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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. |
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Previous 7/16 |
Friday, 8-6-99It rained all night in northwestern Yellowstone, so the corral didn’t open for horse rides today. Our three and a half mile trail has lots of elevation changes and we can’t take a chance with dude horses slipping and sliding. Also, horses on wet trails do a lot of damage, just a vehicles on puddled dirt roads cause most of the ruts and potholes. I drove to Jackson Hole in the afternoon and got back to Mammoth around midnight. Looked at the various dude horse operations down there, including Spring Creek Ranch and Snow King Resort. I used to like Jackson. On my days off from Pinky Bonner’s Hunting Camp, I would go straight to a spa called Teton Hot Pots and soak and shower. Then to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar or the Wort Hotel for a few beers, followed by a reasonable motel room at the Virginian. It was somewhat of a tourist trap in those days, but you should see it now. Best described as upper crust schlock. Someone built “Cadillac Cafe” next to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar to attract the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood fans. The streets are gridlocked with teens of wealthy second-homers driving Range Rovers. The sidewalks are packed with families in Yellowstone T-shirts and shorts. Lining the town square are galleries with art for the “discriminating collector” and real estate brokerages with $2,000,000 vacation homes. Aspen does it right. Jackson Hole doesn’t have that welcoming feel anymore.  |
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