Monday, September 22, 2008
Lewis Lake Campground, Yellowstone NP, WY: Aug 27-Sept 21
This CG is indistinguishable from a Forest Service CG. There are 80 sites set in a lodgepole pine forest, on four loops (one tents-only) with no utilities. Water is available near the pit-toilets, at least one per loop. We had our own water spigot for filling our fresh-water tank -- the water pressure was insufficient to hook up to. The water, which came from Lewis Lake, was probably the best I've ever tasted, having been minimally treated. Electricity came from our solar panels; the park also provided a set but due to a strange wiring configuration, Doug was unable to hook them up through our controller. 
We were initially getting around six hours per day of solar through a window in the trees, but as the days got shorter & the sun lower, we were getting less than four by the time we left. Doug hooked the park's panels directly to our batteries for a few hours on two separate days during long stretches of cloudiness. Our 3-year-old AGM batteries worked better than our original batteries ever did.
The timing of our stay here was bad for several reasons. We arrived on a Wednesday, and were scheduled to volunteer Thursday though Sunday. 
Although this position was presented as campground host, our actual duties were manning the Ranger Station at Lewis Lake from 9am to 4pm with an hour back home for lunch. We also made 3 rounds of the cg during our working hours. The weather was ideal those first four days. Monday, Sept 1, our first day off, we woke up to snow. When we turned on the furnace, it immediately began to squeal. We checked in our (ten-year old) service manual which listed a service rep in West Yellowstone. Even more amazing, he was still in business. He was able to come down & replace the furnace motor (if you think the service charge in your neighborhood is bad, try all the way across Yellowstone NP!). Thus began our first stretch of cold, cloudy weather that lasted till the following Monday, which was the day we drove Amber to the vet in Jackson. 
She died in Willie's arms on the way down. Three days later we repeated the trip for Rainbow. These experiences did nothing to endear us to the place!It was also the first year of new management for the cg, since the previous ranger had just retired after 35 years there. No one knew who was really in charge or what should be going on. Things were starting to get figured out later in our stay, but it was very hard to deal with.
By our third week we were becoming exceedingly disgruntled with our volunteering. When the position was first offered to us in February (by phone) we were told that 1) we needed to arrive on Aug 24 and set up in one of the full-hookup sites near the south entrance "for a week of training"; 2) that we probably could not get a cell-phone signal at Lewis Lake but could drive to the south Ranger Station and get on the internet there; and 3) that if it got too cold we could move back to one of the full-hookup sites by the south entrance. As time got closer, we were told to arrive on Sept 1. We balked at the idea of trying to find a place near Yellowstone to park over Labor Day Weekend at such short notice (to say nothing of having to pay for it). 
We asked why we couldn't use one of the full-hookup spots, and were informed that there were only two, and both would be occupied until well into September. At this point we were feeling uneasy about the whole arrangement, but decided to go ahead with our commitment.
After we arrived we were informed that we would not be allowed access to the internet, and that we could not move down to one of the two full-hookup sites, even after they were vacated. Further, the frequent ranger support we were promised dwindled from infrequent to never. Besides using propane exclusively for cooking & the refrigerator, we were running our propane heater most of time, forcing us to spend $30 every 6 or 7 days on propane. When we asked if we could get some sort of reimbursement, we were told that every other no-hookup volunteer position in Yellowstone was reimbursed for propane, but that Lewis Lake's position had not been budgeted for it. In other words, no reimbursement. 
And we were receiving no emotional support, no social support at all -- we felt like we had been abandoned. Fortunately, Susan LeFever (a friend from Boulder) had coincidentally planned to visit us starting Sept 11, the day Rainbow died. That alone probably saved our sanity and gave us much-needed comfort. 
The following week we tried to get out sightseeing as much as possible, hiking to Natural Bridge with Betty Prange, a fellow Escapee we had met in Benson, and visiting many of the thermal features. It was heart-rending to come back home to poor Trixie, confused & lonely. It was then we decided, as one friend put it, to vote with our feet. When we told the ranger who had "hired" us that we were planning to leave after the weekend, his response was to slam the Ranger Station door on his way out after dismissing us curtly. 
However, Josh, the new supervisor, was more than pleasant about it and gave some really glowing comments. He said he would have us back any time, that he didn't blame us for leaving, that they would do better by us next time, and that he would recommend us for any other volunteer positions at Yellowstone. It was nice to not burn bridges but still be able to do what we felt we needed to do.# posted by Doug and Willie @ 6:41 AM 
