Packets & Planning

A few weeks ago Michael and I got our packets in the mail! So now we have all our information and its more planning.  Our start date is officially April 28th and we have to arrive at the office Gardiner, Montana between 7am and 10am which is very early in the morning, so it will probably add another day to our trip.

They sent all sorts of fun information, that I will share with you:

Pay and Hours:

We will be charged a room and board deduction which covers food, housing, internet and utilities.  This will be figured out based on hours worked, but it will not exceed $193 pus tax for every two weeks.  In addition, a deduction is taken out for Medcor which provides health care for seasonal employees.  We should get our first paycheck about three weeks after we get there and then we should be paid every two weeks. Lastly, once we finish our contracted time working in Yellowstone (my employment is over on the 23rd of September, I think Michael's is over a little later I believe) we will receive a bonus of $3 a day for each day we are employed including days off!

The number of hours will vary based on staff needs, but it should vary from 32-48 hrs a week with two days off, though six-day weeks may be required sometimes. 

Housing:

The Lake Hotel employees stay in 1 of 4 dorms across the road from the hotel.  They are Osprey, Goldeneye, Pelican and Teal.  Osprey, Goldeneye, and Pelican are two-story buildings with 50 rooms each.  The rooms have semi-private bathrooms, which seems like maybe two or so rooms share a bathroom.  Each has a lobby area, laundry room and pay phones, though no kitchens, so no cooking at all!!  Teal has 16 rooms with private bathrooms.  They include a twin bed, a small dresser and small closet.

There is also an Employee Recreation Hall with work-out equipment, internet, and a sports court.  There's also an outdoor basketball/volleyball court.  The Employee Pub behind the Lake Lodge so that will be nice to hang out with co-workers.

Goldeneye Dorm

Teal Dorm

Pelican Dorm

Osprey Dorm

We also found out that our address will be:

(Name)

General Delivery -Lake

Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190

if we want to receive UPS it is:

(Name)

YNP Lodges

Lake Hotel Personnel Office

Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190

(make sure you put General Delivery- Lake!)

Dining:

The Employee Dining Room (EDR) is a cafeteria-style facility that will provide three meals a day.  They are open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  They even have a salad bar! So we can be healthy while we are there. In addition, they can pack you a sack lunch if you order it the day before.  So we can take them hiking with us!

A few facts about Lake Yellowstone Hotel:

Number of Employees: 290

Number of Guest Units: 296

Elevation: 7784 ft or 2373 m

Services Available: Post Office, Gas Station, General Store and Medical Clinic

So that's it for now, now we just have three weeks of work left until we are leaving! Then there's just the fun planing and traveling around to see everybody until we are off on our adventure on the 22nd!!

A Little About Lake Yellowstone Hotel

Mike and I chose to work at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, so I figure it makes sense to let you know a little more about it:

The Lake Hotel is one of a series of hotels built to accommodate visitors to Yellowstone National Park in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was originally built in 1891, and re-designed and expanded by Robert Reamer who is the architect of the Old Faithful Inn in 1903, the Canyon Hotel, the Mammoth Dining Room, Motor Inn, and cottages, as well as the Child's residence at Mammoth Hot Springs.

The original 1891 hotel was a large three-story structure with projecting bays at each end. Its construction was supervised by R.R. Cummins for the Northern Pacific Railroad, which was building two other, similar hotels in the park. Reamer's 1903 remodeling changed these projections to the present Ionic porticoes. An eastward extension was added at this time, with a third matching portico. In 1922-23 a further extension to the east was undertaken, this with a flat roof. In 1928 a two-story west wing was added, expanding the dining room and adding a solarium to the front. The entire hotel was extensively renovated from 1984 to 1990.  It was added to the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Register in 1991.
 Source: Wikipedia article on Lake Yellowstone Hotel

Lake Yellowstone Hotel Facade

On the lake's north shore is the historic lake village with a marina at Bay Bridge and bustles with sight seers at the Fishing Bridge and visitor center.  The south shore, however is much more remote where long backpacking trips will lead you far away from paved roads and commercial USA.

The Lake Hotel Dining Room is most likely where Mike will work (we'll fill you in on all that once we get there).  It has a reputation for the best food in the park especially at dinner though it is open for all three meals.  Seems you can get anything from lobster ravioli to tenderloin with rosemary-cabernet sauce.  Sounds awesome!  Or for breakfast Black forest ham and artisan cheeses or a breakfast buffet! 

The Dining Room

There is also a General Store which sells cheap breakfast and lunch with counter seating.  It is a cedar framed octagonal store from 1922.

Lastly, there are also cabins at Lake Yellowstone that were built in the 1920s, remodeled in 2004, and located close to the hotel.

Source: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks by Brian Kevin

The Planning Stage

Finally got my reference letter in (that's a load off) and they are sending our agreements in the mail. They should be here anytime in the next few weeks!  So I've been making very extensive lists of all the things we need to bring.  And it's a lot.  Not sure how it is all going to fit in Mike's Jeep.  Plus we have to bring the turtles.  They should love a 5 day drive cross country...

Little Herb and Charlie! Ready for the adventure too!






Also, a few days ago, Mike and I took some time to plan our route.  It's going to take about 5 days and we are going to visit some fun places!  Here it is all lined out:

Day 1

Lynchburg, VA to Dale, IN

Day 2
Dale, IN to St. Louis to Independence, MO

Day 3
Independence, MO to Council Bluffs, IA to Rapid City, SD

Day 4
A fun day of Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument and Deadwood then back to Rapid City for the night

Day 5
Rapid City to Cody, WY and then its on to Yellowstone!!

Our Route West!