Reflections on Being a Park Ranger

I haven't talked much about my actual job on this blog, so I figured I would take some time today to do just that. But where to begin?

Well, as a uniformed interpretive ranger, essentially my job is to be the public face of the National Park Service, your friendly local ranger here to teach you about your natural and cultural resources. Beyond that, I am also a civil servant; this fact really hit home last week when my supervisor read us a thank-you letter from someone who wrote in, thanking us "for serving our country." This isn't to say that as park rangers we serve in the same way as the military, but I felt so humbled to be recognized for serving my country in a way that I'm proud of, and that is not always seen for what it is.

A Whale of a Time

It started with a report on the local radio station: "Whales sighted just offshore, east beach."

"Wanna go look for whales??" My supervisor asked, as she came out of her office, pulling on a jacket and grabbing the car keys. 

"Chyeah!"

Half of Nome turned out to watch

Catching up

So much catching up to do! My failure to keep this blog update is not for lack of trying. In fact, I have tried nearly half a dozen times, gotten entire posts written and pictures uploaded, only to have the internet crash and all my work swept away into the abyss of cyberspace. This time it seems to be working though, so here we go again!

Midnight Sun Parade