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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 |
Sunday, 9-5-99“Montana’s Biggest Weekend”Tom Sperry called a few days ago and suggested that he and I and Rick Railson go to the Dillon Rodeo. Rick lives in Butte, just north of Dillon, but decided to not go. Since Tom’s van died in Mammoth last week, I drove over to West Yellowstone and picked him up. We asked around town for a tent rental because we figured the town would be full. At the fly fishing shop, we also asked about taking the 50-mile gravel road along the continental divide from West Yellowstone to I-15. Everyone recommended against it, so we decided to take it. Actually, it was better than most of the roads in Yellowstone. I’m not kidding. We went through the U.S. Game and Fish Red Rock Wilderness Preserve, which is home mostly to moose, trumpeter swans, and game birds. There’s lot’s of duck hunting lodges across the road from the preserve, so I assume there’s hunting in the preserve. In the fifty miles to I-15 we saw no more than 5 or 6 ranches. Suddenly, ahead was what looked like a small community. Passing a barn on the left and house with a car in the driveway on the right, the Union Pacific Railroad was straight ahead and I-15 right behind it. Facing the railroad was a row of abandoned buildings from early in this century. “Wm. Miller Garage — Oils and Repairs” was across the road. On the corner was “Monida Mercantile Co.” Next to it was “Jack’s U.S. Post Office Store Ice Cream.” The next building’s sign was illegible. All had been abandoned for years. Tom and I arrived in Dillon, Montana, and excitement was in the air. We drove down Montana Street and immediately noticed people on the sidewalks with cans of beer. No “open container” laws here! After the Terri Clark concert at the fair grounds, Montana Street was blocked off for a street party. The few persons walking with beers earlier in the day turned into hundreds. The bars had walk-up windows with $2 beers or 3 for $5. After a night of revelry Tom and I rolled out sleeping bags in the bed of the pickup parked in the city park. ***** Dillon, Montana is a beautiful town of 4,004 (6,000 if you add the county residents that live within three miles of the city, according to the Chamber of Commerce). It is situated on the Union Pacific Railroad line and named after a former president of the railroad. They have an attractive restored rail station downtown that houses both the Chamber of Commerce and an office of Montana State Tourism. Like most Montana towns, there’s a section of downtown blocks filled with saloons. Someday I think I’ll write a book about the colorful saloons in these small towns and call it “Montana Pub Crawl” or something like that. The neat thing about “Montana’s Biggest Weekend” is that the whole town turned out; that they all seemed to enjoy the block party in front of the saloons; that nobody seemed to be drunk (except one interminable town drunk); that nothing, except a mounted moose head knocked off the wall of the Moose Bar, got damaged; and that nobody was judgmental. To be continued tomorrow . . .  |
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