What have we been doing? Why have there been no postings? These are both very good questions.
I think they're trying to kill us.
Well, okay, maybe not. However, all I'm really doing right now is working and sleeping. Working, some sleeping. I'm working overtime. This sounds okay until you realize that overtime, in Xanterra terms, doesn't start until after 48 hours/week. That's a lot of hours. I'm not an overtime person - it just wears me out. That's where the sleeping comes in. I have 4 split shifts a week plus a full morning shift on Sundays, so I nap in between shifts as my shifts don't allow for a full 8 hours of sleep a night. Alex's last 2 weeks will be spent working 6 days a week, leaving us only one day for hiking together. Oh yeah - we also have to pack. Anyone want to buy a microwave?
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Crazy Hikers
Did you all already know that Alex and I are crazy? Or at least we are when it comes to hiking.
We're counting down our last "weekends" here, so we're trying to fit in all of the hikes in the Mammoth area that we haven't done yet. We had a slow start to our hiking season as we adjusted to the new standing jobs and recovered from our various illnesses brought on by communal living, so we are still only physically able to comfortably complete about 8 miles a day of our weekend. Plus, we've been pushing to finish the 100 miles of Rec Center's 100 Mile Hiking Club. Thus, we've become crazy hikers, doing hikes beyond our ability as if we're in a panic that we'll never get to go hiking again once we leave YNP.
Last weekend's hike started with a rumor of moose, a more rare siting in YNP than in the Grand Tetons, on the way to Cache Lake. So, off we went, unwittingly choosing the path that started off with 2 miles straight uphill (there was a flatter option). The day started overcast, so we told each other, "We can turn around at any point." We met a couple of horseback riders who had told each other the same thing! On the way uphill, we ran into a large group of hikers with a ranger (it's rare to run into any hikers, much less large group, so this was a rare sighting). "There's a large bull elk on the trail ahead. Be careful," warned the ranger. He was a giant elk with a huge rack, but, alas, Alex missed the good picture. As mile after mile passed, we entered into a valley with a creek and wetlands - perfect moose habitat. "Let's go a little bit further," we kept saying, in the hopes of spotting the bull moose that was spotted by co-workers the day before. Finally, it was just a few more miles to Cache Lake, so we decided to push ahead, reaching the 7 mile point at the lake, where we met up with the horseback riders again (they'd had some trouble with some fallen trees across the trail that we were able to crawl under, but the horses couldn't step over). Note that we were at our mileage limit, and still had the 7 miles to hike back. Fortunately, Alex and I have set up the precedent to take a nap mid-hike. While the riders ate lunch, then rode away, Alex and I settled in for a snooze under the now present sun. An hour later and somewhat refreshed, we hit the trail on the way back. Back in the valley, Alex looked down a dry creek bed to see a nice-sized female moose. He snapped a couple of pictures, then promptly started up the trail. "Wait a minute," I said, "You wanted to see a moose and now you're not even going to watch it?" So we paused. The moose turned and headed down to creek bed, followed by her calf that emerged from the bushes. They rounded a corner, so we climbed a hill adjacent to the creek and watched them until they disappeared into some trees. For some reason, I was cranky the rest of the hike back, and lagging on the uphills. We missed both dinner and the archeology in YNP talk we'd been waiting to go to.
This weekend, we decided it was time to hike Ospry Falls. I wanted to bike to the trailhead from Mammoth, but Alex didn't feel like getting on his bicycle. It's a good thing that we didn't take the bikes as the road that I thought was a gradual downhill was actually mostly a steep uphill. We would have been walking anyway. The falls were great and we had a wonderful hike, culminating with startling the elk herds (antlered bulls included) grazing in the area and spotting 2 horned owls sitting in the trees. Once again, we missed dinner (darn), and just had to go get steaks and beans in Gardiner. Our "quick hike", at 10 miles, ended up being the long way to Ospry Falls, but it rounded out the last miles we needed to finish the 100 Mile Hike Club.
We're counting down our last "weekends" here, so we're trying to fit in all of the hikes in the Mammoth area that we haven't done yet. We had a slow start to our hiking season as we adjusted to the new standing jobs and recovered from our various illnesses brought on by communal living, so we are still only physically able to comfortably complete about 8 miles a day of our weekend. Plus, we've been pushing to finish the 100 miles of Rec Center's 100 Mile Hiking Club. Thus, we've become crazy hikers, doing hikes beyond our ability as if we're in a panic that we'll never get to go hiking again once we leave YNP.
Last weekend's hike started with a rumor of moose, a more rare siting in YNP than in the Grand Tetons, on the way to Cache Lake. So, off we went, unwittingly choosing the path that started off with 2 miles straight uphill (there was a flatter option). The day started overcast, so we told each other, "We can turn around at any point." We met a couple of horseback riders who had told each other the same thing! On the way uphill, we ran into a large group of hikers with a ranger (it's rare to run into any hikers, much less large group, so this was a rare sighting). "There's a large bull elk on the trail ahead. Be careful," warned the ranger. He was a giant elk with a huge rack, but, alas, Alex missed the good picture. As mile after mile passed, we entered into a valley with a creek and wetlands - perfect moose habitat. "Let's go a little bit further," we kept saying, in the hopes of spotting the bull moose that was spotted by co-workers the day before. Finally, it was just a few more miles to Cache Lake, so we decided to push ahead, reaching the 7 mile point at the lake, where we met up with the horseback riders again (they'd had some trouble with some fallen trees across the trail that we were able to crawl under, but the horses couldn't step over). Note that we were at our mileage limit, and still had the 7 miles to hike back. Fortunately, Alex and I have set up the precedent to take a nap mid-hike. While the riders ate lunch, then rode away, Alex and I settled in for a snooze under the now present sun. An hour later and somewhat refreshed, we hit the trail on the way back. Back in the valley, Alex looked down a dry creek bed to see a nice-sized female moose. He snapped a couple of pictures, then promptly started up the trail. "Wait a minute," I said, "You wanted to see a moose and now you're not even going to watch it?" So we paused. The moose turned and headed down to creek bed, followed by her calf that emerged from the bushes. They rounded a corner, so we climbed a hill adjacent to the creek and watched them until they disappeared into some trees. For some reason, I was cranky the rest of the hike back, and lagging on the uphills. We missed both dinner and the archeology in YNP talk we'd been waiting to go to.
This weekend, we decided it was time to hike Ospry Falls. I wanted to bike to the trailhead from Mammoth, but Alex didn't feel like getting on his bicycle. It's a good thing that we didn't take the bikes as the road that I thought was a gradual downhill was actually mostly a steep uphill. We would have been walking anyway. The falls were great and we had a wonderful hike, culminating with startling the elk herds (antlered bulls included) grazing in the area and spotting 2 horned owls sitting in the trees. Once again, we missed dinner (darn), and just had to go get steaks and beans in Gardiner. Our "quick hike", at 10 miles, ended up being the long way to Ospry Falls, but it rounded out the last miles we needed to finish the 100 Mile Hike Club.
True conversation at the barista stand
Picture a man with graying hair approaching the barista stand one evening last week, when I wasn't too busy.
Man: What kind of deer are those out there?
Me: Those are elk.
Man: But what are those little horns?
Me (thinking): ????, probably with a blank look on my face
Me: Let me go look. (looks out the front doors of the hotel - barista stand is in the lobby, near to my front desk friends)
Me: Those are female elk. Oh - Those are their ears.
Man: What kind of deer are those out there?
Me: Those are elk.
Man: But what are those little horns?
Me (thinking): ????, probably with a blank look on my face
Me: Let me go look. (looks out the front doors of the hotel - barista stand is in the lobby, near to my front desk friends)
Me: Those are female elk. Oh - Those are their ears.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Phew, I made it
I survived my 1st day by myself as a barista. The day started uneventfully enough. We're supposed to arrive at work at 5:45 AM (yes, I'm going to become a morning person!), but I decided to show up at 5:30 just to make sure I had enough time to get everything ready, especially since this is the first time I've set up the barista stand by myself. I got my first two requests for coffee before 6 AM ("Sorry, we're not open until 6:30." -Don't get between someone and their coffee, Tom says.) By the time I sat down to eat breakfast at 6:10, I was already running a little short on time, but I had a quick breakfast and headed over to the hotel lobby with my last 2 carafes of coffee, finished setup, and was ready by 6:30.
A couple of minutes later, I served my first few cups of coffee. Suddenly, within a half an hour, there was a line that lasted until 9:45. Phew, I can start my cleanup and be ready to close up right on time in 15 minutes. I had just enough time to dump the sink reservoir (we have water running to the barista stand, but no waste line running from it), when Jenn from the gift shop took the opportunity to finally get her latte. "You've had a line all morning." Just as she was leaving, a foreign gentleman showed up, and the next thing I knew, I had a line again. I was just wrapping up my very last latte at 10:20 when 2 preteen girls showed up for hot chocolates. "I'm just closing," I explained to their father. "But it's her birthday and I promised her hot chocolate for her birthday." I'm seriously doubting it was anyone's birthday, but I made the hot chocolates anyway. The girls paid for the drinks, so I didn't even get a tip!
I would like to say the morning went without mishap, but there were a couple. First, there were the women that were mad that there weren't any coffee makers in the rooms. "Unfortunately, the wiring in the buildings are too old to accommodate coffee makers in all of the rooms," I countered. Well, apparently other hotels in the park have free coffee for their guests in the lobbies. I have no control over that decision, so I didn't have any other comments. One lesson I learned is to go get another caraff of coffee from the kitchen across the street when I'm down to the last one, even if there is a line. I ran out midway through an Eastern European man's second large coffee, so I charged him for the full cup and gave him the other one for free. He walked away muttering in his native tongue, apparently never understanding that he only paid for the full cup of coffee. The biggest snafu, however, was after I made two beautiful large vanilla mochas. I turned back to the espresso machine to make the next latte to find two full shots of espresso sitting on it. Oops. It was too late, the guests had disappeared, but I kept hoping they would come back when they realized the caffeine had never kicked in.
To all of you, I wish a beautiful latte, with foam and milk mixed until it looks like marshmallow fluff, and a hot shot of espresso, pressed just right to bring out the flavor and the creme.
A couple of minutes later, I served my first few cups of coffee. Suddenly, within a half an hour, there was a line that lasted until 9:45. Phew, I can start my cleanup and be ready to close up right on time in 15 minutes. I had just enough time to dump the sink reservoir (we have water running to the barista stand, but no waste line running from it), when Jenn from the gift shop took the opportunity to finally get her latte. "You've had a line all morning." Just as she was leaving, a foreign gentleman showed up, and the next thing I knew, I had a line again. I was just wrapping up my very last latte at 10:20 when 2 preteen girls showed up for hot chocolates. "I'm just closing," I explained to their father. "But it's her birthday and I promised her hot chocolate for her birthday." I'm seriously doubting it was anyone's birthday, but I made the hot chocolates anyway. The girls paid for the drinks, so I didn't even get a tip!
I would like to say the morning went without mishap, but there were a couple. First, there were the women that were mad that there weren't any coffee makers in the rooms. "Unfortunately, the wiring in the buildings are too old to accommodate coffee makers in all of the rooms," I countered. Well, apparently other hotels in the park have free coffee for their guests in the lobbies. I have no control over that decision, so I didn't have any other comments. One lesson I learned is to go get another caraff of coffee from the kitchen across the street when I'm down to the last one, even if there is a line. I ran out midway through an Eastern European man's second large coffee, so I charged him for the full cup and gave him the other one for free. He walked away muttering in his native tongue, apparently never understanding that he only paid for the full cup of coffee. The biggest snafu, however, was after I made two beautiful large vanilla mochas. I turned back to the espresso machine to make the next latte to find two full shots of espresso sitting on it. Oops. It was too late, the guests had disappeared, but I kept hoping they would come back when they realized the caffeine had never kicked in.
To all of you, I wish a beautiful latte, with foam and milk mixed until it looks like marshmallow fluff, and a hot shot of espresso, pressed just right to bring out the flavor and the creme.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
About the Grass
One of the great mysteries for me here at Mammoth has been the watering of the grass. The Mammoth Hot Springs area is in a high desert environment, surrounded by sage brush and grasses that dry out during the summer. The buildings of Mammoth, however, are surrounded by green lawns, kept green by a rotation of water pouring out of sprinkler systems throughout the property. While it irritated me, especially when the water makes it difficult to get in and out of the dorm or the EDR and when I see small streams running down the roadways, I never found out the reasoning until a guest complained about the noise of the sprinklers running outside his hotel window in the middle of the night. "Doesn't Xanterra have an Ecologix program? Then what are they doing watering the lawns when it's been raining?" he queried. I could only agree with him because that was exactly what I had been thinking. Besides, what is the deal behind watering lawns in the world's premier national park where everything is supposed to be "natural"?
Fortunately, Suzanne, a fellow Guest Service Agent at the front desk, has been reading up on Yellowstone facts. "Haven't you noticed that Mammoth is the only location with grass?" she quizzed me. Well, yes, I guess I have, but I never really thought about it. According to her reading, when the army moved into the Park to take control over the poachers, they wanted grass around their new fort so they brought in sod. Ah, the grass has historical value. "Besides," she also pointed out, "if the grass wasn't here, the elk wouldn't be here." "They wouldn't?" "Well, they don't hang around anywhere else." She has a point. Mammoth is known for the elk herds that come down from the hills to munch on the greenery. Tourists stay in this area just to see them. I thought they just liked the safety of the buildings, but you don't hear about the elk herds of Old Faithful. Plus, an elk was apparently killed in the middle of the night on the steps of the Dining Room by wolves last winter. So much for safety among the buildings.
The word on the watering from the maintenance department - if they don't super-saturate the grass in this dry climate with this poor soil, it won't stay green. Even when it's raining.
Fortunately, Suzanne, a fellow Guest Service Agent at the front desk, has been reading up on Yellowstone facts. "Haven't you noticed that Mammoth is the only location with grass?" she quizzed me. Well, yes, I guess I have, but I never really thought about it. According to her reading, when the army moved into the Park to take control over the poachers, they wanted grass around their new fort so they brought in sod. Ah, the grass has historical value. "Besides," she also pointed out, "if the grass wasn't here, the elk wouldn't be here." "They wouldn't?" "Well, they don't hang around anywhere else." She has a point. Mammoth is known for the elk herds that come down from the hills to munch on the greenery. Tourists stay in this area just to see them. I thought they just liked the safety of the buildings, but you don't hear about the elk herds of Old Faithful. Plus, an elk was apparently killed in the middle of the night on the steps of the Dining Room by wolves last winter. So much for safety among the buildings.
The word on the watering from the maintenance department - if they don't super-saturate the grass in this dry climate with this poor soil, it won't stay green. Even when it's raining.
Entering the Crazy Life
Tomorrow, Friday, I start my new schedule and my new life. Apparently, nearly all employees remaining after Labor Day get unwillingly drafted into extra hours as students, foreigners, and people with other lives leave Yellowstone to drift back to their homelands. Already, the front desk has lost Carrie to school and Zane to adventure. Soon to leave are Suzanne and Ariel, both heading home. We should be used to the exodus of employees by now as Xanterra overhired this year and maintains a culture that encourages employees to quit or get fired, so we have already seen many of our co-workers depart. (Yes, I could be fired for that last statement, which is why I have carefully avoided telling any of my mangers that I maintain a blog. And yes, by this point, Alex and I are definitely among the cynic Xanterra employees.)
But, I digress. My new life. My new days off are Wednesdays and Thurdays with every other day of the week booked with work. I'll be working 4 days of split shifts, splitting 2 of the days between barista and front desk and working two 5 hour shifts per day as barista the other 2 days. That leaves Sunday, my 8 hour shift at the front desk. Apparently, I was an item in negotiation between the Front Desk Manager and the Food & Beverage Manager with the first agreement being that I would work 20 hours for each department. The F&B Manager, perhaps playing on the fact that I told both managers that I had really wanted the barista job to begin with, bluffed his way into getting 30 hours for barista and 10 for front desk, me finding out later that I would have lost the barista job had someone stepped forward who didn't need to be negotiated for. (Another Xanterra secret. When applying, we were under the impression we could move between jobs. When Alex was asking about an open Security Job position, we found out that our current manager can prevent a move to a better or more appealing job.) The interesting tidbit comes when I add up all of my new hours. The "30" hours as barista doesn't include time for clean up, so it's actually closer to 33 hours. The front desk managers jumped on every possible shift free from my barista duties, so the "10" hours at the front desk has grown to 16. Sadly, overtime doesn't start until 48 hours and managers are very sharp at not letting their employees' hours creep into overtime. My in between shift hours will definitely include napping and I might have to get Alex to do the laundry. However, it will be worth it to get barista experience. It is very difficult to get a barista job without experience. And it's only for a month and a half.
But, I digress. My new life. My new days off are Wednesdays and Thurdays with every other day of the week booked with work. I'll be working 4 days of split shifts, splitting 2 of the days between barista and front desk and working two 5 hour shifts per day as barista the other 2 days. That leaves Sunday, my 8 hour shift at the front desk. Apparently, I was an item in negotiation between the Front Desk Manager and the Food & Beverage Manager with the first agreement being that I would work 20 hours for each department. The F&B Manager, perhaps playing on the fact that I told both managers that I had really wanted the barista job to begin with, bluffed his way into getting 30 hours for barista and 10 for front desk, me finding out later that I would have lost the barista job had someone stepped forward who didn't need to be negotiated for. (Another Xanterra secret. When applying, we were under the impression we could move between jobs. When Alex was asking about an open Security Job position, we found out that our current manager can prevent a move to a better or more appealing job.) The interesting tidbit comes when I add up all of my new hours. The "30" hours as barista doesn't include time for clean up, so it's actually closer to 33 hours. The front desk managers jumped on every possible shift free from my barista duties, so the "10" hours at the front desk has grown to 16. Sadly, overtime doesn't start until 48 hours and managers are very sharp at not letting their employees' hours creep into overtime. My in between shift hours will definitely include napping and I might have to get Alex to do the laundry. However, it will be worth it to get barista experience. It is very difficult to get a barista job without experience. And it's only for a month and a half.
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