Summer Park Plans

I officially got the official word yesterday – I’ll be returning to Yellowstone National Park this summer.

Woo Hoo!

Working as a seasonal interpretive ranger for the park service always means a waiting game from one season to the next.  I was pretty sure I’d be going back to Grant Village in the south district of the park but you never really know until government funding for the summer is in place.

We’ll be doing two extra short programs during our weekly schedule.  Besides the classic Evening Program and others such as Ranger Rendezvous, Wildlife Wonders, Junior Ranger, Hot Water Wilderness walk, and Scenic lake Overlook hike, we’re adding a new program at West Thumb Geyser Basin and a new culturally-oriented program at the Grant Village pavilion.  Interpretive rangers research, develop, and present original themed programs, so the next time you visit our national parks and listen to a ranger program, know that we do not just pull this stuff out from under our flat hats.  We spend a lot of time creating quality programs for YOU, our park visitor.

One of my collateral duties this summer will be to assemble a specimen collection of rock types from the park for educational use at Grant Village. I will be responsible for hiking around the park with a geologic map, identifying different rock types and putting together a collection for display in our visitor center. How much fun will that be???

I’ve already started reviewing my caldera geology along with reading up on the cultural history of the area, both pre–historic and historic.  I’ve got a fun new caldera model for use in my Ranger Rendezvous program (no more vinegar, baking soda, and dish soap this season, by golly!).  Plus I’ve got hundreds of ideas for new places to hike and explore in our first national park.

My two stuffed beavers have not decided if they will make the return trip so I may need to consider adopting another pair for participation my my Wildlife Wonders and Junior Ranger programs.