Grand Adventures

Ah! The internet again! I love it--and look forward to blogging, which indicates what a nerd I am (but nerds are good, I've always said) :). I should tell you about my grand adventures with my friend Andrew Lawton, who's staying in Idaho on his aunt and uncle's ranch, just two hours from Yellowstone. He came to visit for three days this week and we did all the tourist-y things around here, like seeing Old Faithful go off (once every ninety minutes or so), walking around the vibrant thermal pools near Old Faithful, and dipping our feet into Lake Yellowstone. Seeing the boiling mud was a dream come true! When I was younger I would look at picture books of Yellowstone and couldn't believe they existed, but they do! They're amazing, steamy, and smelly (sulpher--you know the smell). Honestly, it was kind of nice to be "just a tourist" instead of an employee for a short while. AND it was nice to eat real food at the lodges instead of the Employee Dining Room.

The real adventure began when Andrew and I decided to take a trip to the Tetons--they're about two hours away from here. The mountains are majestic and breath taking, and covered with snow. They're the largest mountains to emerge directly from flat land (they have no foothills). Well, we decided to go on a hike to "Swan Lake" in the northern part of the Tetons. The park ranger told us the trail was about a three-mile loop. We got to the lake, which was huge and covered in lily pads. It was beautiful, but so big we couldn't see the whole lake. We continued on our "loop" all the way to a dead end--the trail stopped at a river that looked like it used to have a bridge. We'd come so far that we didn't want to backtrack, so Andrew carried me on his back across the river (as high as my pant pockets), and lost one of his Chaco sandals while he was at it! The trail disappeared and we realized we were following animal trails into a field in the middle of nowhere. I knew the lake (another bigger lake) was in front of the mountains, so we decided to just go straight toward the mountains till we hit some trail. We had to jump another stream and right after that there was one more hurdle: a "peat bog stream" with water about an inch deep but mud who even knows how deep. We were literally in mud almost up to our waist. It was probably six feet wide, just wide enough that we couldn't jump it. I took off my shoes to cross it, then decided it was unfair for Andrew to be the only one walking barefoot, so I kept them off. We finally made it to Swan Lake and saw civilization--how relieving! This older couple saw us and jokingly told us we'd have stories to tell, and insisted on taking our picture. I think we could have been a statistic that day, but I'm very glad we survived SWAN LAKE!

Here's another adventure: five of my friends and I decided to drive two hours to "Fire Hole" (I think it's near Norris?) to swim in a river with thermal pool runoff. I expected it to be as warm as a hot tub. Well, after our long drive, we got there and saw that the stairs to get to the river were closed off with a sign saying there would be a $100 fine for people who swam in the river. Knowels decided to go down and just touch the water, which was about as cool as a swimming pool, but warmer than the river would be normally (about 40 F!). Knowels defied the law and went swimming alone in the river, and once he did it, three of us (Julie, Janel and I) decided to go, too. We couldn't drive all this way and NOT go in. And I think me having a video camera assisted in the decision to do it (oh! it came in last week! I'm a happy girl!). Yeah, that was probably the most defying, dare-devilish thing I've done here so far. It was fun :). Peer pressure, what can I say?

Serving is going great. I've met some really interesting people--I wish I had time to talk to them all! I had my first table walk out on me yesterday. The wait at the lodge is a LONG one, and it's usually not my fault, but servers are often the whipping boys for the restaurant. It was nice that the table next to that one noted how rude it was that the table walked out. I understand they wanted their food, and I understand that they couldn't wait any longer, but the manner in which they walked out was the rude part. Oh--it's often grandfathers with their grandkids who give you the hardest time! I don't know why that is!

Sad news: my parents found out that my Greyhound ticket is non-transferrable. Since it's in my name, I'm the only one who can use it. Sorry to those of you who wanted to use it :(. I should have found that out before I posted it on here! Like the wedding to Sweden, too--looks like plane tickets to Sweden are PRETTY pricey this time of year, so I'm still planning on being here till August 9.

Some seriously sad news: a lady here died two weeks ago. She had crossed the boundary and was taking a picture of her daughter and fell off a cliff. It was so sad. The whole park is grieving for her family. It makes me want to be very careful--I realize how dangerous this place is.

Thanks to all for your mail! I appreciate it more than you know (and yes, I do feel loved!).

Sweet action

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! :)

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!

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

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!

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.

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.