A Letter to Washington

Over the course of this most current government shutdown, I've had the great pleasure of "meeting" a handful of passionate people in my fellow YNP gateway community of Cody, WY as well as getting to know a few neighbors right here in Gardiner a little bit better. Some of us may have differing political views and lifestyle ideas, but I've learned this week that at the end of the day our end goal is often the same - we are Americans, want to be proud to be so, and are frustrated by the feeling that this inalienable right is being taken from us one piece at a time. One of these new friends, Rick Satterthwaite of Cody, has been instrumental in the Protest for Yellowstone movement that is gaining steam in our area and penned the below letter to the elected officials of the United States government. Not to The House, The Senate or the Executive Branch, but to ALL of them. Whether you are left, right, moderate or out in the stands, Rick's letter is likely to ring true in more ways than you might think.

October 2013

To the 537 leaders of the United States of America: The President, The Vice President, The House of Representatives, and The Senate:

We are tired; We the People….we are tired. The weariness that is overtaking us feels like an invisible force wrapped around each one of us individually, and yet all of us collectively at the same time. It is the feeling that something familiar…something we trust…has begun to weigh us down, tug at us and pull us apart, to look us in the eye with assurance, while wrestling with us at every turn. Wrestling, not as two playmates might; but as an adversary. That adversary is you, 537 men and women we look to as leaders, as familiar, trustworthy leaders.
We were a small group in the wilderness, just in front of the gates of Yellowstone National Park. What brought us there was the desire to gain access to our friend, our park. However, what became obvious as We The People began to look around was much greater than Yellowstone; if one could imagine that. No, what was obvious was our weariness over you and your inability to lead on behalf of us.

From where We The People stood that day, in the wilderness, what we saw were men and women, 547 of you, fighting for yourselves, for your own agendas, your own power, your own egos…never truly thinking of We the People. We hear talk of not wanting to give the Republicans too much…not wanting to give the Democrats too much, never thinking that We The People are Republicans and Democrats, independents and libertarians. What we hear is that our democrat leaders do not want to give half of We The People too much. Our republican leaders do not want to give half of We The People too much. We are so weary of that!

John Kennedy once said, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” What happened to ideas like that? What happened to you as servants of We The people that it has to be a democrat or republican answer. Do you 537 not realize that those answers exclude half of We the People? Do you not realize it is making We The People weary? You lead us from one crisis to another; one cliff to another. You have become experts at pitting We The People against ourselves in order to give some portion of the 537 a victory, all the while making We The People more tired…more weary.

No, as that small portion of We The People gathered at the gates of Yellowstone, what we realized is that it is your inability to lead that has made We The People weary. Please stop! We are tired of fighting among ourselves; fighting in the way you 537 do…how you 537 lead We The People. Stop looking for the republican answer. Stop looking for the democrat answer. Look for the right answer. Look for the answer that will relieve the weariness of We The People.

Many of us, We The People, echo the prayer of Admiral Black last week when he asked you 537 men and women to come to grips with the shame you have caused in this great nation. Your behavior is selfish and shameful to We The People and we simply ask you to stop, look inward, and examine yourselves. Find a way to get beyond your party affiliation and dogmatic policy stances and look at us, We The People. Look from a position of humility, not power. Look from a position of weakness, not strength. Join us at Yellowstone’s gates and see We The People, not a voting-block, or district, or constituency. No, try to see us, weary as we are and understand that we deserve better than what you 537 are giving us. Stop tugging at us, stop pulling us apart, stop doing all the things we try to teach our children not to do and lead.

As We The People gather at the gates of Yellowstone, we were denied entrance because you 537 men and women shut down the government, our government. We stood there as you were huddled in Washington DC. Here is a thought from We The People that just might help you understand just how We The People are feeling right now. Do your jobs and fund the government. Do what you have to do to get past this latest crisis. Then shut it down again! Shut down every office, every hall, and every meeting room and come to Yellowstone. Come to the farmland of the Midwest. Come to the sprawling cities of the eastern seaboard. Come to the oil patches of the west and southwest. Come to the great forests of the Pacific North West. Come to We The People and just sit with us.

But do not go to your own districts, your own constituencies. Go where you are not familiar and sit with someone you have never sat with. Don’t take cameras and media people, just put on your jeans and come alone. How can you lead all of We The People if you have only sat with half of We The People? Imagine that! None of you 537 being lobbied, arguing your point, pitting half of us against the other half. Just take the fall and early winter off to sit with We The People and get to know us. The reconvene after the holidays and lead us together in the right way; the American way. What do you say? Meet us at the gates of Yellowstone and let us just sit together as We The People.

Rick, you are a true credit to the people of the mountain West.

Just Another Day In Paradise...Or Several - Summer 2012 in Review

With the computer out of commission and my patience entirely too small to blog via iPhone, I hadn't realized how long it has been since I've written anything!

It was another interesting summer, as usual, with crazy things happening in the Park, in town and in general. But thankfully the priority to make sure there is time for fun has still been given it's proper space, in part due to the fact that I seem to have forgotten that I had not used a good majority of my vacation time, which resets for the year on the anniversary date of when I started working full time, which is the end of August. Thus, I ended up with many long weekends in July and August. In fact, I'm pretty sure I didn't work a full week from mid-July until Labor Day weekend, darn it!. I suggested that this had worked out very well and that I might just plan on using my vacation days this way next summer, but that idea was quickly shot down by everyone else in the office who have been answering my phone during my seemingly endless string of long weekends. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted!

Here's a quick photo summary so far, with a little commentary thrown in for good measure.......

It was ENTIRELY too hot last summer! While it definitely can get a little toasty in Gardiner and Mammoth during the summer, this picture can explain the difference this year as it was taken on June 23. On that same date last year, we were cheering because summer had finally shown up at all and the high was about 80......

 Sunset over central Yellowstone, near Gibbon Falls

 

Gibbon Falls sunset looking the other direction 

Bannack ghost town in SW Montana - it was the first territorial capitol of MT and has been preserved 

and restored as a State Park.

 

Ibex cabin in somewhat south central Montana - a great weekend with 4 people, 2 hyper dogs and a whole lot of board and lawn games, aka the "Ibex Olympics"

 

 

View towards Yankee Jim Canyon from Old Yellowstone Trail north of Gardiner, MT

 

Weekend Wanderings - Montana Dog Sledding

Any Friday where you get a hall pass from the office has the potential to be a wonderful day, but it may be a while before I top yesterday's "work" day!

On a beautiful and snowy February day, I traded the business casual attire, desk chair and nice warm office for wooly pants, mittens and and sleeping bag in the basket of a dog sled for an adventure into the hills of Tom Miner Basin with Yellowstone Dog Sled Adventures. A worthy trade? Without a doubt.

Our day started with meeting our guide, Josiah, who drove us the rest of way up to our starting point. During the ride, he told us about the type of dogs we would be using (primarily Alaskan huskies) as well as some of the big differences between the common types of working dogs (Alaskan huskies can go 150 miles in a day, where Malamutes go, well, about 35....). We also learned a little bit about his company and their dogs - rather than breeding their own dogs, their owner prefers to get dogs from racing kennels in Alaska where they often end up with too many dogs and nothing to do with them. Not only does this practice prevent unnecessary breeding, but it also allows these "extra" dogs to keep doing what they love and not ending up in a shelter or with someone who does not understand them and their need to work. After a day with these dogs, I can't imagine one of these guys or gals being happy living in a place where going for a walk or throwing the ball around was their source of exercise!

When we reached the point where we would begin our trip, we were able to watch Josiah hitch up the sled teams while he gave us instructions on safety and how the drive the sleds, of which we had 2 different types. Tamarak and I had a traditional sled, with a large basket in front and the driver standing behind. The other was taking by Linda and our guide, and had a smaller basket in front and room for 2 drivers in the back. This unique sled type is much less common (in fact these guys are the only ones in the area to use them) but allows novice wimps like us the opportunity to drive the sled, but still having our guide there to help out...basically Driver's Ed for dog sledding! We voted that Tamarak would drive her own normal sled (she does drive for a living, right?! Sure, it's trucks and snowcoaches, but who's worrying about semantics here?) and Linda and I were perfectly content going along for the ride. While Josiah was getting them set, we got to meet all of our dogs and see a little bit of the personality in each of them. Tam and I had a team of blondies - our lead dogs Dogwood and Rodick, who were followed by Krypton and Brie, our red-headed stepchild Drago (aka, our only non-blondie, a recent transplant from Alaska) and Peanut and Argon brought up the rear.

Once the dogs were ready to go (and they very vocally told you that they were ready!) we were off into the hills of Tom Miner Basin. The trip is about 8 miles round trip and follows the road up past the Tom Miner Campground on the Sunlight Road. The trip in starts out fairly flat and then begins climbing. When they are climbing, the dogs seem to be getting too tired and stopping, but in fact many times it is just that they can't tell whether the pulling got harder because of the uphill or because their driver has the brake on telling them to stop. You give them a little pip of encouragement to let them know they can keep going, and the energy jolt comes one to where Tam thought they were going to leave her behind a few times! There are of course regular rest breaks for them throughout the trip, but after they have eaten some snow and rolled in it for about 3 seconds, they seem raring to go already. Our comic relief on these stops was Argon, aka the Alaskan Jumping Bean....

Once we reached the top of Sunlight Road and it was time to head back down, Josiah's words of wisdom were simple - take it slow! After such a long rest (in their eyes, at least!) the dogs were ready to hit the road and the downhill would just spur them on even fast. Even with a foot firmly on the brake, the first stretch of downhill was like a wild natural roller coaster and the dogs seemed to be having the times of their lives. I, on the other hand, would have a prime candidate for the amusement park cameras that catch you mid-scream on the roller coaster free fall. Don't get me wrong, it was awesome and exhilerating, but I can become somewhat of a chicken when I feel like I'm flying through a tree tunnel. Tam did not seem quite as afraid as I was, because she was pretty liberal with leaving the brake along...which became a bit more evident when she dumped me in the snow. Near the bottom of the biggest downhill, there is a sharpish turn to cut across to another trail - we had a bit too much speed when we hit it and into the soft fluffy snow I went. Our safety instructions had been that, in the event of tipping over, to NOT reach out of the sled but just let yourself fall. Once you fall, get out of the basket and grab the sled so the dogs don't try to run off (fortunately, the tipped over sled creates enough resistance to keep them at least momentarily in place). So, I sat in the sled and felt like a slow motion movie camera as I gently tipped over into the snow. Later on, Tam told me that I had looked quite funny, sitting serenely as me and my pink poof ball hatted head tipped over as it was the most natural thing in the world. And then I was stuck, since she picked a pretty deep patch to throw me into.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, other than of course the awesome dogs, company and surroundings. When we returned our starting point, we were able to play around and pet all of the dogs while they each waited their turn to be unharnessed. They truly were such a loveable bunch, and few of them certainly had that puppy dog "pet me, pet me!" face perfected.

All told, our trip was about 3.5 hours and what an amazing way time it was. Definitely something I would do again :)

Going to the Dogs

Harlo - AKA Muffin

In the world of ice breakers, "Are you a dog or cat person?" ranks right up there in with "Pop or Soda?" in getting a quick glimpse into the personality or background of a new friend or acquaintance. Me, I've always been a cat person. Not really for any reason pertaining to their specific attributes and differences, but because that's just what our whole family was. Again though, that didn't even pertain to the animal types themselves, but we lived in a city, had no yard and were very busy people. I think deep down my younger brother and I really did always want a dog, but were always thwarted(quickly!) by that standard parental threat of being responsible for taking care of said dog.

Me & my hiking buddy, Buckeye

Well folks, the times they are a-changin. In the past 7 years of living in Steamboat Springs and Gardiner - on many days one could easily draw the not-so-far fetched conclusion that there may be more dogs in residence than humans - I have begun to change my ways. No need for my little Harlo muffin to worry, I still love her dearly, but one of these days she may just have to share her space with a canine companion.

Tater - AKA Sausage Dog

I have many, many friends who have dogs and have blessed me with their acquaintance....and some have even *gasp* entrusted me with their care for extended periods of time. At first I just did what I was told - food, water, potty outings, walks or runs in the yard, and maybe a little snuggle in the evening for those allowed on the furniture. Nowadays though, they are earning their place in my heart as man's best friend.

Why the sudden change? Maybe I'm growing up a little bit, heaven forbid. The idea of taking care of something more complicated and time consuming than a cat is not nearly the dreadful weight that it once was. The idea of a companion that is loyal even when it doesn't want something (hint, hint Harlo - you should be nice even when you don't want me to pet you!) is a nice thought, especially when living alone(which I don't know, but I'm sure I will at some point in time....). I just may be responsible enough to keep something alive and thriving these days. Well, at least in the fauna department - me and flora may never have a good relationship.....

Fuzzy phone pics! Yep, there are 4 of them in there somewhere :)

Of course while the idea that I could have a pet because I've grown and matured is a nice one, I still prefer the REAL perks.....Dinner dates with no cooking or dishes involved. No need to rinse dishes when there are any. A nice extra blanket on a cold day. Far less expensive bribes and apologies. No talking back when you just need to vent, and no need to add the disclaimer of "please don't repeat this". No need to make plans to go hiking, just open the car door and you have a hiking buddy.

I think I like Option #2. I do live in Neverland, after all......

More Weekend Wanderings!




Jefferson River Valley from the trail to the cavern entrance

I'm being bad and throwing out more wanderings instead of being more creative, but it was such a fun wandering this weekend that I can't resist!



The adventures this weekend took me and my friends Laney, Lisa and Chase to Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, near Three Forks, MT. In the many years, off and on, that I have lived in this area, it is one of those places that I say "Oh, I really want to go there sometime" every time I drive by the exit sign for it on I-90, but then promptly forget it exists until the next time I drive by the sign. Well, not anymore!

While located near an area passed through by Lewis and Clark, they did not actually discover the caverns, or have any idea they were there...Montana just really loves naming things after them. They were actually discovered by two hunters in the late 1800s who noticed a bare area on the hillside during a February hunt. Upon further exploration(aka, dropping rocks in the hole and not hearing them hit bottom) they decided to come back later when it might be a little safer than mid-February in Montana. It took 6 years, but one of them did return and begin to explore in 1898. Sometime later, a successful prospector took over and began offering tours, utilizing a man-made entrance since the original discovery hole was more overhead to the cavern and descended into a rather large pit within the cavern. To give his tours, he created a walkway throughout with 2000 wooden steps and a 90 foot spiral staircase that often swayed as much as 2 feet from side to side.  

Lisa, me and Laney at the cavern entrance

Eventually the railroad discovered that they actually owned the rights to the land and claimed it, only to turn it over to the federal government in 1908. It was designated a National Monument and then locked up so people could not get in. The prospector, Dan Morrison, deciding that he didn't want to play by those rules, cut the lock, replaced it with his own, and continued his tours. Morrison and the federal government play this back and forth game until Morrison's death in 1932.

Around that point, the newly formed(1929) Montana State Parks system came into play, as they were then 3 years old but still did not have any park sites. With the help of the Civilian Conservation Corp, the rickety spiral staircase and wooden steps(wood in a moist cave does not exactly equal a good pairing) were removed and replaced by asphalt, some areas widened for better access, such as the entrance, and a new section of the cavern was discovered and opened to the public. After the discovery of this new section, an exit tunnel was also created so that visitors no longer had to retrace their steps back to the top of the cavern to get out.





Stalactites on the cavern wall


There are several areas to the cave, both large and small, and you actually spiral down throughout the cavern as you decend with each of the large rooms 100-200 feet below each other. They have intriguing names such as the Cathedral room(named for it's shape), the Sample room(named because of the large quantities of "samples" that Dan Morrison encouraged his guests to break off and take home with them to show their friends) and the Poison room(named for the eerie, venomous colors).

Crystal Pool(it's back there, I promise!)



One mile above sea level



Another neat concept we learned about was the way the cave can change your perception. In the Poison room, our guide pointed out a tall, narrow feature that appeared to be about 20-25 feet away and maybe 2 feet tall, which was actually 62 feet away from us and 6 feet tall....I am still baffled that the little white "stick" she pointed out was actually almost a full foot taller than me! The other was the idea, so kindly labeled for us on the stairs, of being at the one mile above sea level point while underground. That's a fun way to mess with one's mind a little bit!



One of the great illusionary examples

  

Poison Room - 6 foot tall feature is the small white line in the upper left



Weekend Wanderings

A few weeks ago I discovered an iPhone app called Trover that kind of reminds me a "photo" Twitter. You sign in, post photos of your "discoveries"(anything cool or interesting that you'd like to share) and it posts in a running feed. You map and name the location, as well as provide a brief description of why the discovery is "cool", for each photo, which allows other users to see where you took the photo and what it is. This also allows you to seach Discoveries by what is nearby - either nearby to you, or to another discovery you found interesting. This little app has led me to a new goal of the summer(since I have failed miserably at many of my 2011 goals and challenges so far, lol!). Enter, the Weekend Wanderings of Summer 2011.

I have lived in this area off and on since 2002, and thought that I knew it pretty well and had done a good many things. Definitely not the case, as Trover has taught me in the past few weeks! So far, I have discovered enough new places to see and things to do that, combined with my other already set plans this summer, may definitely be enough to leave not a free weekend to be found!

These first photos are the beginnng of the Weekend Wanderings, though not to new places....



Grand Tetons behind (still frozen) Jackson Lake - Grand Teton National Park May 2011

The bottom of Colter Pass as a storm rolls in - Chief Joseph Highway, Wyoming - May 2011



Buffalo Bill's Historic Irma Hotel - Cody, Wyoming - May 2011



Pioneer School near the Wyoming-Montana border on Hwy 120 - This was a new discovery that I just saw a small sign for on the side of the highway! May 2011

The first of the new explorations, less than 2 hours from my house along a very scenic drive!
Natural Bridge Falls - Gallatin National Forest, Montana - June 2011

The weekend wandering to Natural Bridge falls also included the fun of a borrowed pup(a friend was out of town so pupsitting was also involved!) as wel as a fabulous dinner at the Grand Hotel in Big Timber, MT - was expecting to grab so bar grub on the way home and ended up with an AMAZING meal!!

Next weekend, Lewis and Clark Caverns :)

The "Where to Live Dilemma"

Unfortunately I'm not talking about the fun and exciting "where to go?!" sort of dilemma. Rather, the one we face around is more like "Ok I'm here. Now where do I sleep?".

Having an economy based primarily(if not almost entirely....) on tourism, Gardiner has fallen into the same rut as other like places of seeing our housing options dwindle at an alarming rate. Just like everywhere else this has occurred, the 2 common culprits are increased demand and demand's(sometimes) evil counterpart, increase in price since the supply hasn't kept up. While of course there are always more intricacies involved in these matters than we see up front, I see a few big culprits. A few different categories, but similar result nonetheless:

1. There are fewer and fewer "old timers" - retired and/or elderly residents who have either lived here their entire lives, or at least a significant chunk of it. This population has decreased(2000 census notes 7.4% of our population as over 65, compared to the national average of over 12%) by their passing, moving in with their children or other family members, moving to assisted living, etc. When they do so, their homes and property often go to their children, who very often do not live here, nor do they want to. So, they decide to sell or rent.  If they opt to rent, they will inevitably learn about and consider the large sum of money to be had by not renting for a measly $500-$1000 a month when they can get that in a week from tourists. End Result: Vacation Rental
2.  If their option is to sell and their house is pretty much anything worth living in, it will more than likely be priced out of reach of many, many local residents(our median household income data was about $31,000 compared to the national average of just under $42,000 in 1999). End Result: Vacation/2nd Home
3. It's a small town, and as with many small towns, kids finish school and get the heck outta dodge. See #1. End Result: Parents house eventually becomes Vacation Rental or Vacation/2nd Home.

Granted, there are many more factors that come into play, but much of it is means to the same end. Areas like this are based on tourism because there is something that draws people here(proven by the fact that most of us are not from here!). With overall populations increasing**, that often means more people coming, which means a larger need for places for them to stay. No argument from me there(I wouldn't have a job without them!). But, the job doesn't do me much good if I don't have anywhere to live. Ironically, a good portion of my reason for moving back here was I was just plain sick and tired of needing 2 jobs just to get by in Steamboat Springs. **Note: Everywhere but here that is...my vacation rental takeover argument is firmly based in the fact that the residential population of our census block actually decreased from 1990-2000, with little change projected for 2010(per U.S. Census Bureau)

This growth phenomenon in towns like this can have some great benefits. An out of town investor has purchased 3 run-down local bars/restaurants in the last 2 years and done some wonderful things to renovate  and rejuvenate them. The out of town children of another property owner partnered with their dad to build a wonderful roof top patio bar that is great new place to hang out in the sun with a cold drink and amazing view. Another out of town couple tore out a long-vacant gas station and put in a little BBQ joint(with wonderful hash brown casserole at breakfast, I'm told!). These are great improvements, but they come with a price - the investor who purchased and renovated the 3 bars/restaurants also just purchased his 3rd house in the area, just before the sellers were about to rent it to a local family(with a clause to honor their lease if the house should sell). I have also seen friends need to leave their jobs because their landlords chose not the renew their lease to turn their property into a weekly rental. I have seen friends purchase mobile homes and trailers(often all one can afford to start off with), only to have the land they pay lot rent for sold off and built on. Most recently, an 8-unit apartment building was sold,and plans made known immediately via 30-day eviction notices that the building will be torn down. This last event leaves 8 individuals and families all looking for somewhere to live at the same time, a time which conveniently lines up with the spring influx of summer seasonal works also looking for a place to live. I by no means intend for this to be a slam to these investors/purchasers, as it's a great area to invest in and it's not for me to judge what people do with their resources(because I might do exactly the same thing if I had them!). It is, however, always sad to see another of the already limited residential properties go by the wayside, adding another tic to the growing number of vacation properties.

This is the point where I should not break the big rule of "No Bitch with No Fix"(or at least suggestion of fix!), but this one truly puts me at a loss....we are too small for a legitimate affordable housing program, we are too dependent upon the tourist industry to not provide for their demand, and the cost to purchase is quickly out-pacing income. Oh magic 8-ball, what do thee say?