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From the Banks of the Firehole - Article Three

December 25th, 2000

It is time for my first Christmas in Yellowstone. Well, it is my first if you don’t include the two Christmases in August I have been here for . . . but that is a different story. This is just good old fashioned Christmas. They have a nicely decorated tree in the Snow Lodge lobby and the halls are decked with boughs of holly (fa la la la etc. etc. etc). All in all, it is a great atmosphere and lots of families have taken the opportunity to spend this holiday season in Yellowstone.

It is a bit hard to be away from my family for the first time during the holidays, but there is a lot here to help the employees feel festive. First of all, since we are a small community, we also act as a family for each other on Christmas. Last night, a few of us watched some classic Christmas films together in the dorm lobby. It was a nice feeling to spend some Christmas time with my co-workers. Another great thing is that the personnel and management departments have set up a party for the employees on Christmas night where we will have a gift exchange and a Christmas feast. As you can see, the traditions of Christmas are preserved even in Yellowstone.

Ah, but besides Christmas, the joys and perils of winter still exist. Each day, I put on way too many warm clothes. At some point, I get too hot and have to take some of them off. Then, wouldn’t you know it, it gets cold and I have too put them back on again before I freeze! But that is one of the many aspects of living in Yellowstone at this time of the year. The most important factor here is the weather. The first week I was here the storms were great and we had at least a foot of snow. Throughout that time, the temperature never got above 20 degrees F. These things made for great conditions on the roads and trails during the opening week. But, alas, it has not held up. There hasn’t been a really good snow in about a week and the temperatures have been higher the past few days (even made it up to 29F!). In some places on the road, concrete is starting to show through. Now, it really isn’t terrible, but we are all hoping for cold temperatures and snow. Its funny, I never thought I would live somewhere where it would be better if the forecast called for winter storms.

Despite the slightly warmer and less snowy conditions, there is still a great deal of snow and the ground. This calls for more wintery means of transportation when it comes to going to work; enter cross country skiing. Now, I have been downhill skiing for several years, but I discovered that the two are different in several ways when I tried out cross country for the first time about a week ago. I bought a nice used pair of skis with three-pin bindings (The Snow Lodge Ski Shop is switching over to a bar binding system). The first thing I did was fall down when the skis went shooting out from underneath me! I was okay, though, and settled down into the old “little-at-a-time” philosophy. While I still find the skis a bit hard to control at times, I am really starting to get the hang of it. They make getting to the Snow Lodge and visiting the geyser basin much easier than it was when I only had boots.

Speaking of the geyser basin, gazing has been great so far. At first I was afraid that winter would be a difficult time to stay out in the basin for extended periods of time. But, I realized that with the proper clothing, ski equipment, and rations, getting around and staying around in the basin isn’t any more difficult than it is in the summer. I have had a chance to watch almost all the major geysers in the basin and even see a few of the less active ones. My girlfriend and I even had the chance to be the first to see a particular geyser erupt in 30 years!

So, I have no complaints about being able to utilize my geyser gazing time in the current conditions. It really is great to be here at this time of year. Any fears that I had about cabin fever or being able to deal with winter weather all the time have been extinguished. The Spirit of Christmas and the Spirit of Yellowstone are strong here. If you make it to the park this winter, or any winter for that matter, I hope you get a chance to see what I mean.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone! May you and your family be happy and healthy this holiday season!

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