Surprises on String Lake Hike

Our planned hike to String Lake and Leigh Lake started on schedule at 11 AM. We went a bit later in the morning since it was cool and we hoped the sun would be warm by the time we started out on the hike. We didn't go more than 100 yards before we met a young couple that had just completed the hike coming from the other direction. They told us about a couple avalanches that occurred on the trail where snow and trees have blocked the trail in some places. We should have heeded their warning, as it turned out to be an experience we will not soon forget.

It started out as a nice, leisurely hike from the trailhead to the west shore:

 

It didn't take long before we ran into some snow along the trail:

That was the easy part. We could follow tracks in the snow to stay on the trail, but then we ran into the real problem - fallen trees. There were two, huge avalanches that occurred during the winter that bowled over hundreds of trees and made the trail nearly impassable:

 

At one point, we thought we lost the trail for good. A lot of time was lost while scrambling to locate the trail but we eventually connected again. There were also many areas where the snow runoff had created flooding on the trail. Here is one area where the runoff was pronounced:

The water was rapidly filling the lake, and it was running over its banks in some areas. It was still a beautiful hike around one of the shallowest lakes in the park. We did get some good shots of the lake, mountains and a few of the canoes that were on the water:

and also of the two areas where the avalanches occurred. This is the first area as seen from the other side of the lake:

and the second area which created the most problems for us:

As we were almost at the end of the hike, we came onto this young deer that was foraging on the side of the trail:

The hike was almost exactly 5 miles, but should have only been in the 4 mile range. All of the extra effort to stay on the trail amounted to an extra mile of walking. It was a hike that we took in July of the first year we were here, and is definitely a late summer hike. The first time a couple years ago we were able to get pictures of many wildflowers, but this time, there were barely any at all. The exercise was a bit more than we planned, but was certainly invigorating.

It's back to work today with the classic auto rally in full swing...

Idaho Falls Visit

We putted around and did some minor chores, made a few calls and went to the hospital to check to see if they had received Josie's films from AZ yet. They had not, so her Ultra Sound will most likely go on as scheduled next Thursday. She had her mammogram in AZ before we left and they gave her an all clear signal until we arrived in WY. They wanted to check on a disturbance in one of her breasts, thus the Ultra Sound.

It was near 11:30 before we got things together to go to Idaho Falls for our first trip there this year. It is a nice drive and we experienced the Teton Pass for the first time this year. We knew there was lots of snow still at the top, and here's what it looked like:

We did get a nice shot of Jackson Hole from the summit:

We stopped at Sam's Club for our major shopping and at Walmart for a few things. A stop was also made at Michael's where Josie was looking for some yarn to make another afghan. Following a couple other brief stops, we made it home again by 6:30 last night.

It's good that we are not working the front desk these last two nights as we can see the classic cars rolling in for the weekend rally. There are no buses scheduled as far as we know, so the staff is working hard to check in everybody and make sure all the logistics are completed for the big annual show.

Our plan for today is to possibly go for a hike. Even though it is a little cool, the sun is shining brightly and we don't want to waste a nice day off. Maybe String Lake and Taggart Lake where we hiked in our first year...

Uneventful Day

We worked our first shift of the season with one of the new employees - Jackie - who is the daughter of our Financial Manager at the lodge. The lodge employs several family members of the management and is a great place for their young adults to obtain work while off from school for the summer. It's one of the advantages of working for a company that utilizes lots of seasonal help.

Our night was uneventful as we had only one bus, 28 Reserved guest check-ins and we had our highest total so far this year of almost 20 walk-ins. The classic car show begins tonight and we are booked solid for the weekend. Several autos were placed on the grass in our courtyard last evening, so the rally is about to begin.

The weather has cooled rather dramatically the last couple days and the forecast is for more cool weather. We expect highs in the 60's while it will go down into the low 30's at night for the next 4 days. That about eliminates any hiking or biking, as we prefer to do those activities in warmer weather. It looks like we will be taking our first trip to Idaho Falls, either today or tomorrow. That is a pretty drive and will serve to replenish some of our goods that aren't available, or available at a good price, in Jackson. It is also is the location of the nearest Sam's Club, so we can stock up on some items that are only available at those warehouse stores. The nearest Costco is Billings, MT, or Pocatello, ID which are pretty far from here.

We did get the grass mowed yesterday before going to work, so that chore is done for our days off. No matter what we end up doing, it will be a welcome break in our work schedule...

Local Hike

It was a little bit cool yesterday morning - 50's - but we felt like taking a short hike before heading out to work. The trail just behind our RV park is one that we walked several times last season and is the one we started out on to hike the big trail - Josie's Ridge:

The trail connects to several other trails, and we took the lower trail that comes out onto the bike path at the south end of Jackson. While walking this trail, we got a good view of the slide situation above the Walgreen's Drug store that started all the slipping on the hill. You can see very clearly how the hillside is slipping and can see the home that sustained the most damage:

There was a presentation yesterday at 3 PM at the Town Center by an engineering firm to present several alternatives to the city for correcting the slide situation. We were working while the meeting was taking place at 3 PM, but we should be hearing about the solution very soon. Meanwhile, the hill continues to slide at about a rate of 1/2 inch every day.

Our hike ended on the bike trail where I walked back to the fifth wheel and Josie continued a bit longer on the bike trail. She took these shots of the Flat Creek that has run over its banks in one particular area, and has flooded the pathway in one area:

 

This is the first time we have seen this flooding which supports the fact that there is more snow runoff this season.

I ended up walking almost two miles, and Josie probably walked between 2 1/2 and 3 miles. It was too cool for me to enjoy the walk, but the exercise was still good for one day.

Last night was one of those nights where we had a few guest problems. One guest checked out because they heard a dog barking in a room a few doors away and their room smelled like cigarette smoke. I checked the room they said the dog was barking in, and there was no sign of a dog. Another party came back to the front desk complaining that the room was too old for them to stay. We have heard this complaint maybe twice before in the two years we have worked at the lodge. Most folks love the atmosphere and enjoy their stay, and like the lodge because of its uniqueness.

Our Friday is today and we are looking forward to our first payday and having a couple days off to do more exploring...

Barns

After just hangin' out for most of the morning, we decided to visit the barns for the first time this year. They are located in the Park, just north and east of Jackson on Mormon Row. It is always a chance to see bison, as this area is one of their favorite gathering spots. We saw lots of them. In fact, there were hundreds of them and they were even on the road as we traveled through the area on the Gros Ventre (grow-vont) road:

 

This shot is one of the mountains, and you can barely see the stream of bison in the field. There must have been over a hundred in this area that seemed like they were walking in a straight line, in front of the tree line:

That was such a great view and Josie got this shot with some balsamroot flowers in the foreground:

 

 

These are the first shots this season of the barns on Mormon Row:

 

 

 

As part of the fun in seeing the barns again, we get to enjoy all the prairie dogs that are so plentiful in the barns area. Like this one:

 

 



There are hundreds of these at the barns location that just run in and out of their holes in the ground,

 

Finally, we got a shot of these folks riding their horses in the area:

 

 

 

 

It was a nice, short trip that we were able to do before going to work at 3 PM. Work was uneventful as Josie and I worked the whole shift alone. We had 35 check-ins, 15 walk-ins and one bus that kept us fairly busy all night. Our "Thursday" is today and we are happy to see the working time fly by...

Slide Progress

First of all, I guess I spoke too soon about being busier this year. Last night we only had 10 check-ins and a single bus to handle. We were done with our check-ins by 5:15 PM and the bus didn't arrive until 10:30 PM, so we stood around and chatted for the whole evening except for handling about 12 walk-in guests. It is unpredictable at this time of the year.

We noticed some additional movement in the home that has been affected by the slide in Jackson. We have heard that the hill is sinking inches each day, and I took another photo to compare. This is the way it looked on May 20th:

Compared to yesterday:

Eventually, the entire front wing will probably collapse. You can also notice how much greener it is around the house with the warming temperatures.

Just a few words about one of the tour companies that we are dealing with this year. Joy Holiday Tours is a company that we dealt with on a few occasions last year, but this year they are having buses come through at least four days per week. They are all Asians, mostly Chinese, that can barely speak any English. They arrive very late in the day and all of them carry thermoses and some kind of noodles dish in a container and turn our lobby into a virtual cafeteria when they arrive. They drain all of our hot water from the two containers that we provide for guests to make tea, hot chocolate, hot cider, among other choices - and we constantly go back and forth to our kitchen to refill the containers. Evidently, they stay in the Parks until dark before coming to the lodge, and all of them are rested and ready to start a new day by the time they arrive. They are a very different kind of guest, for sure.

We work alone today, so we are hoping for an uneventful evening...

Busier Year

Already, this year is surpassing last year with the number of guests. We would average only about 10-15 check-ins per night plus a bus last year at this time. Last night we did almost 50 guests plus a bus, and all the nights we have worked so far have far exceeded last year's totals for the same dates. We have the classic auto rally coming next weekend, so the lodge will be jumping. The weather has been similar to last year - beautiful mornings, late afternoon clouds and occasional thunderstorms, but for the most part, a little better than last year. At least we have not have any freezing temps or snow. With the higher snowfall this winter, the river will be running faster and higher, and the wildflowers should be more plentiful than last year. We are anxious to get out and hike some more to watch the changes in the area.

There have been many personnel changes this year and we are working with one of the new gals that was hired at the front desk. Jill is a single woman, middle aged, that has never been married and has always lived alone (to our knowledge) and presently lives in a shared apartment in town. Jackson is very difficult to find reasonably priced living quarters, and she shares her apartment with a gentleman - unknown to her when she moved in - and they share the kitchen and living room. That would be a tough situation for us, but I guess you do what you have to do if you want to live in this area. The want ads in the local Jackson paper are loaded with available jobs but very few people can afford to live in this area so the jobs go unfilled. We are thankful for our arrangements in this beautiful area.

The schedule - at least for the month of June - has us working with Jill three days per week, so we should know her pretty well by the end of the season. The person we worked with the most last year - Donna - has been working the schedule of one of the departed full time night workers, so we won't be seeing as much of her this year. We will put in our scheduled time at the front desk and enjoy the free time doing all the wonderful activities we enjoy that are available in this area, and just let the other things take their course...