In other news/Catching up

The weather out here has completely changed into the hot summer we've been longing for and we both have some painful sunburns to show for it. Hopefully we are able to get out and thoroughly enjoy it for a few weeks before it's wintery again. Especially now that we have the same days off to go out and explore. 
Sean is starting to enjoy his job in the recycle center more. He gets to drive into the park twice a day, which is a real perk. 
I really like my job in the Distribution Center, it's a pretty physical job that keeps me moving all day and my coworkers/supervisors are really nice. And though I haven't made any real friends due to my awkward shyness, I'm really happy and glad to be here. 
We joke about how awful our jobs are and how we can't wait to get out of here, because we know we are completely spoiled and lucky to be here until October. 
We're doing ok in everything else, the past couple of weeks I've felt a bit homesick, but it's passed with the realization that we will be back in the midwest before we know it and missing this beautiful place.

My formerly dying plant is blossoming
 with flowers in the sunshine

I hope you all are able to get out and enjoy the beautiful summer weather too.


Until next time, Peace and Love.

Mountain Climbing and the Gold Rush

Yesterday after church and a riverside breakfast, we headed out to hike Mt. Washburn. The first half of the hike is a 3 mile climb to the summit of the mountain to a fire watch tower. From there you can see pretty much the entire rim of the caldera. The view is incredible, it even looks over the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

On our way back down, we came across an extremely cute marmot. We have a track record with friendly marmots, but this one saw us and then leisurely sprawled out across his rock and watched us walk past. It was kind of unreal.

Marmot notices us, no big deal

Marmot lays down and relaxes

Last night we camped out at a campground just up the hill from our dorm to have a fire, watch the sunset and stargaze. An awesome end to an awesome day.

I'm protecting the campsite with my marshmallow cooking stick

sunset and the moon appearing above the mountains

This morning we tried our hand at panning for gold. It was a lot less relaxing than I expected and the water was freezing! We were digging and sifting for relief from our student loans and possibly a higher wedding/travel budget, but I think the picture accurately demonstrates the value of our findings. We had a blast regardless.

we aren't even 100% that it's all gold

Lakes and Valleys and Bears, oh my

Last Sunday, after a well earned morning of sleeping in, we went up to Lake Yellowstone (I worked there the first time I was here in 2008.) Our initial plan was to got out on the lake in a row boat, but that plan was foiled by extremely turbulent waters, so logically we went for the free-to-employees scenic boat tour. It was beautiful, but we were both glad we opted not to get ice cream before hand. I'm convinced we were a couple shades of green as we exited the boat.

On our way back to Gardiner we passed through the gorgeous Hayden valley. We even got to see a coyote and two different black bears from the car on our drive back!

The next day we hiked to Grizzly Lake, a beautiful lake secluded between two large hills. My favorite part of the hike, besides the view of the lake as you come over the hill, was the smell of the wildflowers that filled the air. We found a spot near the beginning of the trail covered in these flowers to come back to one day after work just to read and unwind among the smell of these flowers. For lunch we hiked down to the lake and floated on some downed trees as we munched. We saw yet another black bear on our way home, but this one was cinnamon colored.

Yellowstone Lake from the cruise boat

Beautiful stream in Hayden Valley

photo-op =)

Sean being cute over looking Grizzly Lake

our floating picnic area

coyote

bear number 1

bear number 2

bear number 3!

The Gardiner Rodeo

Last Saturday we attended our first Rodeo. I was hesitant at first because of the assumed animal cruelty involved, but was comforted by the fact that this particular one (along with many others) is put on by an organization that has strict guidelines against harming the animals. Or so I was told and I took their word for it. It was a fun experience, I'm not sure if it's something I would attend regularly, but there's something amusing about seeing a man flung through the air by a raging bull. 
My favorite part of the rodeo, which we weren't able to get a good photo of, was the part where they attached dollar bills to some calves and let all of the kids in the audience run around and try to catch them. It was cute.
We were also able to hang around some of our fellow bunkhouse-mates. Everybody here has an interesting story and our shy selves are slowly but surely getting to know everyone.

A bull rider seconds away from falling off

Cute kids in cowboy attire

Some of the bunkhouse group

Not too much to report... and babies!

As the title of this post suggests, we don't really have much to report. Most of our days off have been soiled with snow or rain and when it is particularly nice outside, we are either at work or too tired from work to do any big adventuring. We have gotten a white water rafting trip in, that was pretty awesome. We've also gotten the ball rolling on wedding planning stuff and even moved the date up to next year!

But even more importantly at the moment: the elk, bison and antelope are all having their calves!! My favorite are the antelope, they are soooo cute. Unfortunately we haven't gotten any good photos of the antelope yet, so a momma elk and her baby will have to suffice until then. Oh yeah, and they live in our backyard.

I hope all is well with you and that you're finding at least a little joy in everyday.

Peace and Love!