Our first week here in Wyoming

We have had a busy first week here at the KOA. I spent most of my week helping digging trenches and installing plumbing and water lines for the seven new cabins that should arrive by the end of this week. It has been hard work, the ground here is muddy and there are more rocks than dirt. We do have a couple of big machines to do most of the heavy work but I have spent most of the time operating a shovel.

Victoria has also been very busy learning two different reservation programs along with all the rest of office operations. She is taking it all in stride and we both feel a bit overwhelmed. Our managers tell us it will get easier as time goes on although it will also get busier as time goes on.

The weather here is crazy, we had snow a week ago and today is in the seventies. That is part of life here in the great north west.

A light dusting of snow

Saturday we got a day off and we decided to head out to see some more of the area. We drove down to the National Elk Refuge to see what was wondering the area. The elk had mostly moved on to higher ground but as we drove through the refuge we came across a small heard of big horn sheep. We didn’t see any of the big horn guys but there were plenty of the small horn type.

Big horn sheep

Smile

As we drove along we spied a small group of bison just off the road. These are huge animals; they are about the size of your average mid size sedan. You don’t want to get to close to these guys they are responsible for more deaths in Teton and Yellowstone parks than any other wildlife.

Bison

These guys were everywhere

We had to work on Sunday and Monday but only partial days. We got off at 1:30, plenty of time for my first bike ride of the season. I left the campground heading north on a side road that leads me to a paved bike path that follows the highway all the way to Jackson. I rode into town and back enjoying the beautiful scenic vistas. It is a 25 mile round trip with several steep hills so it was a good work out.

We have today “Tuesday” and Wednesday off. One of the benefits we have here at Snake River Park KOA is river rafting. The owner here also owns Dave Hanson Whitewater Rafting, as employees we can go on raft trips whenever there is open seats on the boat. So this morning we were picked up right here at the office and shuttled to the river with the rest of the “paying” customers.

Launching the boats

Happy rafter

This was the first float trip of the season so we were very pleased to be included. A float trip is a nice leisurely float down the river where we just sit back and enjoy the great scenery. The weather was great, sunny and warm. We saw several eagles and dozens of ducks and geese. We also saw a beaver dam and hundreds of downed trees that the beavers cut down but no beaver.

Rollin,Rollin, Rollin down the river

One of the many eagles

We enjoyed the float down the river and were done around 1:00. The sun and wind made us hungry and tired so on arrival home we had a nice lunch and rested up for the next adventure.