This year is the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Yellowstone, and plans to celebrate included events with Indigenous tribes like a tepee village and horseback riding. “We had no idea that we would wake up in the morning and be stuck here,” she said. When they awoke on Monday, the roads leading to and from the hotel were washed out or badly damaged, she said. Then the rain came, and the family took shelter in their hotel in Gardiner.
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Lilly, 38, said of the park, singling out the Old Faithful geyser as a highlight. “We were all very excited to see most of it on Sunday,” Ms. Many of those evacuated found themselves stranded in the region, like Angie Lilly of Lake Stevens, Wash., northeast of Seattle, who had visited Yellowstone over the weekend with her mother and sister. “They just fired us all,” said Madeline Arsola, 30, who works for a hotel in the town that she said told several of its employees on Tuesday that they would no longer have jobs. Other businesses were less accommodating, workers said. “I’m not going to be able to pay my bills.” She said that she had told her 11 employees she would try to help them find jobs elsewhere, and in the meantime, would either operate her business solo, or leave town for the summer to find another job.
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Unfortunately, she added, “without Yellowstone, there’s no reason for people to come to Gardiner.”
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Holloway said, adding that while she had been trying to remain optimistic, she believed that the flooding spelled the end of this year’s tourist season for the town. “We already have a town of stranded people, the last thing you want is a town of stranded people with no coffee in the morning,” Ms. Holloway said, she and her colleagues had been hauling water in 10-gallon jugs from a nearby well, and using disposable plates to cut back on washing dishes, so that they could remain open. She said that her business had been closed on Tuesday afternoon by the health department, because of the lack of clean water. Her husband, she added, operated heavy equipment, and hoped that he might be able to earn some money assisting with recovery efforts.Īnna Holloway, 45, runs a bookstore and cafe in Gardiner. Darr, 43, said that she was thinking about commuting to nearby towns where she could take up her former profession as a nurse.