Have you ever met a national park ranger? I hope
you have! We are the people who greet you at the visitor centers and answer
your questions. We also present evening programs at the campgrounds, take
visitors on hikes, and give short talks. Maybe one of us gave you your first
Junior Ranger badge, and then many more after that. Maybe one day you will be
one of us as a college graduate or a retiree. Or perhaps you will volunteer for
a few hours, or a summer, or more.
For the past ten years, I've been a seasonal park ranger for the National Park Service, but my love for national parks goes back before that. I was introduced to these protected places as a child, like many of you. My grandparents took me on a three-week summer road trip when I was 10 years old. Every morning we got up at 4 a.m. so Grandpa could drive to our next location and we'd have more time for our visit.
Exploring with a Junior Ranger at Shenandoah National Park. |
My brother and I sitting beside Ben Black Elk at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. |
Those two trips changed my life forever. It made
me realize I lived in a far bigger world than I’d ever imagined, and it was
full of wonders. It gave me the “bug” for travel and adventure that has lasted
a lifetime. Perhaps you have the same “bug”!
When I graduated from high school, I got my
parents’ permission to go on a trip with my brother--just the two of us! After
working to make the money, I purchased two round-trip bus tickets, and my
brother and I were able to travel and camp in some of the same parks our
grandparents had taken us to, and some new parks as well. We went as far west
as the Grand Canyon; then we visited Grandma and Grandpa, who had retired to
Arizona.
How would my grandparents have felt if they knew I became a ranger, first at Zion National Park in Utah, then Shenandoah National Park in Virigina, and finally Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado? I'm sure they would have visited me!
View of the Grandview Trail, Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim. Photo by Amy Gaiennie. |
Many years later I joined my family, most of whom had retired or moved to Arizona. The Grand Canyon became my “home
away from home.” I first reached the bottom at Bright Angel Creek with other
members of a local hiking club. Later, I went on my own, standing in line at
the back country office at 5:30 a.m. in order to get a required permit. Several years
later, my husband and I completed two multi-day, cross-canyon backpacks from Rim
to Rim.
On the Tonto Trail, Cross-Canyon Trek, Grand Canyon National Park. Photo by Ken Kingsley. |
Ken replenishes the water supply at our Monument Creek campsite. Photo by Amy Gaiennie. |
How would my grandparents have felt if they knew I became a ranger, first at Zion National Park in Utah, then Shenandoah National Park in Virigina, and finally Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado? I'm sure they would have visited me!
Mountain Laurel blooming along the Limberlost Trail at Shenandoah National Park. Photo by Amy Gaiennie. |
View from Skyline Drive in the Spring at Shenandoah National Park. Photo by Amy Gaiennie. |
View of Black Canyon from the North Rim. Photo by Amy Gaiennie. |
Visitors congregating for the light show at Sunset Overlook in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Photo by Amy Gaiennie. |