Working at The Rising Sun - 1988

by Beth
(Clinton, OK)

I actually saw the job posting on a college bulletin board in the spring of 1988 and thought it sounded like a great adventure.

I was finishing my sophomore year in college and was looking for the "not so usual" summer job. I had lived briefly in Montana in grade school and knew how beautiful it was there.

I talked a friend into applying with me, but she eventually backed out and I decided to go anyway.

That summer was incredible!

Waking up across the road from St. Mary's Lake, hiking and camping all over the Montana and Canadian Rockies, campfire nights with other National Park employees from all over the US, and exploring the other lodges made for a very exciting and carefree summer!

I worked at the Rising Sun Motor Inn in housekeeping. We spent the better part of the day cleaning cabins and rooms and spent two days/week hiking and camping.

We hiked all over Glacier National Park and saw incredible scenery, walked where very few people walked and saw wildlife that very few people get to see. W

e saw big horn sheep, mountain goats, bears, eagles, marmots, moose and deer in their natural habitat.

Often after our work day was done, employees would meet at the lake by a bon fire and share stories and build friendships.

We also took boat tours on St. Mary's lake or rode one of the red tour buses to another lodge to hang out with other employees. One of our favorite things to do was trade rooms with the Waterton Park employees in Canada.
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My favorite memory was an all day hike to Gunsight Lake where we camped over night. A grizzly bear had traversed our path about six miles into the hike, but we proceeded anyway. Little did we know that would be the least of our worries!

We spent the night scaring the mountain goats away. A whole family of them seemed to be intent on chewing holes in the tent. This was just one of many, many adventures.

I'd recommend a National Park summer job to anyone who's looking for an adventure.