I awoke to Mt. Washburn being smokey, and the smell of smoke could be smelled throughout Canyon Village. But as the morning progressed the smoke became less and less, though we could still see smoke to the south and east of us. The morning in the store was extremely slow and we passed a few moments doing some dances (Jack can really groove) to the music piped through the store. I guess our moves brought the people in because before we knew it there were 3 tour buses pulling into the parking lot. The Fountain filled very quickly.
My travels through Hayden Valley this evening were pretty much free of forest fire smoke-clogged lungs. There was a mild haze of smoke but nothing like the evening before. We are given daily updates in the store on the fire but the updates are from the previous day so I am unsure as to what is going on with the Arnica Fire as of today's date. Rumors can be rampant (I've heard some doozies) so I'm not ever really sure as to what is happening.
Joe, or maintenance man extraordinaire, has become a wild animal magnet. A while ago he was charged by a bison in the RV park and now he has been attacked by yet another of Yellowstones wild beasts. In a park that is filled with wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, moose and elk, wildlife attacks are serious business and something we do not take lightly. We are seriously concerned about Joe's wellbeing considering this latest close encounter. It happened while Joe was sleeping, thus he was completely unequipped to fight-off his latest nemesis. As he slept, the creature lurked around his sleeping quarters until Joe awoke to find him right on his chest staring him in the face with his tiny, little, round eyes. Yup, Joe valiantly fought off a mouse (Joe: 1, Mouse: 0). Joe, all of us at Canyon General Store are so relieved that you came out of this one in one piece. Maybe it's time to invest in a canister of Mouse Spray.
