Hiking to jobs

Hi all,
Well I said we had some exciting news and guess what- oh I'll tell ya later.)
We had a nice and quiet Fathers day, Wendy had to work 8-5 so a little fishing for me and calls from the kids. We also had a yummy Omaha steak dinner that the kids provided for us.
 For our days off we took a hike on the Prairie Trail in the park. A nice moderate three mile hike that was to showcase wild flowers. We thought that the flowers wouldn't be out yet but were actually surprised to see quite a few.

 As with most all trails here you have to climb the Hills, but the views were great. It was also a good place to be in the open as the wind in the ponderosa pines were creating almost a fog of pollen. We never have seen pollen like this and were surprised to see it in the pines. Thankfully we don't suffer from allergies or we would be miserable.

 Also had a nice meeting with another couple that volunteer in the park. Doug and Betty are from Florida and have worked in the park for six years. She works in the office and he does maintenance projects, he is now painting picnic tables. There really is a multitude of jobs here offered, some paid and others as volunteer.
 To elaborate more on the different opportunities there are volunteers manning the visitor centers and Badger Hole, a cabin that was owned by poet Badger Clark. We also have volunteer cabin cleaners and some operating the sani truck on vault toilets. There were some doing an elk study last year and we met one couple who works the Mickelson Bike trail. Now if you want pay we have campground attendants like Wendy, five entrance stations that require 2-4 people each. Maintenance also offers many positions and then we hire naturalist to do many programs throughout the park.
 I probably missed a bunch but it just shows that whatever type of work trips your trigger you may find it here. Note: our supervisor tries to fill next seasons host and vol. cabin cleaners by October the previous year so apply early. Applications for most paid positions begin around Feb. 1st.
  On Tuesday we took a ride up to Hill City. We were just there to bum the streets and have lunch. We did use our volunteer passes to visit the Museum at Black Hills Institute. It is a small museum featuring rock, fossils and everything prehistoric. A small museum not real exciting to us.
 Okay the moment you have been waiting for- We Got A Job!! How exciting- we landed our winter gig at Suwanee State Park in Live Oak Fla. We were trying to find one in northern Florida as our daughter Amanda has recently taken a job there. It will be nice to be near some family for the holidays.
 Our job is as cabin cleaners- ( Wendy just can't leave the cleaning stuff) . This is a small 30 site campground with five cabins. The cabins are nice size with kitchens and baths which is more than we have seen. They also provide linens so I will have to learn to make a bed-----')
 We will be there four months  Nov.  through Feb. Amanda has been to the park and gave it a good review as nice and clean.
  Had to include this little guy who just wouldn't leave our tablecloth alone.  Must have sure gave himself a belly ache.