Mammoth Hot Springs

We hiked Mammoth Hot Srings on a beautiful day. Above are the travertine terraces. Below is Liberty Cap; it is a dormant hot springs. These "wonders of nature" are one mile from where we live.

Sometimes the wind blows the sulphur vapors into our apartment. The first time this happened Nancy blamed Jim. However, since it has happened a few times during Jim's absence, he has been exonerated from the false accusation.

Mammoth Hot Springs Apartment

This is the photo of the living room when we first arrived. The plastic bag has a comforter and pillows that were provided by Medcor. Last week we went to Bozeman, MT (90 minutes away) and shopped the yard sales for a desk, curtains, and bookcase. The next photo is after we re-arranged and set-up the desk. By the way, the love seat is a single size hide-a-bed. Plus we have a queen and two twin Aero Beds that can be set up in the living room (as needed).

This is the other end of the living room looking into the bathroom and kitchen. The dining table is on the right. This photo shows how it looked on our arrival and the next photo shows the room with our "stuff".

There is a little bit of our bicycles showing in the "after" photo.

The before and after photos of the kitchen.

Our bedroom has two beds at the moment (a full and a twin). We are waiting on a queen bed.

Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake was still frozen when we arrived. Lake Clinic looks out over the lake. The days are finally warming up and the snow and ice is melting. Yeah--Spring is coming to Yellowstone!

Nancy's First Yellowstone Bear

Nancy saw her first Yellowstone bear on her way to work this morning. Jim thinks it is a Black Bear.

Medcor's Team Yellowstone

A group photo of all the clinic staff that have been in orientation this week. Our fellow providers and nurses hail from all over the US map: Maryland, New York, Texas, Oregon, Colorado, Montana, Georgia, Wisconsin, Wyoming (to name a few states). A fun and knowledgable group. We are looking forward to working alongside these folks. Did you notice the three feet of snow? This photo was taken in front of the Lake Clinic (where Nancy will work).

Bison at the back door

"Buff" likes to eat and rest outside our back door. He seems content and laid back but we aren't getting near him. If he wants to lounge in the back yard--fine--he can have it all to himself!

The Grounds Keeper

This is B-52, our gardener. Not only does he keep the grass short he fertilizes on a regular basis.

First Morning

We woke up to snow. We have first day of orientation at Lake Clinic. However, the snow was heavier in the park interior so orientation has delayed until the road to the clinic was cleared.

Welcoming Committee

Debbie is showing us our apartment. A herd of Elk welcomed us to the neighborhood.

We arrived! We entered through the North Entrance near Gardiner, Montana.

Roosevelt Arch

The Roosevelt Arch was designed by the same architect that designed the gorgeous Old Faithful Inn. The Arch is the North entrance. There will be long lines of vehicles most of the time. Fortunately there is an employee entrance. The gates to the park are open 24 hours.

On The Road Again

Nancy took this photo through the windshield (somewhere on Interstate 90). We drove two vehicles. Jim drove the gas hog SUV (18 mpg) and I drove the economical compact sedan (35 mpg). We found gasoline prices ranging from $3.45 (Montana) to $3.89 (South Dakota).

We drove the distance between La Crosse, WI to Yellowstone in two uneventful days.

We will be working at different clinic locations on the same days of the week. Our home base will be in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY. Jim will work at the Mammoth Clinic. Nancy will work at the Lake Clinic. The Lake Clinic is 52 miles from Mammoth Springs.