Yellowstone Journal

	Hi. I’m Ben Benton from Flagstaff, Arizona. I believe that you will enjoy my daily journal from Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 1999. I left downtown Flagstaff with my saddle and duffel in early July and lighted in the horse corral at Mammoth Hot Springs. My journal will continue through September 20th, unless the weather shuts us down earlier. You’ll read about adventures on the back country trails, Yellowstone history, people I meet, and anything else I can think of to write about. I’m the author of “National Park Employment Data,” a guide to working in national parks, which is available for purchase on my web site at www.gorp.com/nped/. I’ve been working in national parks and ski areas off and on for over twenty years. Because I want the data in my book to always be fresh, I continually test the concepts, employers, and tips that I provide. Right now, I’m working for Amfac Parks and Resorts. They are a top notch concession company because they place employee training, morale, and amenities first.
Previous Journals 7/16 7/17 7/18 7/19 7/20 7/21 7/22 7/23 7/24 7/25 7/26 7/27 7/28	Thursday, 7-29-99 I got a perfect score in CPR training today, so if you’re thinking of having a heart attack, I’m ready. Since I’ve never seen anyone having a heart attack, the characteristic I wasn’t aware of is that a heart attack lasts a long time. The video showed a newscaster getting ready to go on the air and the countdown til air time. Then he was on the air, and all the time he was having a heart attack. And, of course, he was denying it, which is normal. Most people having a heart attack ask for Rolaids or something and say it was just something they ate. A heart attack is a reduction in the pumping of blood. Cardiac arrest is very different. The heart stops altogether and 95 percent don’t survive. ***** After CPR training at Canyon Lodge, I went rubbernecking in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River area. The park is still super busy. Every overlook parking area is jammed with cars circling in search of a parking spot.   Click on the picture for a full sized  65k enlargement. The true beauty of Yellowstone is shown here. This is the Lower Falls. After a fall of 308 feet, the Yellowstone River passes through a twenty-mile canyon of sculpted yellow walls and pinnacles before exiting the park through Gardiner, Montana, just north of Mammoth Hot Springs. We had a welcomed downpour this afternoon in the Mammoth Hot Springs area to cool things down, and tonight was steak night in the Employee Dining Room. Life is good.
	Copyright ©1999 Ben Benton -- All Rights Reserved Ben Benton 124 North San Francisco Street, Suite 100 Flagstaff, Arizona 86001-5250 (520) 779-5300 Facsimile (520) 213-8425 e-mail [email protected]