Glacier - Month One

View of Lake McDonald after a short hike.

Along with about 50 other Seasonal Employees, I reported to Xanterra (www.xanterra.com) in Columbia Falls, just outside Glacier National Park. Xanterra is the concessionaire that manages the lodges in Glacier as well as many others. We watched a video about the company, which is quite extensive; got our identification cards made, got uniforms, ate lunch and headed out.  Unfortunately for me, I needed to go to Kalispell for a quick Urgent Care trip.  Seems that ALL of the stitches from my recent basal cell removal below my left eye were not all removed!  I wondered why my incision was not healing and as I drove south out of Canada it dawned on me that I still had a stitch.  Lucky for me, the thing was not embedded!  

I got my dorm assignment before 5PM and got most of my belongings in the room.  I have one roommate (Samantha) who is a young gal from NY.   She has a degree in fashion design.  I have yet to find out how she found herself at the front desk in hospitality after all of her training!  At the front desk, Sam and I join Janoi from Jamaica, Alan (a retired attorney), Brandon and Antonio (both late 20's with a lot of seasonal work behind them).  Brandon and Antonio alternate the night audit position which saves Sam, Janoi and I any overnight shifts!  My first five days were in training, learning the front desk online system.  I was pretty overwhelmed but feel pretty confident now that we have been operational two weeks.  

Here I am at WORK! 

Our Opening Day was set for May 18th at noon.  At 10AM there was a widespread power outage that did not get resolved until after 2PM.  I had that day off....phew!  WiFi is sketchy, at best under normal circumstances.  Unfortunately, that power outage fried a piece of equipment that manages the WiFi and the piece had just arrived from Denver in the last week! Right off, the HR Department cried out for more people!  If you care to have a seasonal job in Glacier, check out the link mentioned above.   Use me as a reference.  If you are hired and complete your contract, I will split my $100 bonus with you! Hey, it pays for the gas to the park anyway!

Property manager addresses a few folks in the Lake McDonald lobby at Opening.

Chandeliers in lobby and restaurant depict Native American art.  

Avalanche Lake  - a 4 mile hike with just about 500 elevation change.

The following are pictures along the trail.

Trail of the Cedars is one of four ADA trails. 

I did take a very fun raft trip mid May but the river was "blowing out" (a term the agent used for extremely high water) and the route had to be changed.  This meant NO river photos!  So, here are a couple from the outfitters!

Below you see a photo I retook from the brochures used for the iconic RED BUS TOURS in Glacier.  These buses date back to the 30's and are in the third and final generation.  There were 35 originally, now there are 33.  One was lost in an accident allegedly driven by a drunk employee in the 1970's.  The other is being held for posterity in a National Park building for a Smithsonian some day.

At some point these buses will take 17 passengers at a time over the entire 50 mile stretch of Going to the Sun Road from West Glacier to East Glacier and in reverse.  The route remains under snow and avalanche review at the moment.  For the first operational week the road was only open to the Lake McDonald Lodge.  However, that did not stop avid hikers and bicyclists.  They could pursue in spite of the road blocks!  The road was opened to the Avalanche Parking Lot last weekend and I took no time to drive to the parking lot and check out the conditions.  After all, guests do ask all of the questions!

Along that same vein, I  took the opportunity today to drive to the other side to see the sights.  It is so interesting to see how different the ecosystems are West vs. East.  I learned today that the West side where I am working is a unique ecosystem in that it is rainforest like, as the Pacific Northwest.  No glaciers can be seen from the West side.   At one time, Glacier National Park had 166 glaciers.  There are just 25 remaining.  I was told the road on the East side is now open to the lookout for Jackson Glacier.  It was my intention to go see for myself!  Well, I diverted to Two Medicine ands Running Eagle Falls, also known as Tricky Falls.  Why?  In the late spring, early summer weeks the falls cascade from a long drop.  As the summer season progresses  the water flow slows down, the stream stops atop and come out from a cave.  I had my lunch and then decided to take a parallel road to the East Side.  Highway 49 is a secondary highway that is not well maintained, but decent enough for Ralph. I was comfortably listening to an old CD and reminiscing to each tune, soaking up the exhilarating scenery when  I would stop and snap a shot here and there. At one point I made the decision to get out of the car and capture a lovely panorama.  I reentered the car and it would not start!  I tried a few times, spaced out over about a half hour.  It was one o'clock and I was pretty remote.  I am grateful I had signed up for AAA before I left AZ!  Just after 3PM the tow truck arrived.  The driver asked me to try the ignition and don't you know.....IT STARTED!  What the heck?  So, erring on the side of caution, I made the decision to back track toward a more populated area and drove west again.  That East Glacier visit will just need to wait!

I have family arriving this week and so now I have driven to Polton, MT. to make this blog entry and get closer to the airport.  This is a lovely little town on the southern end of Flathead Lake.  I enjoyed the drive along the long lake and now sit in one of those little motel rooms constructed most likely in the 50's during the building of highways. I can not seem to get blog updates done anywhere in the park.   I may only have a chance once a month to give updates.  So, follow up with this site July 1! 

Have a great June everyone!