Work Hard, Play Hard

At Tower Falls, we work hard! In one of my early posts, I talked about how exhausting and physically demanding my job in the fountain is. But strangely enough, after a few weeks it stopped feeling so hard. Thanks to building up muscle and stamina, I’ve found myself really enjoying my workdays. My feet don’t hurt anymore, and I can scoop ice cream all afternoon with no more than a couple breaks whenever there’s a lull in the line.

Which means that we have some time to play! And we play every bit as hard as we work. In fact, I must have played a little too hard yesterday because I sprained my ankle on the Wolf Lake Trail. Unfortunately, we were about two miles into the hike at that point, and as everyone knows, there’s only one way out! So I’m resting in the Airstream today, with my foot on ice. But plenty of time to write about some of our recent adventures inside and outside of the store!

One of the first extracurricular activities we’ve enjoyed was Bob Ross Painting Night, organized by one of our co-workers, who brought paint supplies and a Bob Ross video to the rec room. And although I was not able to attend to due a conflicting engagement, I got to admire the talents of my co-workers, whose paintings are all now on display in the EDR. The painting on the bottom right is Rob’s! You know, Rob Ross!

The following week, we went whitewater rafting on the Yellowstone River with some of our co-workers! The river has Category 2 and 3 rapids, so nothing too death-defying, but we spent a great day in the sun out on the water. And really, we got the better part of the bargain as we learned when we got back home that a major storm blew through the campground while we were out on the water 25 miles away, depositing golf-ball size hail on everyone’s rigs!

We also have bonfires in the fire ring behind the employee campground every few weeks. At the last one, I was asked to lead a mindfulness meditation session beforehand. Not many folks showed up for the meditation part, but I hope the few who did got something out of it! One co-worker brought sage and crystals and invited people to write down something they would like to let go of, and throw it in the fire. At an earlier campfire, someone brought a guitar and we had a sing-along of old-school classics and newer pop hits. And there are always lawn games like cornhole in the background, ready to be played!

There’s also fun to be had in town. In Gardiner, MT, there’s a bar called the Blue Goose that hosts live music on Friday and Saturday nights. They were once in a little storefront across the street from the park entrance, but a massive fire in 2020 burned down the block. So now they face a huge outdoor area, with room for picnic tables, food trucks, and a stage. People bring their kids and hang out all night, eating BBQ and dancing. We’ve seen some great local bands here and hope to go again soon!

And sometimes we even manage to work hard and play hard at the same time! On the Fourth of July, we all wore patriotic t-shirts and offered some holiday specials, and the store held a festive employee hat contest! A random family of tourists was invited to serve as judges for the contest, whose categories were Craziest, Most Patriotic, and Most Yellowstone. I gussied up a Jacaru I inherited from my mom with plastic animals and fishing lures and won Most Yellowstone. Here’s a photo of all three winning entries!

Finally, last night our bosses held a special event just for us down at the store after closing time–Tower Falls Night–which featured special hors d’oeuvres brought down from the EDR, along with sampling of all the special Yellowstone food items we carry, such as huckleberry vodka and liqueur, hand-crafted root beer, bison and elk jerky, huckleberry-coated popcorn, huckleberry-infused chocolates, and of course all of our delicious Wilcoxson’s ice cream flavors! Rob and I had fun trying on hats in the store, and we all walked down to the falls (with some of us hobbling on our sprained ankles) for some group photos. We have so much fun spending time with this group of folks, both at work and at play, it’s hard to believe that we are halfway through the summer and that this won’t last forever. But we’re already losing one co-worker to his school schedule, which starts in two weeks, and others will most certainly follow. And one day, even we ourselves will be hooking up the Airstream and heading out for parts as-yet unknown. So we try to make the most of these great times while they’re still happening. Because in case there is still any doubt in your mind, we’re having the time of our lives.