Cool Works ® Meet Up Wrap Up - 2009 - Part I

So the CoolWorks.com team is small and mighty and we meet about once a year. This year we decided with the growth of My CoolWorks to involve the tribe in our annual meeting in Yellowstone National Park. We were thrilled that people wanted to meet us and even more so that people continue to live their lives doing what they love in some of the most beautiful places on earth.

And so it begins.

Saturday, June 20

Kari aka Q flies from Seattle to Bozeman. Eric aka E drives south from Helena with family and camper in tow. And then there were two Cool Workers. We hang out in Bozeman whilst the weather rains and blows and make our way south to Gardiner, the North Entrance of Yellowstone National Park and the headquarters of CoolWorks.com and meet up with Bill aka B. And then there were three.

Sunday, June 21

We spent Sunday playing in the park doing a variety of fun activities.

• Climbing for E's boys - Braxton and Jayden, aka Captains Lewis and Clark.
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• Lunch / ice cream / Montana Monster cookies at Mammoth Hot Springs
• Hike to Wraith Falls
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• Bear jam near Tower
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• Time with a ranger we know gathering elk antlers.
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• Quick peek at Lamar Valley in the hopes of seeing wolves.
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• Drinks on the porch of the Roosevelt Lodge.
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• A BBQ at the Shack of Dreams aka SOD.

Monday, June 22

We set out around 10-11am and had a mission to deliver a dog and milk to the ranger we know at Tower. We stopped at Undine Falls to see the sight and to see some adorable flower children.





After the dog delivery we worked our way away from Tower and headed up Dunraven Pass, twitpic'ing and ping.fm'ing as we rolled along. We then rendezvoused with Kathi aka K and Patty aka P at the Lake Lodge. And then there were 5. : )

We scoped out the Lake Lodge and then took a lovely hike on the Elephant Back Trail. What a view! Most importantly, we got the all important annual Cool Works team photo.




We then had dinner at the Lodge and made our way across the building to the Rec Hall for B's talk about his Denali climbs. What a thrilling tale and story of perseverance.

We met some My CWers including Richard (Aggie71), Ryan (InTheories), and others who had used CoolWorks.com to find summer jobs in Alaska, Yellowstone and other places. Great fun.

We then had drinks with Richard and the whole CW team. What fun! Good for Richard following his heart to Bridge Bay and living in Yellowstone for a summer instead of staying at home in Texas.

The next day I hoped that I would be able to connect with a friend from Everett High School who was traveling with his family around Yellowstone National Park and luckily was staying at the same campground at Bridge Bay. After seeing the size of the campground, and learning that there were over 400 spaces, and the fact that our cell phones and internet were useless, I decided that it would be kismet if we met. Well, guess what? Sam and his family were just three spaces down from us. It doesn't get any easier than that. We chatted, got a photo (surprise, surprise) and went our merry ways. Love it.

The CW team then moved itself over to the lake shore for our meeting and enjoyed the amazing view.



K split from us there to head back to Bozeman and then there were 4. The rest of the team got some lunch and took in a bit more of the great view of Yellowstone Lake near Lake Hotel.



P and B met some old time park people and then we asked one of them to find Carol for us. : ) She was cooking at the EDR at the Lodge and he brought her out for a quick chat. Lots of energy and fire in her belly.

Then we truly headed for the Tetons. After you leave Yellowstone, you actually travel through the John D. Rockefeller Parkway where Flagg Ranch is located. In a brief moment when we turned on the radio we learned of the passing of Ed McMahon. "Here's Johnny!" no more.

We then entered Grand Teton National Park and were greeted with blue skies and magnificent peaks. We checked in at Signal Mountain Lodge and then happened upon Kelcy and the crew in the midst of their staff Olympics. Let me say for the record that the vibe at that place is awesome. I want to work there! We settled in and then caught the tail end of the horseshoe event. We walked up to a whole mess of folks screaming "Cool Works!" That was the best. We met a bunch of folks who found their jobs at Signal via CoolWorks.com and were pleased that Ruth and her co-worker, Morgan, came down from Colter Bay run by Grand Teton Lodge Company to say hi.

We actually went to Colter Bay to clean up and then had pizza yumminess at Leek's Marina run by Signal Mountain Lodge. Post dinner we had the requisite house blackberry margaritas back at the Lodge. More yum and we had a nice chat with the bartender, Adam, who was working his 4th season at SML.



And so ended day one in the Tetons.