paddle-boating

Today was our last employee only day on campus....since opening day for the season is tomorrow, guests will begin arriving and things will change. We still had soooo much to do to get ready for opening day, but having the lodge and grounds to yourself before guests come up is an incredible experience...and my manager decided to give us the night to enjoy our own "private Redfish" one last time before guests arrived tomorrow afternoon. A couple of friends and I decided to go down to the docks and take out a paddle boat. Good thing the dock boys were still finishing up a few things before opening day....like docking more boats and finishing staining some of the docks, so we were able to have the lake all to ourselves in our little paddle boat. Unfortunately, I didn't take a camera with me out on the lake, but I got a few good shots on our way out to the docks. It was so fun to have the lake all to ourselves and to enjoy our own "private Redfish" one last time before guests begin to arrive!

yet another bonfire

I just thought I'd throw these up because some of them turned out really neat...I love a good fire, and looking back at the pics is fun =] and I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do.

day-off trip to Ketchum, Sun Valley & Hailey

Ok, so my manager was in Boise today (as part of her bi-monthly shopping trip for the store), and she gave me the option of taking the day off. She said....well, you are salary so you should take the time off while you can! So, I didn't think twice. Ketchum and Sun Valley aren't too far away from Stanley, so I decided to do some sight seeing. The only catch was that everyone else that I'm up here with was working at the Lodge, so this would have to be a solo trip....so, sorry, the pictures are of scenery again! Sometime soon I will put more people-pics up ;-}

I was able to walk around, and look at some of the cute little shops and things in Ketchum and Sun Valley...The day was nice and relaxing and the trip was a great little adventure...quick but good!

my final resting place

Yesterday had to be the best day up here so far.....we got the ok to move into the Ritz! It's our place in employee housing this summer. Jodi and I were soooo excited! We've been looking forward to really getting settled in and unpacking our cars. Finally, our rooms are clean so we can move in (and even more importantly...the womens showers and bathrooms upstairs are clean). That means no more living out of a suitcase in the Lodge!!!! Yipppppeeeeee! =]

The first thing we did after dinner was packing up our lodge rooms and hauling all our stuff the 1/4 mile down the road to what we lovingly call.......

"The Ritz"

and some views inside our house...

Luckily, I'm not in the bungalow's......


close-up

They are really cute, and super cozy....like you practically live like sardines. Each bungalow has two sides, which means 8 people live in one of each of these buildings. The boys are this side of each bungalow and there are girls on the other side of the bldg. There are 2 sets of bunkbeds and a small room with a toilet and a shower and a small sink. My friend, Karen, was nice enough to let me take pictures of her bungalow (her roommates aren't up here yet, so for now she has it all to herself.) They are new and nice.....but, can I tell you how happy I am to only have one roommate and not 3! It definitely makes me a happy girl =]

quick trip home, dusk and a bonfire

We have the best general manager....he let us off early saturday for mothers day. So, we in the store, worked until noon and then took advantage of Don's amazing cooking (homemade clam chowder for this meal....yummo! ;). However, I was one of the few that left the lodge to go somewhere for mothers day. I figured that with the lodge season opening coming up soon (May 22nd) that I'd better take the opportunity to leave while I had it! So, I made a quick trip home for mothers day....it was awesome!

I got back into Stanley about dusk on Sunday evening and the lighting was PeRFecT for some pictures....so I went for a walk around the grounds and I'm pretty proud of the pics =] Things around the lodge were pretty quiet and that is not normal...usually people are milling around that time of evening and have a group doing something 'social'. Later, some of the guys came up to the lodge to get some things and said that I should come back with them to the bonfire at Point Beach....'cause that's where everyone was congregating for the evening. So, Nick was nice enough to drive the group of us out and we had a great time, Mikey was quite the entertainer of the evening....singing with his guitar and being a comedian with some jokes that he's picked up in his travels around the states. The first bonfire of many to come this summer.

another day in the mountain paradise

We had such wonderful weather today! Ok, ok...so it probably didn't get over say 45 or 50. But, to us it was great. Especially after being bundled up in fleece jackets and thermal socks. We enjoyed some time outside after lunch before we all had to get back to work. I snapped some great pictures and just had to share....sorry, not much else happening to update on...but the pics of the pleasant weather were worth blogging about! =]

cleaning, merchandising and a full moon

The cleaning continues....the store is pretty much emptied of merchandise and left empty from the beginning of October to the beginning of May, so it is filty come May. So, we clean and then we fold, stock, back-stock, and merchandise. We are making progress daily and it will be fun to compare these pictures to the ones I'll take just before we open for guests. It's actually a pretty fun job. Right now, I'm working with Raquel (my manager) and Cindy (last year's store Assistant, who is now the Front Desk Manager) and we have a good time. I bring in my laptop and Cindy brings in her CD's and we pick our music by the mood we are in...most of the time we need something peppy and upbeat to keep us going and not get bored with the task at hand =]

Also, tonight we were outside for the full moon and Cindy got some great shots that I had to add to the slide show....pretty awesome to see the moon and it's reflection in the lake with the mountains in the background.

first day

Well, I made it to Redfish and it is absolutely gorgeous!!! =] The drive was good, and rainy...which I would rather have rain than snow anyday, and luckily there has been lots of rain over the past 2 days to wash away most of the remaining snow. That made me happy!! ;)

Today has been really relaxed and casual. I arrived just after 3, about the same time as the assistant-manager of housekeeping. The owner and a few other guys were standing out by the kitchen entrance and greeted us. Everyone that I've met so far has been really nice. Over the next couple of weeks more employees will be "reporting for duty" hahaha! and hopefully the rest will be just as nice. Jeff (the lodge owner) showed us around a bit, and then we were able to get settled in our temporary rooms (until they get the employee housing cleaned and prepped for us). I walked around the grounds a bit and took some great pictures. The lodge doesn't open until the 22nd, so the next couple of weeks will be relaxed...just prepping the store, lodge, cabins, etc for guests.

There are only about 12 of us here now, but there will be about 60 employees by the time everyone gets here. The different employee housing areas aren't ready for us yet, so for now they have us living at the lodge...which is nice because we are all together and it's closer to things than I will be long term. The cabin where I will be living, which they call 'the Ritz' where there will be 8 women on the second floor and 8 men on the main floor, is about 1/4 mile down the road from the Lodge, Gen. Store, etc. Jeff and his wife (the owners of the lodge) recruited employees from BYU-Idaho, and so far there are quite a few members on staff. But there will be a good mix otherwise...should be interesting but fun!

Enjoy the pics and keep checking back for more updates or you can just come visit...it's beautiful up here!!! =]