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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 |
Tuesday, 8-10-99Today is the beginning of another three day weekend, but also the last. We’re now on ten-hour days, dropping to eight-hour days next week. I’ll be working Thursday through Monday soon, with only Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. I bought a Yellowstone fishing permit today for $20. Tomorrow I’m heading out to the Gardiner River for either brook, brown, or rainbow trout. All three are in the Gardiner around Mammoth. I prefer spin casting over fly fishing. Fly fishing is like pipe smoking. Fly fishers are so busy fooling with their equipment that they never get any serious fishing in. Many years ago at Yellowstone’s West Thumb, I caught several brown trout in Lewis Lake and pickled them before returning to college that fall. I had a one-gallon glass jar of pickled trout to snack on for months. In my subconscious memory of good things to eat, that is at the top of the list. I thought it would be easy to find the recipe for pickled trout on the Internet, but couldn’t. I did find a recipe for pickled oysters and, after looking at it closely, realized that the ingredients were the same as I used years ago for pickled trout: vinegar, small white onions, peppercorns, salt, and sliced chili peppers. The cooking time is different, though. The recipe for oysters says to leave them in the boiling water for 5 minutes. I believe the diced trout should be left in just long enough to change from lucid to white, about one and a half minutes. My tackle is inspected and ready to go. All I need is a fillet knife. I’ll get one tomorrow in Gardiner. Here’s the recipe for pickled trout: one to three trout, filleted and cubed Pour vinegar into large jar. Add onions, chili peppers, ground chili, peppercorns, and salt. Place trout cubes into boiling water. Boil for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain and add to pickle jar and refrigerate for 72 hours.  |
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