Wolf T-Shirts Are AWESOME!

So I've come to the conclusion over the last few days that wolf t-shirts are AMAZING. In order to fit in here at Montana I need to buy one. You guys all know the type of shirts I'm talking about. They usually feature one or more wolves (or wolfs) on the front of a t-shirt sometimes running, sometimes howling at the moon, sometimes snarling and always looking totally 100% awesome.

We are lucky enough to have some of these wolf t-shirts at our KOA gift store. But they aren't your average, ordinary wolf shirts...these shirts are two-toned and feature several wolves on the front, but offer a special challenge....there are 9 hidden wolves somewhere on shirt.Who could resist a shirt like that?

Yesterday a lady came into the store and freaked out when she saw our wolf shirts..."Oh...my...gosh....I HAVE TO HAVE THIS SHIRT....JUST LOOK AT THIS SHIRT" she exclaimed. She then made me hide the wolf shirt until she came back with more money. Simply stated, she flipped out. With good reason, they ARE awesome...I spent the afternoon today in town looking for a sweet wolf t-shirt to buy for myself. I think I found a winner. I'm going to look GOOD in this shirt.

Emily was kind enough to send me a link to this amazing wolf t-shirt website...check it out!

http://www.guidespot.com/guides/wolf_shirt_facts_amazon

Being Sick is Zero Fun

What? What's this? Another post on the same day...gee Carson must really be motivated...or really bored. Well this isn't going to be a very cheery post, I'm sorry. It's all about me being sick. It's a rant...so prepare yourself. But on the bright side: check out the sweet "sore throat" clipart I found online!

Being sick is no fun. What started as a mild throat irritation last Sunday has turned into a full blown cold. I know, I know..."a cold?"...big deal...but I am a guy and traditionally guys tend to overreact when they come down with a cold...so I'm just fitting into the stereotype, that's all.

I'm hot...then cold, I'm sweaty, I'm exhausted, I'm coughing, I'm sneezing, frankly...I'm unattractive.

The other night I woke up coughing uncontrollably so I took a cough drop thinking it would help. It didn't. I actually started choking on the cough drop and finally swallowed it whole. The whole time I was just thinking...I could choke to death here in my cabin in the middle of the night and nobody would be able to help me. This bites.

Friends have called and written me this last week, but I have barely enough energy to drag myself back through the cabin door every night, let alone to carry on a conversation with someone.

Work has been miserable since it involves quite a bit of verbal communication. Fortunately, I've gotten to work outside on bike rentals the last few nights which isn't quite so bad. I actually like doing it since it makes me feel like a carnie (carnival person). I sit there in my little wooden hut with a sign hanging in front of me that reads "Bike Rentals: Single Seaters- $7 for 1/2 hour, Multi Seaters- $10 for 1/2 hour." It's great. I just sit there and stare as people walk on by and take their money when they want to go for a ride.

I know my sore throat has affected my speech...I can tell by the way customers stare at me. They're thinking, "What's wrong with this guy's voice?!" I mutter my usual mantra: "This rental is just for 1/2 hour, here's a flag, have fun, and please don't get hit by a car" (when there are accidents that tends to reflect poorly on myself). I then push their bike out onto the road. After a few wobbly pedals they're on their way. What's even worse than my speech is when I try to swallow mid-sentence. I watch as the children's eyes widen in horror as they watch me try to swallow my own saliva which I imagine looks more like I'm trying to swallow a jagged little pill (yes, I did just reference an Alanis Morissette album, deal with it).

I'm surviving on a steady diet of DayQuil and Cool Ranch Doritos. Okay, actually I've tried to overload on Vitamin C by eating plenty of fruit and chugging down the Sunny D. So far, I've gone through two boxes of cold medicine and have finished off a bottle of Nyquil with no signs of improvement. The labels on the medicine say that if the symptoms continue for over 7 days you should consult a physician.

I'm fairly certain that some sort of antibiotic would successfully kill whatever has set-up camp in my throat. So, if my throat isn't feeling better by tomorrow I'm going to the clinic in town. I'm worried it might be strep throat again...I tend to get it fairly frequently...then again, maybe it's swine flu...I just heard that they have confirmed cases of it in Montana now. I know, I know, I'm over-reacting....I'm just thinking over all the possibilities. Whatever this is that has infected my body, and made me sound like a fool...I just hope it's gone soon.

Family Funfest

Once again, I apologize for the week long absence. This past week has been pretty busy: my family visited, I've been struggling through work while sick, and to top it off, the internet here has been on the fritz. So I've finally mustered up enough strength and ambition to write this post.

The fun began last Saturday when part of my family (Mom; two of my sisters, Cameo and Carly; and my nephew, Parker) arrived here at the campground. They got to see everything notable there is to see here: my boss, my coworkers, the bike rental hut, the pool, the Koffee Kabin, me serving-up fudge, and the pregnant girl. Yep, it was an exciting couple of days for them.

On Sunday, we went into town. I showed them where I attend church as well as various other "hot spots" around town. We ate lunch at a cafe and then went to the IMAX movie theater to see a showing of the film "Yellowstone," which coincidently was all about Yellowstone. We then did the whole tourist scene and shopped the stores in downtown West Yellowstone or "West" as the locals call it. I had to leave early to get back to work, but they stayed behind for awhile. Sunday night we had a campfire which included roasted weenies and smores. Teaan and Nate also joined in the family festivities.

On Monday, we went into the park and hiked a trail at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone down to the brink of the lower falls. Parker proved to be a good little hiker...as did Mom, who I must admit wasn't even breathing hard despite the sharp incline. We also went to Mammoth Hot Springs before returning to the KOA where we enjoyed another night of smores.

Tuesday, was a busy day. My family packed up there things and we headed to the lower loop of Yellowstone. We saw: Firehole Canyon, Paint Pots, Old Faithful, and the Grand Tetons. We drove through most of the Tetons and I took them to some of my favorite places like Jenny Lake and Mormon Row. The scenery there is so amazing, I was glad to share it with them.

We then continued on south to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where we parted ways after supper. They stayed there for the night and headed on back to Nebraska the next day. It was sad to see them go since I had such a good time with them here. Parker is hilarious. I was really glad they found the time to come visit. Not only was it a mini-vacation for them, but for me as well. The same monotonous schedule day after day can take a toll after awhile so a break was in order.

I won't be seeing them again until August 15th at Amy Sandefur and Matt Baller's wedding...AKA "The Wedding of the Century." Not to oversell it or anything, but it's going to be a rockin' awesome time. I can't wait to get my groove-thing on while at the reception. Oh yeah, prepare yourselves people.

Still want more...I'm about to do another post...hip-hip-hooray! The second post will actually probably appear above this one, so you've probably already read it...so in that case, you're all done, congratulations!

West Yelowstone Police Report:

So here are some of the highlights from this week's Police Report from the West Yellowstone newspaper. Apparently, there's not much serious crime that happens out here...

"7/8/09: Fire alarm at local motel. - No fire, guest had burned waffle breakfast"

"7/8/09: Truck vs. tree crash on Madison Arm Rd. Tree okay, truck will not start. - Gallatin County Sheriff office notified"

"7/10/09: Report of suspicious vehicle at Chamber of Commerce. Officer reported everything okay with vehicle, door just left open"

"7/10/09: Report of two motorcycles on HWY 20 heading to West Yellowstone. Reporting Party believes "they are going to kill someone". - Gallatin County Sheriff's office was notified. Suspects were gone on arrival of officer"

"7/12/09: Request for officer to come over right away an individual was "freaking out" and being violent. - Officer removed suspect and a no trespass order was issued"

AND MY FAVORITE...

"7/9/09: Man with truck that had North Dakota plates was giving himself sponge bath at Old Airport. Reporting party was concerned about "who knows what kind of mess" would be left and individual was showing way too much "crack". - When officer arrived at scene there was no alleged crack, gone on arrival"

They're Here....

So I found out today that the first bear sightings within the campground happened earlier this week. Yep, the bears are officially here. Apparently they have gotten into the dumpster here a couple of times and security had to chase them off. The dumpster they have been meddling in is exactly 62.5 steps away from our cabin's front door. A camper who was staying in a tent was even awoken by the noise the bear was making. I guess the maintenance crew was actually called out to clean up bear "scat" (AKA poop) the other day.

This news is both exciting and a little unnerving. Part of me wants to lure the bear right to my front window by leaving a steak on the sidewalk in front of the cabin. I really want to see one up close...as long as there is something between me and the bear that will keep me safe. The other part of me is terrified to step outside after dark now. I'll just have to be on my toes.

Coincidently, I just booked a tent site for my family to stay in while visiting me...the site is in the exact location the bear walked through. Go figure, the week my family comes is the same week the bears decide to infiltrate the campground. I'm thinking they might have an interesting visit.

My Tuesday in the Tetons

I woke up a little disappointed this morning because the sky was overcast and a chill was present in the air. Nate and I had reservations to go white water rafting today, but because of the weather we decided to reschedule. So I had to settle for my second choice for my day's activity...the Grand Tetons.

Grand Teton National Park is located directly south of Yellowstone. I knew that it would be an entire day excursion since it takes quite a while to drive through the park to get to the south entrance. I probably would have gotten to the Tetons faster than I did if there wasn't a major delay between West Yellowstone and Madison Junction. I don't know what really happened but it took me nearly an hour to drive 14 miles. There was a park ranger stationed near the bald eagle protected area...maybe some negligent tourist wasn't paying attention to the road while trying to get a picture of one of the birds and crashed his car? I don't know...just a theory.

I always thought of the Tetons as a D-list national park...that it was just a lame version of Yellowstone. Boy was I wrong. I was stunned at how majestic the Tetons actually were. I spent most of the afternoon driving from location to location in the park. Each scenic overlook more impressive than the previous. In many locations the mountains' pristine reflection could be seen in the lake that rests at their base. At Jenny Lake I leapt out onto a large rock near the shore. It was so peaceful having water completely surround me as I gazed out at the amazing scenery before me. It was also a good day for wildlife sighting; I saw several herds of bison, many elk, and TWO coyotes (each in different locations). I also hit a little ground squirrel with my car...that doesn't really count, but it's still technically wildlife.

I then worked my way down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Jackson is a fun, busy little city best known for it's elk antler arches in it's city square. While there I went to a few gift shops where I bought some souvenirs and a couple different t-shirts. I now have a shirt from Yellowstone, the Tetons, and Jackson Hole; as I bought my third one I realized that all three of them have a moose logo on them...woops. Oh well, I like moose...and so did the clerk at the gift shop (she helped me decide which one to get).

Okay, I have a confession. One of the gift shops I went to was run by a Native American and it mostly just sold hand crafted souvenirs. That's not the confession part. This is: this gift shop was going out of business so everything was discounted. Somehow they only charged me for about half of my stuff. I realized after I left that they mischarged me. I guess it's just another case of a white man ripping off the Indians...except it was their fault this time!

While in Jackson I also witnessed a reenactment of an old fashioned cowboy shoot-out. It was pretty fun to watch...they had everything that made the West great: gun shots (blanks), fighting, square dancing, and swooning women in long dresses. It was fun to drive around the town...about 14 years ago Carly and I stayed in a motel in Jackson with Grandma and Grandpa. I remember, that is where we saw "Three's Company" for the first time...we fell in love with it immediately. Good times.

This evening I made my way back through the Tetons. I took a different route where I saw old buildings from the homesteading days. One place I visited was a country chapel...the sign out front said "Come on in and pray." So I did. As I walked in, I realized that there were an unusual amount of people there for being such a remote place. I didn't think much of it and I continued to look around inside the church. I then noticed that there were a bunch of photos of the same lady on the table and walls in the entryway. Then I saw a stack of programs that said "In Loving Memory of Patricia L. Miles." I had accidently attented a memorial service. I was embarrassed...everyone there was probably wondering why some kid wearing jeans, a t-shirt, sunglasses, and a backwards hat was hanging out at a memorial service for someone he didn't even know. My bad.

Anyways, many of the other historic buildings were located down an isolated dirt road called Mormon Row. Now I don't want to oversell it, but in my 22.5 short years of life I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite as beautiful as the view from Mormon Row. Imagine an open meadow of wildflowers, prairie plants, and unspoiled earth nestled in the shadow of the majestic Tetons. There was even a small creek gently flowing nearby. The sun was setting just over the mountain line as I stood there on the dirt road, with nobody around me, simply listening to the purity of nature around me. It was a good day, a good day indeed.

The Indian Doll Search

I'm going to be honest with you. When working hours-upon-hours in the same space things can sometimes get a little boring. To keep ourselves amused, some of the other employees and I have created a few games to keep us entertained.

For example, the other day while cleaning cabins, Rose, the girl from Bosnia, and I created a game in which we would try to be the first one to identify the odor present in the cabin. One cabin reeked of alcohol, another smelled strongly of coffee, another had the choking odor of pepper, and the worst one had the lingering scent of urine. To really challenge ourselves we tried to figure out if it was human or dog urine scent...gross I know. We get THAT bored sometimes.

Today, in the office, we created a new game. One of the workers would hide a creepy, little, porcelain, Indian doll somewhere in the store. When the clock struck 5 pm all the other clerks would try to find the hidden doll (of course, we would have to help customers first if need be). The person who finds the doll gets to work the bike stand that night as a reward. Guess who the lucky winner was? Yep, Carson. The creepy hidden doll was hidden in a basket in the RV equipment section of the store.

I guess they did something similar last summer. One employee would take five items from the store and go put them in the wrong place somewhere. The rest of the clerks would then try to find the misplaced items and put them in their proper places...thus giving the clerks something to do. These types of games remind me of the episode of The Office called "Office Olympics" where they spend an entire day playing games instead of working.

So as the winner I got to work bikes tonight. I passed time outside by people watching. I saw a lady with a she-mullet and a kid with the same t-shirt as Audrey Haynes (the one with the chimp wearing 3-D glasses). I also witnessed a bike wreck and a dad lecturing his son on why it's perfectly okay to cut someone off because "that's how the pros do it." I also enjoyed getting to pet all the dogs that walked by. There was a shih tzu named Gidget, a Scottish terrier named Murphy, a golden retriever named Nana, and best of all...a blind weiner dog named Pokey.

To challenge/amuse myself tomorrow while working in the Koffee Kabin I'm going to try to sell at least 45 cups of coffee. Wish me luck.

Bozeman or Bust

Yesterday on my afternoon off I road-tripped up to Bozeman, Montana to get some supplies. The real reason I went is because Kim and her friend Chanele were completely out of food and needed to do some major shopping. Once again, Carson's Taxi Service was at work, but this time I actually got paid. Kim paid for all my gas there and back and even gave me a few extra bucks for my time.

It turned out to be a really fun day. It's always nice to escape to reality for awhile. One of the highlights happened on the way up to Bozeman: we saw a grizzly bear! It was just walking along the tree line a little ways off the side of the road. I screamed with glee and slammed on the breaks to get a better look while the car behind me slammed on the horn...I'm the kind of tourist the locals here hate.

The drive took a little over an hour and a half to get to Bozeman. It was an amazing hour and a half. Once again, the scenery here was breathtaking. I have come to realize that I thoroughly enjoy exploring new places: new buildings, new towns, new cities, new cultures, new countries. Anyways, when we got there we first went to Ross, a clothing store that Kim LOVES. She has been talking about shopping at Ross all summer! I have never seen her so happy. It was well worth the drive to see her kissing a pair of black high heels that she described as "oh so hot." She then spent over $300 on groceries at Wal-Mart...I spent $20.

I am also excited to read a couple of new books I bought: "Tuesdays with Morrie" and "Marley and Me." Both of them are inspirational bestsellers that could probably be considered tear-jerkers. I wanted to tell the cashier at the bookstore that I wasn't just buying them because I needed a good cry. I was a little bummed though because I asked the associate if they had "Tuesdays with Morrie" and she said, "Yes, it's in the DEATH & DYING section." Gee, I wonder how that book ends.

While eating supper Kim and Chenele told me more about Jamaican culture. I found out that what they actually speak is of English origin, but they talk so fast that it is hard to understand sometimes. It's like listening to someone speak in English only in fast-forward. Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patois (Patwa) or simply Jamaican, is an English–African creole language...pretty interesting.

They taught me some expressions and phrases too. My favorite was "pull up" which is usually shouted at clubs when people want the DJ to repeat a song. For example: if I'm getting my groove on at a Jamaican club and want the DJ to play "Aaron's Party" again I simply scream "PULL UP" and the DJ will play it again. I practiced several times...I'm pretty sure I would definitely fit in at a Jamaican club now....if you just ignore the fact that I have no rhythm.

Okay, I know I'm drilling it in the ground, but the scenery on the way home was awesome. I thought the drive back would be dark and boring. How wrong I was. The canyon was illuminated by the full moon (or at least nearly full moon) that hovered just over the pines on the mountains outline. The moon's glowing reflection could be seen in the rippling river that ran parallel to the road. The stars shone so bright in the dark blue sky and Kim confessed that she had never seen the Big Dipper before. It was all so picture-perfect. It looked like a scene straight from a movie...all that was missing was the wolf howling on the hillside.

Unfortunately, the beauty of my surroundings was interrupted when I had to slam on my breaks to avoid hitting a buck that was standing in the road. I nearly soiled myself. Kim screamed "What the heck is that!" Luckily, I'm a slow driver...and I discovered that it's not too hard to maneuver around a deer when you're only driving 25 mph on the highway. Drive 25: keep wildlife alive! That's my motto.

My Life This Week

MONDAY- During my afternoon off Nate and I went into town to play tennis. It was a good time except I lost big time. I guess I need to take a few more lessons from Jonny. I then stopped by the post office and picked up mail I got from friends and family. On Monday night, I worked the Lionshead RV camp all by myself...fortunately nothing bad happened.

TUESDAY- Tuesday is supposed to be my day off, but for some reason I got scheduled for the morning shift. Nate and I then road-tripped to Idaho Falls which was about two hours west, into Idaho from here. Along the way there was beautiful scenery and a great view of the Teton Mountains. Driving with the windows down is probably my favorite thing to do out here. It's so relaxing and freeing and gives me time to think.

While in Idaho Falls we went and saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which was pretty sweet. Equally as exciting were the previews before the movie...I'm especially excited about "The Last Airbender", the movie based on the Avatar cartoon series...the film is being directed my M. Night Shyamalan. It's gonna be sweet!

We then went to Best Buy and Wal-Mart. It was nice shopping at familiar stores where prices weren't outrageous. We stocked up on food (I've been craving pickles for weeks!) I also bought a few movies and Nate bought a few CDs (woot woot for Brad Paisley's new album).

Finally, the highlight of the day was getting to see my dear friend Hailey Jo who is living in Idaho Falls for the summer. We went to her house and met her dad and step-mom who were pretty cool cats. Hailey's basement is pretty much awesome...they have it decked out like a bar and have even got a pole installed for "dancing." We were also given the privilege of getting to write a message on the walls of the bathroom in the basement. We had a good time rocking out on Rock Band...I, of course, was the glue that held our band together. Nate and Hailey are a bunch of amateurs....really guys, you need to step it up a notch. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all.

WEDNESDAY- Wednesdays are no fun. I work from 9-12 at KOA; then 12:30-4:30 at Super 8; then 5-10 at KOA again. It's just go, go, go. Oh well. While at Super 8 a man had a heart attack at Lionshead next door. I watched as the ambulance pulled up and took away the man on a stretcher who apparently was minutes from dieing....I never heard if he made it...scary stuff.

THURSDAY- Thursday afternoon Nate and I went to Canyon Village in the park. We made the short hike to the rim of the lower falls where you get to overlook the river just as it plunges downward. I found myself mesmerized by the endless sea of emerald-colored water as it fell further and further down the falls. In a way the water falling reminded me of Humpty-Dumpty (ask Nate about that one). There's something about water that is so therapeutic...I could have stood there for hours. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long because we had to get back for work. I'd like to go back and hike some of the longer trails during one of my days off.

FRIDAY- I didn't have to work at Super 8 Friday morning so I got to sleep in actually. It was nice. I then did some laundry and chilled in the hot tub for awhile. On Friday night we went into town and hung out for awhile with some friends.

So that's that. You've read this all-to-lengthy post and are a bit disappointed. You're thinking, "That's it?" Perhaps you feel like you've been cheated, like you've wasted the last few minutes of your life. Sorry, my life was not more exciting this week. I will try to liven things up next week. Perhaps I'll communicate with customers using only Pig Latin next week...maybe that will make things a little more interesting.....or it might result in me getting fired for being an idiot. I'll let you know what happens.

Bear Sighting In Ohio

So Emily sent me this video...it's pretty much amazing. I just hope I'm a better reporter than this guy some day. (Just copy and paste this address in your browser...sorry the link function isn't working).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5C2gihnEkE