Campfire Lodge, first day

Well, this morning I moved into the “bunk house”, which is the small “cabin” for employees of the “Campfire Lodge”, 19 miles out of West Yellowstone.

Oh…did I mention I got a job!? Yes, I am now working, as previously stated, at the Campfire Lodge, below Hebgen Lake on the Madison River in the GORGEOUS state of Montana. www.campfirelodgewestyellowstone.com is the URL if you’d like to check that out. I’ll be doing whatever they need me to. This includes potentially getting behind a grill and learning to cook! Very exciting. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, 6:30 to 3:30 doing Dishes.

The CL is probably one of the most popular breakfast and lunch places in all of West Yellowstone. On a Sunday…it’s EXTREMELY difficult to find a place to park in front of the office/kitchen/eating area. I’ve never seen a place so busy.

Fishing Report: Yesterday SUCKED for fishing; I only got about 2 strikes (this term means a fish attempted to eat your fishing fly), while my dad, on the other hand, caught 2. Both, I believe, were Rainbow Trout. Today, however, was a much better day for both of us. We went down and fished the Gallatin, which is on the way to Bozeman, where my dad flew out of today. I got 3 fish, 2 Cuttbows (a hybrid between a Cutthroat and a Rainbow trout). One being in the range of 17 to 18 inches long, the other about nine. I also caught a whitefish! Weird fish to see in a stream…

I am waiting to hear on Xanterra if they’ll actually want me now or not. I let them know, that because of their schedule change with me, and us having made non-refundable reservations around Yellowstone, I came up to find a job. I found one, but I’m working through Labor Day. So I contacted Xanterra to see if they’d still want me on the 2^nd of September. If not, I’m taking my road trip early, and will be home around mid-September. So here’s hoping that Xanterra still wants me!

I’m going to now finish my glass of wine, and retire. I have to be up in 9 hours, (it’s now 10:45 MDT, and I must be up at 6 MDT, which, according to my California body clock, is 5 A.fter M.idnight).

Hope to be able to update again soon.

~JD