looks fine. My friend Hannah--whom I've talked about before--is working on an organic farm in Virginia this summer. She's such a natural girl. She doesn't wear makeup. She bakes her foods completely from scratch. Anyway, Hannah's my hero, along with her roommate Biz :).
Generous--My parents' pastor and his wife at their church in Norfolk would eat macaroni and cheese for dinner and give their savings to missionaries. Doesn't that almost make you want to cry? Wow--that's so giving and sacrificial. There's something good about that--why? I think it has to do with God's nature and example through Christ. Foot-washing, literally sacrificial, gracious. Feeding the hungry. People who tip well understand the importance of generosity.
Purposeful--missionaries fascinate me. They live for a cause greater than themselves. They understand the brevity of life--that "only what's done for Christ will last."
Thoughtful--I mean "thoughtful" both as in perceptive of others and reasoning and analyzing--I think of Francis and Edith Schaeffer as a thoughtful couple--in both senses. My mom is also one of the most thoughtful people in the world. She goes to the post office probably three times a week to send off little care packages, etc. I love good, thoughtful conversations.
Active--The opposite of sedentary. All people from Colorado. Have you ever seen an overweight Coloradoan? People who would rather rock climb than read the latest "People" magazine are active. My aunt Kate is so active. She's fifty-five and was known to go camping in NM with her golden retriever Okie-dokie, before Okie-dokie died. She's a hiker and a salsa dancer--always on the move. My sister Jessica and her husband Joel have saved up their money, quit their jobs, and are going to hike the Appalachian Trail for the next six months! That's pretty active and adventurous, don't you think?
Happy--My Aunt Tricia and Uncle Doug just laugh all the time, and make everyone around them happy. They enjoy life and each other. They're warm people--non-pretentious, transparent. Even through hard times, they seem to have joyful hearts.
Simple--not necessarily poor, but not excessive. Maybe a lifestyle with no electricity? But what about laptops... I like my little Mac. Did you ever have Dr. Rhonda Galloway for an English class? I had her for American Lit. my freshman year at Bob Jones. She told me about her sister and brother-in-law who lived in a TENT in California for a year--with their family! Today they enjoy all the luxuries that come with modern civilization, like computers, but for a year they separated themselves from that. That's hot :). Ask her about it sometime.
Natural--Have you ever been to Whole Foods? The people gracing that store are so natural--they eat only organic foods. But they're pretty much all wealthy. The hippies at LEAF--so natural and beautiful. The girls don't shave, but you get used to it. It looks fine. My friend Hannah--whom I've talked about before--is working on an organic farm in Virginia this summer. She's such a natural girl. She doesn't wear makeup. She bakes her foods completely from scratch. Anyway, Hannah's my hero, along with her roommate Biz :).
Generous--My parents' pastor and his wife at their church in Norfolk would eat macaroni and cheese for dinner and give their savings to missionaries. Doesn't that almost make you want to cry? Wow--that's so giving and sacrificial. There's something good about that--why? I think it has to do with God's nature and example through Christ. Foot-washing, literally sacrificial, gracious. Feeding the hungry. People who tip well understand the importance of generosity.
Purposeful--missionaries fascinate me. They live for a cause greater than themselves. They understand the brevity of life--that "only what's done for Christ will last."
Thoughtful--I mean "thoughtful" both as in perceptive of others and reasoning and analyzing--I think of Francis and Edith Schaeffer as a thoughtful couple--in both senses. My mom is also one of the most thoughtful people in the world. She goes to the post office probably three times a week to send off little care packages, etc. I love good, thoughtful conversations.
Active--The opposite of sedentary. All people from Colorado. Have you ever seen an overweight Coloradoan? People who would rather rock climb than read the latest "People" magazine are active. My aunt Kate is so active. She's fifty-five and was known to go camping in NM with her golden retriever Okie-dokie, before Okie-dokie died. She's a hiker and a salsa dancer--always on the move. My sister Jessica and her husband Joel have saved up their money, quit their jobs, and are going to hike the Appalachian Trail for the next six months! That's pretty active and adventurous, don't you think?
Happy--My Aunt Tricia and Uncle Doug just laugh all the time, and make everyone around them happy. They enjoy life and each other. They're warm people--non-pretentious, transparent. Even through hard times, they seem to have joyful hearts.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
brat
Sorry, that last post was really bratty of me. I'm complaining because my dad cares a LOT for me? I'm such an ungrateful kid.
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