Yellowstone Vacation Planning Advice

If you are currently planning on a trip to Yellowstone this spring or summer, here's some general tips to guide you:
Lodging gets booked up in the Park - as well as in the Entrance towns, so if you have specific dates, get on that!
For Camping - some campsites are first come, first served, others take reservations. There are campgrounds outside the park borders - Private operations as well as Forest Service Camping - so if the Park is booked, look right outside the park.
Don't plan on trying to see everything. You will spend all your time driving. Plan on taking a walk or a hike and getting off the beaten track. This is where the magic of Yellowstone will come alive!
Wildlife can be seen anywhere in Yellowstone Park. Use the Pullouts, bring the binos and travel early mornings or at dusk for best viewing potential.
Read the Newspaper they give you at the Park Entrance. It has a lot of helpful tips and safety advice that you don't want to miss!
Maximum park speed limits are strictly enforced and range from 15 to 45 mph. Plan on extra time to drive through the park.
Much of Yellowstone Park and the surrounding areas experience mountain weather patterns. This can result in rain or snow events even in July. The sun is also strong at many elevations in the Park. Be prepared by bringing hot and cold clothing items regardless of the season. Sunscreen is a must!
There are limited places to get food inside the park (that tend to get very busy during peak seasons) so consider packing a lunch and eating it outside.
Don't feed animals, including birds.

reservations are coming in!

We are now taking reservations for the 2008 season!
You will most likely be talking to Julie or Margot - and we are here to help you decide which trip is best for your group and help you out with planning your yellowstone vacation!
We are also working on creating some itineraries to post on the website to assist you in deciding what to do while you are here -
we look forward to speaking with you!
HAPPY NEW YEAR

summer is officially over

we cant believe it but its true. We made it through another summer. Bill Canoed the grand canyon (again)- barely making it through Lava Falls..
This is how the big boss relaxes - by gasping for air and pushing his luck!...
Thank you to J-Dub and Madge for running a smooth and pro Yellowstone Operation. We are so blessed to have you!
Our guides this year were one of the best crews we have ever had. Their dedication and hard work make MWW what it is! Our office staff Ran the Show and seemed to have a good time most days. We are grateful for their humor and intelligence. Shuttle drivers were super hard working and safe,
Photography was smoother than ever!
YEAY!
And we couldn't have done it without the custies!

What we do in the Winter

People always ask what we do in the winter, so here's a little update.
Bill just got back from an intensive Wilderness EMT course at NOLS in Lander. He took his National Test the other day and passed. He celebrated by putting extra goat milk in his Nettle tea.

Those of you who know us well will be pleased to learn that we hired a personal organizer to come and help us with our office. We removed 4 garbage bags of old files and clutter. We can now pay bills/ take reservations / write at the desk!



Stevie has been staying with us on and off - and he is planning to go on the Grand Canyon for a month - leaving next week. He is taking a yellow MWW boat- an new, unnamed one. It will probably return with some stories! Here is a pic of Steve pumping up some boats in the garage. They get soggy when it gets cold and he was helping to straighten the stack...




OK, lets see, what do we do in the winter? It always seems to be something - working on Montana Whitewater and related projects... We are already making resies, talking to potential guides and returning guides, planning how to improve and still have fun and hoping for more snow!! MWW (m dub) is a lot like a theatrical performance. We spend all this time preparing and practicing so that when the custies arrive, it's showtime!

Salmon River Trip with The Family

On September 15, we closed operations on the Yellowstone River in Gardiner for the season. A few days later, we left for a 5 day trip down the Main Salmon River in Idaho. Although we have canoed and rafted the Main many times before, this trip was really special because we were able to bring my Mom - Brenda Wilson from Toronto, my Auntie Dee from Vancouver and Baby Teebird (age 20 mos).

We brought 2 oar rigs - one for me (Margot) and one for Bill. We packed for two days, trying to make SURE that we had everything to make the trip perfect. Upon arrival at Corn Creek Put In (6 hours from home), we realized that we had forgotten our cam straps. If you know anything about rafting, you know that cam straps are as important as oars. They are for tying your gear into the boat. We were paralysed. Brenda - Grandma - had put the bag of cammies in the shed, thinking she was Helping us Put Things Away. She said - "You seemed to have so many of those things, I couldn't imagine that you would need more". She felt so bad. She had really screwed up the trip. We might as well turn around.

Well, obviously, we didn't. Within 30 seconds of sending a message to the Great Goddess of Cammies, a cute guy named Dan arrived in a Jet Boat. He just happened to work at the Salmon River Lodge.He loaned us a ton of cammies - WOW. What a cool guy. He didn't want any money but Bill had some tips falling out of his lifejacket so we tipped him. What a honey.

The first day was gorgeous. The last day was gorgeous. The days in between were rainy, cloudy and gnarly! The class III rapids provided enough excitement and we portaged Baby Tee on 3 of the biggest rapids. The rest of them, she either slept through or yelled "wheeee!"

On day 4, after 3 days of rain, Mom and Auntie Dee were over it. Wet, sandy tents and sleeping bags were just too much for these civilized ladies. Neither of them had slept a wink, even when dry. Dee stopped talking. Brenda went delirious. Late that day, we stopped at Shepp Ranch. Perfect Timing! They had rooms for us and were preparing a shrimp and steak banquet for a Hunting Guides Birthday Party. Wow. Shepp Ranch, right across from the Buckskin Bill Museum, is such a friendly place!

Luckily, the last night was sunny and warm and everybody ended the trip with comfy, dry clothes on.
It was a blast! Grandma even cried when it was over.

String Band Goes Rafting!

Hot Buttered Rum String Band came by, parked their veggie oil powered tour bus in the back lot and came rafting with us! These fun, talented guys from Mill Valley, CA have been coming to Bozeman regularly to entertain and enlighten with their original tunes in the bluegrass style. They had a great time and then spread the love (like butter) by putting their raft guides on the guest list for their show the following night at the Filler in Bozeman. And what a show it was! Lots of dancing, laughing and lovin'!
We look forward to seeing them again.

Montana Whitewater - Wins!

Could it be true? Montana Whitewater wins Raft Races on the Gallatin AND Yellowstone Rivers!!
Sure, some of our big guns from the Gally went over to Gardiner to Kick Butt in the Yellowstone Race - Jakey, the Gangster, Deni the Meni and the Gangster's Lady Hillary - augmented the already Rockin Crew Of Shani, Julie, Madgical Madge and the Newbies. Wow. This year's race even attracted corporate sponsor, Red Bull!
Thanks to all the other raft companies who particpated. They paddled so hard that it made it even more exciting to Beat Them!

The Gallatin Whitewater Festival was a good time and we always love the raft race. This year, Deni the Meni guided a stellar crew to victory - for the second year in a row. And for the second time in history!
Some kids had an oversized ducky that looked hilarious and fun- and made it even more of a party float. Yee Haw!

Guide Training 2006

This spring weather makes me realize that spring is on it's way! The warm breezes and little pussy willows make me feel those butterflies and tingles that I always get at high water time!
This year's guide school is shaping up to be The Best Ever!
Since we started the Guide School 4 or 5 years ago - it has been a great experience for all involved. Many people who come to us with No whitewater experience ending up having what they so often tell me is the best summer of their lives. Wow! As a person who has lived for summer since first attended summer camp in 1981, I can say that I couldn't be prouder to be a part of something so important, enriching and Wonderful!
Becoming a Raft Guide requires hard work, dedication and motivation. Our best guides, and the people that we know who really enjoy guiding are people who are charismatic, optimistic, funny and open to learning and growing. The best Whitewater Paddlers are humble people who continue the learning process with every river experience.
We are filling up for our Guide School - and I'm happy to report that we are %100 female so far! So guys, get on it if you are thinking about it!
Do we hire everyone from the Guide School?
We can't Guarantee employment for obvious reasons, but if you are motivated, friendly and willing to put in the time to train, chances are, we will have work for you...
Summer 2006 is going to be Awesome!

The Hero Cam, Skiing at Big Sky & Cute Guy Max

The most common question that we get asked is “what do you do in the winter?” What do you DO?? Well, there’s always some kind of work to do- always something we can do to plan for next season, learn from last season or improve on some level. But it’s work. The boring kind. And that’s not what we’re here to talk about. What you really want to see is photos of Becca (office ‘04-‘05) and I shredding the pow at Big Sky yesterday. It was SICK! And I had my new Hero Camera – it’s the coolest! Actually, I will give the full review when I get the phots developed (yes kids, the ol fashioned way! You have to wait). But we are very excited about the Hero Camera. It’s a small, reusable water proof camera (retail $20) that straps to your wrist so you can get those Action Shots! We already ordered a case to sell at MWW, hopefully discouraging purchase of those nasty disposable cameras (retail $15) that clog the landfills with all the other disposable JUNK that we buy…
Anyways, Skiing with the Hero Cam was fun, if only to be able to say “Hero Cam Me!” or “You’re on Hero Cam!”. Hopefully the pics will turn out great and we can confidently offer this camera to the do it yourself photographer rafters at MWW this summer…

Did I mention that the guy who invented the Hero Cam is totally Cute?

Speaking of totally cute, while at Big Sky, we got to run into one of our favorite totally cute raft guides, Max Stevens - check him out on our staff page (Yellowstone ‘04, Gallatin ’05). It’s hard to convince such a totally brilliant guy that he needs to be a raft guide for the rest of his life but I try every time. This kid is just such a total gem that I can’t help myself. I don’t want to see his beauty, sense of humor and lively sparkle drain out of his being and swirl down the pipes at some laboratory at some corporation in some heartless concreteland. There’s just something about being outside and having fun that gives people that sparkle that makes them totally cute. So what if he has the brains to develop that crazy equation that might save the world- he’s too cute for that!