The visitors make the job  more than tolerable  (a low-wage, no responsibility, “peon-type” job)  They make it interesting, fascinating and enjoyable.

Yesteday Bob Ballard checked out. (yes, THE Bob Ballard–from the Jason Project and  the Titanic and all sorts of other fascinating projects!).  What a nice man, and a nice family; so unassuming and sincere–we just talked briefly about the park–and it wasn’t until we were minutes into the conversation that I realized who he was.  Jenna Bush Hager was here with the Today Show today—and, while I didn’t check her out, the GSA right next to me did; again a very normal person, and she looks in person  just like she does on TV. The Today Show did a broadcast from Black Sands basin today.  I miss the Today show.  It’s really weird to know they were shooting and also know that there was no way I would be able to watch it  (No TV in the park).

Celebrities and famous people are the exception in the park however.  The vast majority of our guests are just “normal” folks.  I love it as they rediscover “sitting and talking”  The Inn is the perfect place for that, will lots of lounge chairs, a fabulous fireplace for chilly evenings and great architecture.  They are experimenting with adding Internet Access to the park; I just hope we won’t end up with lots of chairs full of laptops instead of chairs full of people playing card games and laughing and talking.

Each guest has their own story and reason for coming to the park.  Some are “addicted” to the park and return year after year;  for some this is their first visit–and the thing that most folks don’t realize until they get here is how big the park is  (2.2 million acres!)

Some of my favorite stories include “Ms. B”–at 80+ years old she and her husband were regular visitors to the park.  Now that he’s gone, she’s revisiting all of their favorite places–and Yellowstone was a frequent stop for them.  She’s lucid and “tough”…one night of their journey she fell…the next day when I saw her she was battered and bruised–but did that stop her?  Not in the least!  She even took one of the special tours up all of the steps to the top of the inn.  I want to be like her when I’m 85;  alive, vibrant and unstoppable.

Last week we had a wedding at the Inn.  This was not an official planned wedding.  The couple decided to get married someplace hot, and Yellowstone is the hottest spot around–since it actually sits in an active volcano (last explosion 640,000 years ago).  So they checked in, she asked for an iron so she could touch up her dress, they brought a minister and a photographer with them and walked out to the geyser and got married–no hoopla–just doing it “their way”…..

The park also attracts it’s fair share of groups–this week it seems to be a “Morgan owners” group meeting…not a big affair, just a few folks who own morgans who get together at different cool places.  Later in August we know that we will get lots of visitors who are riding Harleys as they pass by the park on their way to the Sturgis SD motorcycle event.

As always, additional pictures are at my flickr site (these pix are not on the flickr site as they were taken with my Droid, not my “real camera”)