Winter Employees of Yellowstone National Park Move on to New Adventures

As the winter season winds down here in Yellowstone National Park a new herd is on the move. This time it's not the large bison or elk herds, but the employees who wintered at Old Faithful and Mammoth. The hotels are closing and the park service is beginning to clear the park roads of snow in preparation for the upcoming summer season. Many are ready to leave the harsh and isolated conditions of a Yellowstone winter to move on to other adventures. The migration will start out by moving to the north through Gardiner Montana up through Livingston Montana where we will begin to go our own separate ways.

Many will visit family and friends spanning from places all over the country. Some will stick together touring the many exciting places of the west. Some will take it even further going to wild places in the Caribbean, Europe, and even South America. Others will stick around helping to remove snow and help out in other areas.

It's been a good winter. We've enjoyed great snow with beautiful days in between. Ski conditions have been great and many have enjoyed crazy cross-country adventures. Those who were living at Old Faithful will be happy to see their cars once again. They have been stuck on an island of snow for the past 3 months with their cars over 50 miles away. The only way off of the island is by snow coach and snowmobile.

The lifestyle is very simple for these people. There is no television, strip malls, or movie theaters yet they survive. We find many ways to entertain ourselves during these times with theme dances, winter Olympics, and of course a little beer here and there. We live in one of the wildest places in the world where we can run into almost any type of animal on the walk to work. The air is fresh and the environment very peaceful. I have to admit that it's hard to beat our vacation package. Although it's unpaid we get about 2-4 months off a year depending on our particular jobs.