Settling in

"Well, it says here Yellowstone... but Yellowstone is the size of several East coast states put together!"- Moving truck driver


Needless to say the moving company was not used to delivering to Yellowstone! I tried as best I could to explain to the driver that passing through the steep escarpments of the East Entrance in Yellowstone was gonna take some time with a semi. But by the time he found our little housing area in Grant Village he still looked a little shell shocked!



"I would've got here sooner but there were some Buffalo in the road!"



I chuckled and nodded my head. Our truck driver had NEVER been to Yellowstone and now here he was traveling through the park with a semi, delivering goods to two park rangers! As if the Bison were not enough Yellowstone decided to show the driver how weather patterns can change in an instant. While unloading the truck it rained, sleeted and yes, even snowed. Then the sun came out as if pretending as though nothing had happened!

But Alas, all of our belongings arrived in relatively good condition and within 3 days Shane and I had unpacked everything except a couple boxes of books. Buying furniture for a house you have been seen before is quite a challenge and by about the tenth time of me saying "how about if we put this here" I thought Shane was gonna freak out! However that tenth time was the perfect one! Everything fits quite nicely. Shane had shipped some poplar which he made a coffee table and book shelves with.

We are living in a nice 4 bedroom split level house tucked away in the government housing area about 1/4 mile from Grant Village Visitor Center. In the little time we have been here the bugling Elk and yipping Coyotes already graced us in our new home. We have met most of our neighbors and all are very nice. In about 2 weeks, as summer draws to an end, our neighborhood will go from a population of 40 down to 10-12 individuals. The 10-12 hardy who will bare the winter in the interior of Yellowstone. Oh and let's not forget the 5 dogs who will also stick around- Alice (our dog) being the smallest.

I am not the least bit worried about the winter. In fact I have taken great comfort in knowing that I am living in a National Park surrounded by 2.2 million acres of protected land. This park, that can see up to 3 million visitors a year, is my home; my backyard. And while others only get to see it for a week, maybe two, I have been given the chance to experience Yellowstone year round. A chance to see the snow fall, the elk rut, the wolves hunt, the bison plow through snow covered fields and the first spring flower bloom.