Favorite Summer Job: Yellowstone National Park

Summer jobs are a rite of passage.   My first real job was working in the kitchen at a local restaurant.   Now with my fancy knowledge of the food and beverage world, I could say that I was in garde manger.     In reality, I was the only girl in a kitchen of guys making a whole lot of salads. 

And then there was the summer at a western theme restaurant where I wore saloon girl dress...that's a tale for another time. 

It's been quite a few years since I had a summer job.    Now I have a career.   And I love what I do.   But there is the wanderlusty part of me that would like the opportunity to hop up to Alaska for the summer or to a tropical island for the winter.

Hands down, of all the summer jobs that I had, the summer I spent at Yellowstone National Park was the best.    I have three months worth of reasons, but here a just a few.   With pictures.    Pictures that I took on my cell phone of pictures that are in my scrapbook.   Because this western adventure was handled with a film camera.   That's right.   No cell phones.   No ipods.  No facebook.  

Just a whole bunch of kids living in cabins, drinking Fat Tire or Moose Drool, and telling tales of hikes, waterfalls and bear jams.    This is Yellowstone.  

In order to get to YNP from Illinois, you must take a road trip.

Every good road trip deserves a visit to a ghost town.  

YNP:  Where bull elk hang out by the post office

I spent the summer at Roosevelt Lodge

The view from the front porch of the lodge

Those little cabins?  That was home.

 The dining room where I was a manager

Sometimes we did this on our days off

And sometimes we did this instead

So hard to say goodbye...

If working at Yellowstone sounds like a great way to spend a summer, click here to learn about job opportunities.   If another national park strikes your fancy, just do a search for ___________ (name of the park) jobs.    Bottom line?   You'll get to spend a season, or more, at a beautiful place that most people only get to explore for a few days of their vacation.  

Be the local expert that knows the sights that can't be found along the road or at a designated scenic viewpoint.  Eat huckleberry ice cream until you burst.  Learn how to throw a hay bale.  Step off the trail to let a bear pass.   It's all part of the adventure.   

What was your favorite summer job?