Confessions and Stories From Our Summer in Jackson Hole

We are 3 days away from packing up our few belongings here in J.H. and venturing back to good ole' Rexburg.
It's a bittersweet time for us.
Rexburg means school; yuck. But it also means more than 210 sq.ft. of living space, less physical jobs, and more bills (yikes)! Woohoo!
Jackson has been our home for a short time and it has given us memories and moments that we will cherish for a lifetime. How lucky are we?
I've tried to compile every noteworthy encounter with our lovely guests, the messes they leave, and the adventures we've had with our awesome coworkers! 

1. I was working in the store one morning when this Chinese lady waltzed in and went straight for the coffee machine. She was rocking one of those hats with an extra long visor and big sunglasses that shielded her face from any and all sunlight. She looked at TV screen atop the coffee machine and said with extra gusto, "One large coffee pwease!" I glanced over to see if she was speaking to me, but nope! She was patiently waiting for the TV to tell the coffee machine to brew her some coffee. To her surprise, she had to pull down a lever and pour it herself! True story. Lol.

2. Corey was working the store when another oriental woman ran in yelling "Gas! Gas!!" She hustled to the paper towel dispenser and started waving her hand above and below the sensor, which resulted in making a simple task a very difficult one. Bless her. 
Eventually Corey understood that a group of Chinese folk finished pumping gas but while they were removing the nozzle, they were still squeezing it and released gas EVERYWHERE! They screamed and flung the nozzle in the air. Mercy. I guess orientals don't put gas into their own cars in Asia?💁

3.There I was. Minding my own business. Cleaning rooms like any other average 4th of July.
There was one more precious room to clean. 109.
One of the two pet rooms on the property, so obviously Kiana and I ere in for a surprise.
I put my key in the door and turner with eagerness, knowing this was the last one.
My half-hearted smile turned into a look of disgust when a massive waft of air hit my face.

POOP.

I knew it. There was no doubt in my mind that something nasty was awaiting my discovery. After what seemed like a thorough investigation, I saw a wadded up towel conveniently shoved in an inconspicuous corner.
I kicked it out with my foot, only to reveal brown mess smooshed all over the pure white fibers. After a few "heck nah's" and a little bit of dry heaving, Heather (A.K.A. The Poop Slayer - Pictured below with hubby and maintenance guru George) came to the rescue to dispose of the ungodly surprise.
The lady was charged a fair amount for the mess, but she certainly wasn't sorry for it. Some peoples kids!

We love these guys!!! 

4. The note shown below was handed in with a guests set of keys. He wasn't too pleased with the shower head. Yikes! 😫

5. Below is an example of a typical morning for housekeepers who are cleaning up after Asian families who flee to the parks in their rental Suburbans. They are consistent, I must say. And for that reason solely, they are not our favorite guests. 😶😵

6. Just moments after the above picture was taken, George told me that the Asian family next door flushed a bar of soap down the toilet... 20 minutes later, that toilet had to be removed from the room completely. Yaayyyy! 😁

7. This here is a foreign travelers DREAM! A handy-dandy cloth toilet seat cover. One that is sure to protect you from any unwanted and unseen diseases. Too bad they left it behind. I wonder if they're doing okay?

8. Pictured here is the one-and-only Flat Creek golf cart that can transport insurmountable drippy trash bags from one end of the property to the big rubbish bins on the other side. 

It also doubles as a taxi for any and all employees in need of a joy ride (I think 7 people is the max?? Don't tell Kyle;)

9. I was having a rough day....until I found a dolla in the washa. HOLLA!

 This is how I felt post-dolla-finding. Like a G. A rich G.

10. We all got real good at making towel animals. They evolved from swans to elephants, to giraffes, to whales. They were most definitely the reason for an increase in tips from our guests. Carissa even made over $100 IN ONE DAY!! 

Tip yo housekeepers mate! It's a tough life cleaning up after you and yo kids!

11. I met Josh Holloway from Lost. SO COOL! We just recently started watching it again together, and it didn't take long to realize what a jerk he plays on that stinkin' island...but he was a nice dude in real life! 

12. We went white water rafting with Jackson Hole Whitewater in July. It was such a treat, and we didn't die, so that's a plus!

13. These pictures remind me of the time that Tanner took us to float Flat Creek. We were all on simple tubes that we thought would be appropriate for a short jaunt down the creek. Boy were we wrong! 

The water was high and so were our spirits...until our heads almost got chopped off by the low hanging bridges with nails protruding from underneath. 

The water was so fast that we had to paddle frantically with our arms to avoid running into every pointy bush and tree along the creek. 

Well, Corey and I were in a two person tube, which didn't allow for much control or finesse. As a result, we ping ponged our way through the entire float until we were covered in bruises, scratches, and branches for hair accessories. 

Corey kept letting me know that he was "NOT HAVING FUN ANYMORE!" 

I couldn't help but laugh and cry a little every time we came around a corner only to see another 2-3-4 foot waterfall with a big, sharp tree trunk in the middle that we had to maneuver around. 

Our arms were dead by the time we found a place shallow enough to stand and abandon to the float trip altogether. 

Little did we know, Aislynn and Jenneca's tube popped into oblivion, our Serbian co-worker Alex's tube floated down stream and he had to hitchhike home with a kind stranger, and Tanner's Iphone, Apple watch, and car keys caught the tide to who knows where. 

We survived with a story to tell and a lot of scrapes to show for it. 

No pictures were salvaged, but here is a Google pic of how low the bridges were! 

14. This is our crew, minus a few! What a privilege it has been to work with them all. 😀

Bless Jackson and what it has given us this summer (besides mula in our pockets, of course)! 

Beautiful people,

fabulous views,

&

forever friendships.

God bless you Jackson Hole. We won't miss your outrages prices on...well....everything. ✌

Cheers to the next adventure! 

Love,

The Saunders 

Here are some of our favorite visitors!!

Home Is Where Your Honey Is

I've been reluctant to write about our experiences here in Jackson as of recent. Self-doubt, feeling completely ordinary at best, and sheer lack of time have all been a few of the barriers in my line of vision for this blog.


Does anyone even read what I write?


Is there anyone out there, besides our blessed mothers, that want to hear about these perfectly ordinary experiences?


What's so special about two people - who love each other very much - living in a camper, in a tourist town, doing completely uninteresting jobs?


The answers to these questions might be a resounding "no" and "absolutely nothing"; yet, I feel the desire to capture these moments before they fade from our memories for good.


So, whether you're here reading "The Camper Chronicles" out of courtesy to Corey or I, or whether you're simply just curious as to what we've been up to, we thank you for that simple curiosity and for following along this journey with us.


We invite you to enjoy reading about what we have learned while living in this 22 foot camper, how we (mostly, I) have coped with the change, and of the experiences we are having with the awesome group of people that we work with this summer.


This camper has become our home. More than I ever thought it would. I'd never slept in a camper in my life before this summer, and I sure had no intentions of doing so either (I know....drama queen).


I thought a home consisted of 4 sturdy walls, a proper dining and living room, doors for privacy, and a kitchen with a massive island in the middle of it. I thought that happiness came in the form of comfortable living and spacious bathrooms. I thought that this camper was going to feel uncomfortable for the entirety of our 4 months residing in it.


I thought, I thought, I thought....a bunch of preconceived notions.


What a silly thing to do.


Since living here, my definition of a home has changed. We have 4 paper thin walls, a very cozy bathroom, zero preparation space for cooking, a couch that we avoid sitting on because it is so uncomfortable, and 1 slim-jim door for privacy...but it is HOME.


Here, we have shared our frustrations from a tough days work and given guidance on how to deal with those little hiccups.


Here, we have bonded over every episode Chip and Joanna Gaines' Fixer Upper and made plans for building our future dream home (which is gonna be awesome by the way).


Here, we have relished in each others successes and made goals to continue achieving great things.


Here, we have planned trips that will take us far from home, stalked KSL for our next car that hopefully won't leak oil 🙏, and have struggled to fit comfortably together in a full bed.


Oh, the adventures!


What a place to fall in love over and over again every day. What a place to plan our future together. What a place to share stories about the interesting people that we meet. What a place to call home.


I've come around to this minimalist living. I don't want to live like a minimalist for the rest of my days, but it has taught me some valuable lessons:


1. We truly can be happy in whatever circumstances we are asked to endure. It will take lots of effort from all involved, but it can be done.

2. We can make a home out of a few pieces of paper (lol), a stove, and a bed. It ain't purty, but it's home!

3. Wherever your person is, whether you have found them yet or not, is where happiness and contentment can and should be found. If that means you're living in a tiny camper next to an Inn, in a van on the beach, in an ordinary home in the country, or in a mansion on the next block, as long as you are with your person, you can make it through (love you babe).

4. Home is where your honey is. 👫


Happiness can be found in the most ordinary of places and circumstances.

Remember that!



Cheers till next time,


THE SAUNDERS

The Chinese, 10,450 feet, and an "Itty-Bitty Living Space".

Well, Jackson just keeps getting busier and busier!

The Chinese tourists are piling into big tour buses and taking over this little town. Many of the rich orientals, or rather the ones who rent big American suburbans instead of suffering on a tour bus, drive for the first time in their lives here in Jackson! Woohoo! They consistently go 25 in a 50 and are sure to encourage excessive horn honking from everyone around them.

They're nice enough though. We have heard that town square looks like a mini Hong Kong in the dead of summer, so that'll be lots of fun.

Bless them. They take pictures of everything! Signs, bugs, benches, rocks, YOU NAME IT! We witnessed a sweet Chinese lady taking multiple pictures of a small pebble yesterday. A pebble. I dunno, they must look different on the other side of the world or something..

While visiting Yellowstone yesterday, we ate our packed lunch and waited for Old Faithful to blow. 20 minutes before the actual "eruption", a Chinese family sat down in front of us and promptly took out their camera's and phones and held them up, waiting.. They sat in the same position for 15 minutes straight, for fear of missing it.

We had more fun watching them than we did watching Ol' Faith!

Along with the hundreds of Chinese people, we saw a bunch of buffalo! It was so fun to see them up close. HUGE CREATURES!

We have still yet to see a blessed moose! I just want to see one as close as possible (at a safe distance of course) and experience all of its moosely grandeur. Hopefully that day isn't too far off! 

We also got to see The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I asked Corey why Yellowstone was called Yellowstone and he took me to the namesake. 

Last week we went on the Jackson Hole Tram that took us 10,450 feet above the valley. It was 60 and sunny down below, but 30 and freezing up top.

There is a little waffle shack at the top, so we decided to treat ourselves to a mountain waffle - thinking it would be something spectacular. Well, Bonnie gave our $8.49 waffle a little wipe of Nutella (and when I mean little, I mean little) and folded it up in some tin foil. It was the most humble, expensive waffle we've ever eaten, but it was consumed on the top of a mountain, so how bad can we complain? :) There's no picture of it because it would bring shame to my blog, lol. 

Camper life is treating us well. The 150 feet of living space can get into our heads sometimes, but we are making do! It's a good thing the weather is (slowly) getting nicer here, so we can get out of our "itty-bitty living space" (here's a pull for you to go see the new Aladdin, it's FABULOUS!) and enjoy the beautiful area around us. 

We feel so lucky to be spending our summer here, in this tiny camper, in this beautiful valley, making memories to last us a lifetime! 

I can't wait to tell you all about our housekeeping experiences, the characters we continually meet, and the faith building moments that we are having. 

Till next time!

THE SAUNDERS 

Pay It Forward

The adventures in Jackson continue! 

We got a new mattress in the camper, so we now sleep like babies and it rocks! We have completely adjusted to camper life, and I have to say, it's a good life to be living (short term;).

This week, Corey and I worked completely opposite shifts, which was pretty tough. We were only able to see each other for about 3 hours in the 5 days that we worked. I felt this longing for my best friend that I hadn't felt in a really long time. 

In Rexburg, we worked the same shift at the same place, went to campus at the same time, and did homework together every evening for hours on end. Missing him this week reminded me how grateful I am to have someone that I can miss and that I know misses me just as much. (S/O to you military wives and anyone else who spends weeks and months away from their love, I don't know how ya'll do it!)

We met some beautiful, interesting people this week, and I can't wait to tell you all about them!

Jackson Hole, as you probably know, attracts tourists from all over the world. So far we've met a lot of Aussies and Chinese people, as well as the countless American families from all over the U.S.. 

Something that I love about working in such a beautiful, happy, touristy place is that the people we meet are generally happy, because they are on vacation. Smiles are not in short supply here. 😃

As I was working the convenience store this week, a Chinese man came in and asked if he could use his international credit card to get gas. I ran the card multiple times, but it just wouldn't work with our system. I gently asked if they had American currency or another card to use, then a young girl - not much older than myself - stepped forward and said "Is it okay if I take care of it?" 

I was stunned. I repeatedly asked her if she was sure, and she humbly smiled and nodded. She looked at the couple and said, "Thank you for visiting America!" I looked at the Chinese man and said, "This woman is going to buy your gas for you, okay?" I don't believe he quite understood what I meant until I told him to go and pump his gas and to not worry about it. 

Five minutes later, after the generous woman was long gone, the man came in with tears filling his eyes. He looked at me and asked if she was local and if I knew how he could thank her properly. I told him I'd never seen her before, but that all he could do was to PAY IT FORWARD for someone else at a future time. I believe he understood me. 

It was a tender moment for me to be a first-hand witness to human generosity. I LOVE PEOPLE (especially the kind, kind;)! 

That same day, I was the witness to a Chinese tourist giving his entire car a thorough wash with the windshield washer thing at the pump. He was out there for twenty minutes or so, making sure to get every inch of his rental car absolutely spotless. It gave me a good laugh!

The following day, Corey was painting the store when a Chinese woman came in yelling "GAS! GAS!" as she ran for the paper towels. She was taking the pump out of her car but never let go of the handle, so the gas went spewing everywhere. LOL. 

These foreign people will keep us entertained all summer, guaranteed. 

As for housekeeping, it's pretty chill and easy. We clean up the mess, cross our fingers for a tip, and move on to the next room. There's a lot of small, curly black hairs in the bathrooms that can trigger a recall of what I had for lunch, but I'm learning to control that urge. 😁

We truly are living the dream up here in Jackson. We are looking forward to warmer weather, so we can enjoy the nature around us as much as possible! 

Come and visit!

Syd & Corey 💙

The Tetons

Kissessss :) 

Frozen Jenny Lake

The throne of Jackson..or something like that.

The Camper Chronicles

The week of April 17th began with stuffing our 1999 Buick with everything we would need for 4 1/2 months away from home. Yes, we could see out the back window...barely.

Let me give you a little back story on this move to Jackson, Wyoming.

We accepted positions to work at the Flat Creek Inn back in March. We knew then that we would be living in a camper trailer for the summer. I know, right? Corey grew up going on trips in campers all the time, but I had only stepped foot in one maybe twice in my life. Obviously I was (and still am) skeptical about how drastically our lives would change in such a short period of time.

Up our arrival, we were put in a room until our trailer was ready. My fingers were crossed that something might happen to the trailer while in transit from the storage unit. No such luck.

That week in the hotel room for me was filled with a nasty stomach bug and a mysterious rash on my face that lasted for two weeks. Lol, I was not at my best. Life is good now, and we think the rash was caused by the laundry detergent used by the hotel. I guess my face and stomach are super sensitive to EVERYTHING...who knew?

Fast forward to our lovely little "camper sweet camper" (I've gotta get that embroidered somewhere). We cleaned it until we felt comfortable living in it (an undisclosed amount of time) and then we started moving in! Woohoo!

Now let me see if I can sell you on this unique living situation...

There is a beautiful view of the National Elk Refuge, of which, you can't see the darn animals because they are to far away, but you can see and hear the highway that runs right in front of it. The sounds of the vehicles come in crystal clear through the thin panel siding of the camper. The dull roar of traffic is sure to put you to sleep at night!

The sheer lack of counter space means that you don't have cluttery counters, yay!

While walking from the "bathroom" to the "living-room" you'll find a pole that sticks out just enough for your pinky toe to catch it, stub it, and remind you that you are indeed living in a 22-foot camper.

LIVING OUR BEST LIFE OVER HERE!

I know you're jealous, but wait, it gets better!

The bed? Oh yeeesssss girl! It's carefully designed with two very thin layers of cloth that enclose the thousand springs which act as the mattress between them. Every time you roll over you'll find another spring that you never knew existed! It's like a new discovery every night. And trust me, you'll be up allllll night discovering.

The walkways were designed for 1 person and 1 person only. There's no place in the camper where you have a 1 foot clearance in all directions. But you're in luck because who needs personal space anyway?

6 & 1/2 foot ceilings are what you're lookin' at in this here camper. If you want to change clothes after a long day of work, be sure to sit down first or your fists will suffer the consequences.

You may wake up to a few inches of snow in the morning, but freezing does ya good, am I right?

With those freezing temps, you'll find the frozen water hose. You won't be able to rinse your mouth out with water after you brush your teeth in the morning, but I've always preferred orange juice instead, haven't you?

There's "plenty of storage" for the average minimalist in our lavish camper. You'll get really good at stuffing things in small crevices and then it's like a game when you want to find it again. The game is called "Honey, where'd you put it". This game is sure to cause red faces - of laughter or frustration you may ask? You'll have to play to find out! Good times!

And last but not least, you'll find the toilet, sink, and bathtub. The tub doubles as storage, holla! It's honestly too small to use anyway. Remember the part in Elf when Buddy is showering in that tiny shower? That scene was shot in this camper, guaranteed. Talk about upping the value!

The toilet doesn't work, but that's okay 'cause there's a big 'ole fly buzzing around down there and you don't want that thing getting loose! Best be keeping that shut.

If you need to use the toilet in the middle of the night, grab the keys and run to the nearest bathroom that is approximately 23 feet away. No biggie.

The bathroom sink has a plug that you need to take out to drain the water. The hole is big enough to swallow all your rings and a kiwi, so best keep clear of it!

This is our home for the next 4 1/2 months. Wanna visit?

No, seriously. Our couch and kitchen table fold down into beds. I'm not sure how the table bed works just yet, but I'm sure we can figure something out!

See you soon!

The Saunders

Famous square ice cream!

My sexy wanna-be cowboy :)

Yours truly!