Goodbye Colorado!

Yesterday was my last day of the season as a park ranger at Colorado National Monument. I was incredibly lucky to have this experience and I'd like to think I made the most of it. I went on a lot of adventures this summer and met a lot of truly wonderful people. Of course, there are more things I would've liked to do, places I would've liked to see, but I ran out of weekends. I prefer to think of those things as reasons to come back :)

Here are a few highlights:

The Firsts:

• 14,000-footer - Mt. Sneffels

• Raft trip - Lower Animas river, Durango

• Mountain bike trip - Rustler's Loop, Loma

• Road Race at night - Moonlight Miles 10K

Things I won't miss:

• The heat!

Things I will miss:

• Junior rangers. Going through their activity books, presenting them with a badge, and administering the oath was a highlight of every day at the visitor center.

• Meeting park visitors from all over the world

• The beach volleyball+bar that we go to on Friday nights

• Getting to hike during work time - that's pretty hard to beat

• Having a uniform - makes getting dressed for work very easy

• Taco Tuesdays with the maintenance guys

• Grand Junction Rockies single-A baseball games

• The drive to work - check out this color-enhanced photo of my commute:

• Bighorn sheep, lizards, red-tailed hawks, snakes, and scorpions (just kidding about the last two)

• My roommate Angela:

And lastly, I am re-posting a quote that I like a lot and sums up my feelings about this summer.

“If you have not touched the rocky wall of a canyon. If you have not heard a rushing river pound over cobblestones. If you have not seen a native trout rise in a crystalline pool beneath a shattering riffle, or a golden eagle spread its wings and cover you in shadow. If you have not seen the tree line recede to the top of a bare crested mountain. If you have not looked into a pair of wild eyes and seen your own reflection. Please, for the good of your soul, travel west.” 

― Daniel J. Rice, This Side of a Wilderness

Ranger Programs

This is the Bookcliffs View Shelter where rangers lead evening programs on Friday and Saturday nights in the summer. The programs go from 7:30 to 8:30ish, just perfect to watch a colorful summer sunset.

I've led the evening program a few times this summer. We have the freedom to talk about whatever we want. After a lot of reading, I've created a three part evening program that I've developed and improved over the course of the summer. 

First, I talk about general history of the monument, the important characters in its history, and early efforts to build a road. I've learned a lot about the building of Serpent's Trail - the first auto road in the monument. After that, I go into the geologic story of the canyons as it pertains to road building and because I think it's fascinating (rock nerd). Then I return to the story of the road, and go into the construction of Rim Rock Drive. I talk about FDR, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the backbreaking labor that went into building the 23 mile road along the top of the canyons through the monument. 

I've been fascinated by the CCC since I learned about the legacy of their work during a memorable ranger program at Phantom Ranch when I was in high school. I've really enjoyed researching and reading accounts of life in the CCC camps during the 1930s, going through old photographs, and meeting children of CCC enrollees. I hope that through my programs, I can spark interest in this piece of American National Parks history just like that ranger at the bottom of the Grand Canyon did for me.

14,000

I had the best long weekend. Saturday, I had dinner in Ouray and swam in the hot springs before camping in a basin surrounded by breathtaking mountains. 

Sunday, I went rafting on the lower Animas river in Durango and explored silverton. 

Monday, we hiked to the summit of Mt. Sneffels at 14,157'. It was my first 14er, and fittingly we met a guy on top who has hiked all 58 of them. 

Here's a few photos from the hike.

This is me hiking (scrambling) up the very steep trail. Just above this, we hiked through a 200 yard section of snow. 

I made it! Even if I wasn't quite ready for the photo...

Here's my hiking partner on the summit. I accidentally beheaded him, but still a neat pic. 

The Baja at the trailhead in Yankee Boy Basin. Adventure car.