Working at the General Store

Welcome to the Tower Falls General Store! The store is where Rob and I spend most of our time these days. It’s nestled in a little valley just northwest of Dunraven Pass, the last road to open in the park every year due to its elevation and the massive amount of snowfall it receives every year. And given that it’s such a remote location, you might be surprised to know that we are the third-busiest fountain in the park. The reason for this is probably due to our location: it’s an 18-mile drive to Mammoth Hot Springs in one direction, and a 15-mile drive to Canyon Village in the other direction. We’re also located near the Lamar Valley, where people congregate before dawn to view bison, moose, and bears, and by the time we open in the morning, they’ve worked up quite an appetite!

The falls themselves are around back of the store, and the store is located downstream of our campground on Tower Creek. I like to hike down to the falls in the morning, when the viewing is best in my opinion, as the light refracts in a beautiful rainbow in the mist off the rocks. Definitely the most inspiring part of my morning! Tower Creek seems like a misnomer, as I think of creeks as sleepy little trickles of water. This one has roaring rapids, at least at this time of year, and we can hear the creek any time we’re outside of the trailer. Our walk is about a half mile, with a 150ft elevation change: downhill in the morning, uphill at night. At lunch time, we are divided into shifts of about 7 people and get bussed up to the EDR for our 30-minute lunch. But breaks are on our own, usually out behind the store next to the creek.

Our store contains a melange of groceries, souvenirs, apparel, and camping goods. Next to our dorm and campground is the Tower Creek Campground, which opened to the public a couple weeks ago for the first time in three years. I picture folks running down the hill for last-minute necessities, such as groceries, matches, or fishing gear, but we also sell things like coolers, tents, sleeping bags, and hatchets. Why we sell hatchets I don’t know because you’re certainly not allowed to cut down any trees in a national park. But we do. Our high-ticket items are binoculars and hunting knives. Again, no clue because hunting or killing anything in the park is a federal offense. So just don’t. But you can fish, provided you have a fishing license, which we do sell along with poles, reels, lures, and line. And we have the printed guide that tells you where you can fish and what you’re legally allowed to catch. Rob bought a fly-fishing pole last summer and just got his license for 2025, so he’ll be hip-deep in the streams again soon.

Kids are always trying on the fake coonskin caps in the Youth section of the store. And the stuffed bears, bison, and moose make very popular gifts.

When we first arrived, my supervisor told me that we would be working four days a week, with three days off, since we are working 9-hour shifts. And she said that the job was kind of tiring so they would have us work two days on, one day off, then two on/two off. I kind of scoffed at that at first… after all, I’m used to a five-day week. How hard can this be? Turns out, it’s completely exhausting. I’m certainly glad I didn’t wait until I was 65 to do this: it’s hard enough right now! When the store first opened, we weren’t fully staffed and so it was kind of an all-hands-on-deck situation. I think I worked five days before getting a day off, and it was all I could do to drag myself through each day. Now that more staff have arrived, this week has been the first week I’ve gotten to try out the two-on/one-off schedule, and it’s much happier!

For months I’ve been telling everyone that I’ll be scooping ice cream all summer at Yellowstone. Which is indeed true, but it turns out that’s only the tip of the iceberg! We also serve hot dogs, bison brats, and chili, which takes lots and lots of prep work. People are constantly asking what I recommend from the menu. Truth be told, I don’t eat any of this stuff, ever. I swallowed the one bite we all got to try for each of the menu items without complaint, and I’m good for the summer. Now the ice cream is another matter. Just as we did with the hot food, we had to test each flavor so we’d know what we were talking about. And each one turns out to be completely delicious, in its own unique way! For instance, Graham Slam is graham cracker-flavored ice cream, with a graham cracker ribbon, and chocolate-covered graham cracker pieces mixed in. It’s the bomb! I don’t even like graham crackers and I love this flavor! The ice cream is made by Wilcoxson’s, a Montana-based company with quite a following around here. And deservedly so.

Although most days I don’t eat any ice cream at all. There simply isn’t time. We are constantly pre-heating meats and chili, serving them up, re-stocking menu items, condiments, and cups of every conceivable variety, and restocking the coffee bar up front, which for some reason is our responsibility too. Along with running the cash register, wiping counters, mopping the floor in our area, and fixing the super-temperamental Pepsi machine. Our days fly by in a way I’ve really never experienced before.

But my co-workers make it a fun day, and our supervisor keeps the whole thing from turning into complete pandemonium! And at the end of the day, I get to walk up the hill to the trailer, eat another great home-cooked meal with everyone, and then head out for a drive, a hike, or a soak in one of the nearby hot springs. The things that remind me why I’m here in the first place!