Once again, I've been completely busy 99.9% of the time. my uncle, aunt, and cousin- Greg, Lilly, and Owen- came in and visited the area, so I spent most of the free time I had with them. They definitely spoiled me when I was with them. I've had some of the most amazing food since I've been here because of them. Due to my schedule, I was capable of spending two nights with them in West Yellowstone (which is in Montana). I had an afternoon/evening off, the next day completely off, and the following morning off as well, giving me 48 consecutive hours off for the first time since I've been here. Sometimes, I only have 8 hours from when I leave work in the evening til when I have to be back at work the following morning. During our full day in Yellowstone, we went hiking, saw some geysers erupt, walked around a bunch of springs, and of course, ate very well. Unfortunately, we didn't see much wildlife; however, we knew we wouldn't due to the things we chose to do that particular day. They left this morning, so I won't be getting anymore great meals until my parents decide to eventually come and see their youngest son. I was also able to take them on a float trip Thursday evening, which I think they really enjoyed. I know Mike, the guide, definitely enjoyed them on the raft and fortunately, Mike did not harass me too much during the trip.

I've had a few interesting things happen to me lately while on the job. Earlier this week, I was driving to the river with Mike as my boatsman. I had noticed a minivan parked on the opposite side of the road with the passenger door open. This is pretty common here, so I didn't think anything of it. However, I then saw a Park Ranger pull in front of the van turning on his lights. My immediate thoughts were the Ranger was going to talk to the van driver about pulling all the way off the road before stopping. However, all of a sudden, Mike yelled at me to stop, so I immediately hit my breaks and came to a complete stop. The van behind me almost hit me as he had to drive a little off the road. Then I noticed behind the van was a black bear with two cubs. She was trying to cross the road, and if Mike hadn't yelled at me to stop, there was a very good chance I could have hit her or one of the cubs. Of course, the guests didn't mind the sudden stop, especially since it meant they got to see 3 bears very close. The very next trip, I was driving back to the Lodge with guests and saw the exact same bears while I had different guests. And of course, then they say they want to see a Moose! It amazes me how much people can't be satisfied.

The next story is interesting, but not interesting in a good way. I had the early trips, so I was at work by 6:15 in the morning. On the way to the 6:45 trip, I had older lady vomit in the van. It was not very loud, and with only hearing the reactions of people, I had thought somebody had spilled coffee on themselves. I definitely wish that is what had happened. I was not far from the lodge, and had offered to turn around, but she said she didn't want to go back. Due to driving, I was not able to turn around see how much was there. My guide, Jake, was sitting in the very back seat, so he did not know the extent of it either. We got to the launching site, and that is when I had noticed how bad it was. The smell had actually made me nauseous, and I was surprised I didn't do the same thing the lady did earlier. However, she kept insisting she go on the trip, even with vomit on her. We had a family of four that had actually said they did not want to go on the trip if the lady was going. Fortunately, Jake was able to talk her and her daughter into re-scheduling for later in the day, so I had to take them back to the lodge. Unfortunately, guess who had to clean the van out? Yup, it was me. I had returned to the lodge around 7:50 and was supposed to take a group down to the river at 8:00, but fortunately we had a small enough group that another driver could take all of them down in his van. I ended up mopping (thankfully I had rubber flooring instead of carpet), disinfecting, vacuuming, rubbing it down with a wet rag, and using an Armor-All Air freshener on the whole interior of the van, and I still was hesitant to use the van. Later in the day, when I was using a different van, I thought I had smelled it, but then realized that it was such a distinct, very bad smell that my mind was playing tricks on me and made me think I was smelling it. Even though I was covered with long sleeves and gloves, I made sure to wash my hands plenty of times yesterday and take a shower as soon as possible. Hopefully, this will be a once-a-lifetime experience.

Anyways, back to the happy stuff, I will be adding pictures of Yellowstone and the float trip soon, so feel free to look at the end of the same album I've been using.

Take Care,
Adam Conrad

I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile. I really didn't think anybody would enjoy reading, "I worked 14 hours today and 12 hours yesterday and that's all I've done lately." I have had plenty of hours and just finished my third straight week of overtime, and since I am out here to work, that is just fine with me. I've been having a fun time out here away from work. All of our guide trainees graduated a week ago, so the 2nd of July we had a party for them. It was a big bonfire that lasted until around 3 in the morning. Because I had to work early the next morning, I obviously didn't stay the whole time. For the 4th of July, I went to a place called Shadow Mountain. We drove a few miles up the side of a mountain on a dirt road until we finally found our friends. Once again, we had another bonfire. I was also able to see two sets of fireworks from the mountainside, although they were far, far away. And because I had the 4th off, that has usually meant I work at 6:15 the next morning, which was true for the 5th. A lot of the people camped out on the mountain, but I chose to come back due to work the next morning. I also went to another party on Wednesday. One of my friends had a birthday, so her family actually came to visit. They went out to eat, but by the time I got there, food was already stopped due to me getting there so late. I had to work the 6:00 PM trip, so I did not leave for the party until 10:00. Although, I still had a great time with them. I haven't had too many interesting trips in awhile; however, last night I had a trip where the brother-in-law of the owner of the Philadelphia Phillies joined us. I did not find this out til after the trip I was walking back to my room and saw them sitting outside their cottage. I then talked to them some more, and that is when I found out his connection. He offered me a beer, which I reluctantly declined. I didn't think it was a good idea for guests to see a driver drinking, even if it was off the clock and done for the night. I haven't seen too much wildlife lately except for the usual elk, pronghorn, and bison. However, there have been a cow moose and her baby hanging out at one of our landing sites which I was able to get some pictures of. Unfortunately though, they were both laying down. I would have preferred them standing up. I was fortunate enough to see them swim half-way across the river. Once they saw the crowd on the bridge sprint to the other side of the river, the two moose turned around and returned to where they originally were. People need to realize it is ok to look at and take pictures of the moose, but the moose do not need a paparazzi or crowds. I also took some pictures of some elk that had ran across the road right in front of me. Luckily, guests weren't in the van when I had to slam on the brakes. I added the pictures to the end of the current album, so go back to that if you would like to see the animals. I will write when I have more worthwhile things to write about.

Take Care (and if you want a laugh, please read Dan Gilbert's, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, letter to Cavs fans here),
Adam Conrad

Pictures

I do not have an exciting update except I came within five feet of a moose and was driving right next to bison standing on the side of the road. Other than that, I've been working a lot and have to be up in to work at 6:15 in the morning. I just wanted to let you know that I had added some more pictures to the album. Just click here, and you will see the old pictures before the new pictures.

Christmas in June?

I was always under the impression that no other region changed weather as fast and frequently as the Midwest. I was mistaken. The last three days have shown me thunderstorms one day, snow the next, and finally sunshine. And, of course, I was scheduled to do three trips each the days of thunderstorms and snow. When we have bad weather, the guides will always try to politely talk the guests out of going and either receiving a full refund or the ability to re-schedule the trip. During the storm, we had started with 28 guests, meaning we needed at least three boats. By the time our guides were done with the talk, all but seven had canceled. Since my boat was the first on the schedule, that means I got to take them out. We had reached the launching point and started to prep the boat for launching when my guide got a radio call saying the Park Services had seen a lightning strike and issued a warning. The trip was then up to the guide, who wanted all the guests back in the van. The guests wanted to either go or wait the storm out, but my guide would not let them. I was able to put one hour in, while my other two trips were canceled. However, yesterday I was scheduled for three trips and all three went out. It had snowed all morning, and we still had full trips go out at 6:45, 8:00, and 9:00. I was on at 9:00 which 27 out of 48 guests went along. The sun finally came out, and my 1:30 and 6:00 trips were fine except for heavy winds.

I've been working with a lot of the younger guides lately, which I absolutely don't mind. Since I am a new driver, they like to have fun with me. Over the past week, according to the particular guide I was driving for, I have been a 24 hour online poker player that didn't sleep the night before; on work release from the federal penitentiary (twice), and a former backup dancer for the Backstreet Boys. Now, obviously, the guests were not fooled on most of them. Luke (who's last name is ConARd and has a younger brother named Adam!) was my driver and told the guests I was a dancer. I heard a bunch of "really" and "wow" and tried so hard not to laugh. Luke said if they were really nice to me, I would show them some moves. They really wanted to see them. After the trip, we unload the guests from the boat and have them go to the restroom while we load the boat on the trailer and get it ready for travel. After Luke and I finished with the boat and hopped in the van, he told the guests that while loading the boat, I was showing him some dance moves. All of the guests were disappointed they didn't see them. Does it surprise you that the majority of these guests were in their 70's?

Everyday I see more and more wildlife. Just yesterday, when I was taking my 1:30 trip back to the lodge we had a backup on the road due to bison crossing. About two cars in front of me, two bison were playing/fighting by headbutting all the way across the street. Of course, you have the idiot who is parked on the side of the road, taking pictures of the bison outside of the vehicle about ten feet from the bison. During my 6:00 trip, I was leaving the launch site, and had to drive up a 19% grade for about a mile in the woods. I was halfway up, and a pack of about 10 elk jumped out in front of me crossing the road.

Yesterday, I put in twelve hours, which is fine with me due to only putting in an hour the day before. I got to work at 8:30 yesterday morning and left at 9:15 at night. Yes, I only had 45 minutes off total to eat both lunch and dinner. Today, I only have two trips, a 1:30 and 6:00. That was definitely real nice, because when my head hit the pillow last night, I was out of it for a good ten hours. Hope you have a great weekend.

Take Care,
Adam Conrad

I just received word that Revon will not be able to stay here and work. He'll be leaving for Jamaica sometime this weekend, depending on when he can work out the travel plans. Please keep him in your prayers. He had a meeting today, and we talked for about an hour leading up to it on what could happen. I tried everything I could to keep his spirits up. Then he said how it stinks that we didn't have enough time to get to know one another.

Other than that, I had today off except I have to go to a seminar in about 45 minutes about nature, or the river, or something along those lines. Tomorrow is the first time I'll have 3 trips in one day. My first two trips will overlap, so I'll be very busy at that time.

First Days of Driving

Today marked the 4th day I've worked. Today also marked the 4th full day I've been here. Now that doesn't seem out of the ordinary; however, I am not used to working through the weekend. I've been told that it is not uncommon for float crew members to work 20-25 days in a row. So, the day of the week doesn't really matter to us unless we are looking at the schedules.

Today marked the third straight day I've seen bison. I have now seen the biggest bison herd in America. It was well over a hundred, which is over 1/6th the bison population in this region of the country. Bison is becoming so common to me, that I barely look. Today I was following a park ranger who was following a truck with an RV attached to it. The truck/RV stopped due to the bison (in the fields, NOT the road) and pulled over about 3 feet. Immediately, the ranger turned his lights on and got behind the RV. Now, my trailer is wider than my 15 passenger van I drive and the boat is wider than the trailer it is sitting on. Not only was I trying to get around this huge RV that just pulled over 3 feet in a no passing zone, but there were cars parked on the other side of the street. Needless to say, I did accomplish it, but it definitely wasn't easy. However, when passing the truck that was carrying the RV, I noticed that they had no idea the park ranger was right behind him.

Friday, I was able to see a bear with two cubs. While waiting for our trips to finish, another driver, Bryan, and I had walked about a mile and a half to a meal site. Since we usually don't have to do anything during the trips, we are capable of doing stuff like this. Everyday, we do a lunch trip and 6 days a week, we do a dinner float trip. During these trips, the guests are taken to this meal site which is really close to one of our pickup points. Once Bryan and I reached the meal site, the cook told us he had a visit from a bear. He didn't say how big, but it just wasn't around a long. Bryan and I helped the cook and his assistant set up, and then we were made a hamburger. Since it was getting close to our boats landing, we had to leave to walk the 1 1/2 miles right after our burgers were made. While eating, Bryan mentions that he hopes that bear still isn't around, which I hadn't even thought of. Luckily though, that is not when I saw the bear. We get back to the landing spot before the four boats are there and we wait for them. Straight across from the river is a huge hill going nearly straight up. It would be very hard for a person to climb it without using his hands. As soon as the first boat landed, we heard one float guide tell radio a guide behind him saying that bears are over there. Nonetheless, I look over and a bear with her two cubs were climbing that hill like it was nothing. In the afternoon, I had a 2:30 trip of just one boat, but there were three boats that left at 1:30. While I was waiting at the landing site for my boat to land, I helped land the 1:30 boats. I noticed that one boat had all Japanese guests in it. The guide's name was Jess, who I had two trips with the day before, and I asked him how it was. He told me that the one guest who knew a small amount of English told him that they didn't understand a word he said, so he didn't need to talk. He said it was one of the easiest trips he had ever done.

Yesterday, I also made the hike to the meal site to help set up. Although I did not see any bears, I did get another great burger out of it. I also saw plenty of muskrats around, which are not pretty animals. On my way back, I also saw about 6 turkey vultures surrounding an area about 75 feet from me. Even though I didn't walk over, I knew something had to have been dead for them to be around. A few minutes before my boat was supposed to land, I went down to the river to watch for them. While I was skipping rocks, I heard a big splash just below me in the water. I looked down and a river otter poked his head up and looked at me. I didn't move or make a sound, but it didn't take him long to go back down and never to have been seen again by me.

Today, I had an interesting day. I was scheduled to make only one trip, which was at 1:30 and have four boats of ten guests each. All I had to do was take my boat and guests down to the launching site, launch the boat and help the guests into the boat. Then I would drive to the landing site and help the guests unload and then load the boat. However, I did not know that we already had four boats in the water before my trip's four boats went in. We also only have six vans. What this meant was that two drivers were supposed to drive back to the lodge, drop the trailer they had, pick up the trailer for the other boats and drive to the farthest landing site we have. My boss radioed to the guides we would be picking up, and they said they could land within 45 minutes. Since it would take us 40 minutes to make the drive, we would have enough time to pick up those boats, come back to the lodge and get our original trailers to pick up our original trip. However, that 45 minutes it was supposed to take the guides took an hour and fifteen minutes. Fortunately, we had two vans come back in the meantime, who were able to take our original trailers and pick up our original trips.

I have definitely been able to experience the float crew as a fraternity. I have really hung out with them the last two nights. Tonight, our boss had a BBQ at his house, so I crawled into a guides Durango with seven other people for an hour and fifteen minutes to his house. It was definitely cramped inside that car; however, the party definitely made up for it. We left at 5:45 and didn't get back til 11:30. All we did was eat, drink, and hang out. Not such a bad time for being at your boss's house. Tomorrow, I have a different schedule. I get the morning off, but work til late. I'll start work at 1:00 and will work until 9:30 at the earliest. All in all, it's not such a bad job at all, and for some reason all the female employees are really impressed with people that work on the float crew. I'm sorry this is so long and if I bored you.

Take Care,
Adam Conrad

The Arrival

Yesterday, I drove about 6 hours to finally arrive at the Grand Tetons. About every ten minutes driving, I was in awe due to the amazing scenery I was seeing. Unfortunately, it rained the entire time driving until I got to Jackson Hole. I also was forced to drive about 6 miles on a dirt/mud road in the mountains due to construction. If you are wondering why I was in awe, here is the reason (I added the new pictures onto the end of the old ones). I am really perplexed to why more people don't live in Wyoming. When I arrived, I checked in and talked to one of my bosses within 1/2 an hour, and had the rest of the day to myself. However, the human resources department told me that somebody had accidentally cut the wrong line, and we were without internet and all phone (cell and landlines) for who knows how long. I was this close to telling them that I used to work for CT Communications and would have NEVER made that error, but I chose not to. I went to my room, and my roommate had a lot of stuff on my bed, dresser, etc., and I chose not to mess with it. I then chose to ride my bike around when I came to a turnabout overlooking the Tetons. I thought that was amazing. However, at the time, I had no idea I would be seeing better views of the Tetons multiple times a day every day. After the ride, I chose to walk around Jackson Lake Lodge, where I am staying/working. I ventured into a bar, but only for some iced tea and some ESPNews which was on. I practically became best friends with the bartenders. Not only did I get as many free glasses of Iced Tea as I wanted, but they also changed the station to the Cubs! After the Cubs won, I came back to find my roommate in the room. His name is Revon and is from Jamaica. He is incredibly nice, and I think he'll be a great roommate. Unfortunately, he has been having problems with his visa. He will find out tomorrow if he gets to stay or if he has to go back to Jamaica, so please keep him in your prayers. Luckily, we did receive our phone and internet service back this morning, which was also the first day on the job for me. I shadowed a trainee (a person who is training to be a float guide) today for my training. His name is Spencer and was a driver last year and will also drive this year when not guide training. He was an excellent teacher, and I think I already have everything down. That is until I actually try to do the stuff on my own. The Snake River, where our boats go down is currently higher and flowing faster than anytime in recent history. Due to that and rain for half the day, I was not around any guests today. However, I did get to help with the launch and pickup of a boat where a guide was scouting the waters. I got some practice in backing in a trailer, and I am a lot better at it than I thought I would be. While riding, I saw elk, pronghorns, pelicans, and a moose. I was told that I will absolutely see bears and bison, which I am pretty excited about. Since entering the park, I have not yet met one unhappy/rude person, whether it be an employee or guest. The guys I work with are some of the greatest people I've met. Spencer told me the float crews are pretty much like a fraternity. Although I wouldn't mind doing another job here, but I don't think anything here could be better than working with the floats. I am real excited about this summer, but really do hope it doesn't rain as much as it already has. Apparently, last year, it rained 26 days in June. I hope that doesn't repeat.

Take Care,
Adam Conrad

I hope you have a big trunk, because I'm going to put my bike in it!

I don't know why, but every time I looked in my rearview mirror and saw my bike on the back of my car, I thought of the above quote. Right now, I am in Rawlins, Wyoming. I am about 6 hours from The Grand Tetons.

Yesterday, I saw some real interesting things. Probably not as interesting to you, but I found joy in them. Did you know Indiana has a Tazewell County? How does one come up with a name like that? I can hear it now back in the day, "You better not mess up in this county, because we Tazewell!" Ok, I know, that was bad, but at least I got a chuckle out of it. I guess that is what happens when you drive almost 20 hours by yourself, you start laughing at your own horrible jokes. I think my drive yesterday should be labeled the 'Drive of Presidents.' Not only did I go through the Land of Lincoln and see a sign for the Home of Ronald Reagan, but for majority of the trip, I was on the Eisenhower Interstate. Both yesterday and today, I saw a lot of wind turbines. I really think we need to put more of these in Ohio, because they look really cool. Before I actually saw a turbine though, I saw a truck carrying a blade. It took me awhile to figure out what it was, because when it is leaning over a on all ends of a double trailer, you think it can't be those things that so easily move up in the sky. Ever since I got into Nebraska, I've been driving in a 75 MPH zone. I took a picture of it so you didn't think I was making it up as an excuse to speed. Speaking of speeding, the cops out were incredibly inconsistent. I saw from 10-15 cops in between home and Indianapolis. Once I got past Indianapolis, I saw approximately five the rest of the way. Now, if you don't know, cops love to come after me, so I've been very careful as I can't let anything hurt my employment status. Yesterday, I had the absolutely perfect weather to drive in. That was, until I noticed it. Literally about ten minutes after I thought I couldn't have better weather, it started raining. Fortunately, today I had amazing weather to drive in. I was able to witness 4 different "World's Largest" yesterday. Unfortunately, two were fireworks stores. I also was blessed to see the World's Largest Truck Stop and World's Largest Adult Superstore. Now, Iv'e never been inside an adult superstore, so I'm assuming it's either a Toys-R-Us for adults or a Baby Gap for Adults. Yesterday, I stopped in Lincoln, Nebraska, where the University of Nebraska is at, to spend the night. I am pretty sure the girl (who MIGHT have been a Nebraska student) was flirting with me, and I was just too blind to notice. Not only did she give me the AAA discount without having me show my card, but when I asked her if I could bring my bike into the room, she said she didn't think she was allowed to, but then said I could. Then, I'm pretty sure she rigged my keycard, so I could use it once and that was it- forcing me to go back down to see her. Then, I realized today the final hint. She made me right down my number on the hotel fill-out sheet, EXCEPT that was the only thing that didn't have a blank for, so she made me write it at the top. I thought this was just common practice. The hotel I am currently staying at had the same exact fill-out sheet, but didn't make me write down a number. Hmmmm...

Anyways, Here are pictures that I took today. If you aren't able to see them, I'll try to tinker with it a little bit so you can see them. I'm sure I have a lot more to tell, but I am exhausted right now and basketball is on, so this is it for now.

Take Care,
Adam Conrad

Driving Across the Country

My sister, Julie, gave me the idea to write this blog while my parents came up with the name. So, pretty much, the only person in my immediate family who didn't help is my brother, who decided to go to Mexico on a honeymoon.

In about 9 hours, I'll be on my way towards Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I will be working at the Grand Teton National Park transporting people to and from their float trips. I'll also be doing other things such as loading and unloading the floats to and from the the water and trailer. If you want a visual on what I'll be doing (or want to plan a visit), just go here. It is a cross between a customer service job and a tour guide. I need to be there on Wednesday, and start work on Thursday, so I am giving myself plenty of time to get there. It will take me approximately 24 hours to drive, which I am breaking up into three days. The park will be providing me with free lodging, and also feeding me three times a day, so I will have almost no expenses as I don't expect to be using any of my own gas. I plan on working until mid-September, which I am a little heart-broken about, because I will miss the first Ohio State game. I plan on taking lots of pictures while I'm there and sharing them. I'm sorry this is so short and hope I can make the rest of the entries longer, but I feel like I have shared as much information as I can before I actually leave. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment and also keep me in your prayers!

And since I would already be out in Wyoming if it wasn't for my brother's wedding, I expect Patrick and Rachel to take a second honeymoon to come see me this summer.

Take Care,
Adam Conrad