I am wrapping up my fourth day in Alaska and second in Denali National Park & Preserve. It is beautiful up here with snow-covered mountains, one to feet of snow and drifts of several feet. The mountains are rough and, unlike the Appalachians I am used to, are characterized by rock cliffs rising several hundred feet. The tree level is at the base of the slopes or below. The forest is made of a mixture of Black and White Spruce interspersed with what I believe are Aspen. I will have to wait until the snow melts to see what, if any, undergrowth exists. Further into the park, trees give way to the tundra. You can see for miles across the valley between the two mountain ranges.
I have been in orientation the last two days, including extensive informative sessions today with NPS staff. Yesterday afternoon, one of the interp coaches gave us a tour of the sites from which we will be doing presentations. One of them is the Savage Cabin built in 1924 as a cook cabin for the first tourist cabin in Mt. McKinley National Park now known as Denali. It is a gorgeous setting with spruce trees dotting the landscape. We were told the area was a favorite hangout, at different times, of a grizzly bear, a caribou, and a lynx. On the wooden shutters are nails pointing outward to deter curious bears.
It was during this tour I inquired about the distance across the tundra to the base of the distant mountains. He said it was roughly 8-10 miles from the road we were on. We also saw an arctic squirrel, which we were told would put on a show to enhance its "cuteness". He also said if you were able to get really close and take a picture, shake the camera slightly to get a blurred image of the squirrel ------- then tell people you had a close encounter with a grizzly.
Tomorrow morning, training begins for official interpreter certification. I am looking forward to getting down to the nuts and bolts of my job here ( can I call it a job ? ). Plus, I can take this certification anywhere and will look great on my resume along with the job experience. We will be training for a few days and then we will "shadow" one of the coaches and take the Denali History Tour so we see how it all works.
My excitement for what I am and will be experiencing this summer is counter-balanced by the distance from home. Except for a couple of trips she took to Texas to see her brothers and a few CW events for a weekend, my wife and I have been together daily since fall 2005. Our daughter has been with me every day over the past year - through the summer and picking her up from the bus stop everyday. I miss them terribly and love them very much !
Much love from Denali !
Monday, May 13, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
Surreal
The time has almost arrived. This Friday morning, it begins - the adventure of a lifetime. I will be traveling into the great northwest wilderness in the interior of Alaska to Denali National Park for the summer. I am both nervous and excited. The chance to experience the wildness of America's last and most enduring frontier is something I never thought possible. It has become not only a possibility, but a reality.
I am looking forward to learning about a new time era and putting everything I can into meaningful, informative presentations to the public. My impression will be a 1940s park ranger and spending a lot of time when working at the Savage Cabin. This was one of the first structures built in the park and is still used by rangers during the winter as a way station while patrolling the snow-draped backcountry with their sled dog teams. The history of this area is so different to what I have studied throughout my life here in the southeast. It is a far cry from the American Civil War, Revolutionary War or the French & Indian War. However, as with any area, there is HISTORY. The local indigenous population, Athabascan ( sp ? ), is involved with interpretation in the park, there is Gold Rush history AND to the southwest in the Aleutians, WWII was felt when Japanese troops landed and fought a series of brutal, mostly forgotten, engagements against American troops. Though my concentration on historical research has mainly centered around events in American history east of the Mississippi, my interest in history is of history itself, regardless of the time frame.
The hardest part will be the separation from friends and family here at home. However, it is only a few months and there WILL be a homecoming. It is not like I am being deployed for 12 months, or more, to a war zone where the possibility would exist of me not coming home. In addition, with today's technology, I can keep in touch via cell phone and Skype.
I truly do not know what to expect and realize I have a LOT to learn, both with my position and the way everything is going to work. My wife worked in Yellowstone for four years before I met her and she is able to share some insight, but even that was not recent and things may have changed. Not only that, but Yellowstone and Denali are two separate NPS sites.
Friday morning will be a bit rough with parting ways, but I will not say goodbye for I will be returning. A great experience, a foot in the career door, and a great addition to my resume. I pray God will keep me safe as well as my family, and have faith He will help me to do my utmost and totally ROCK this position.
Even with it being so close, for the moment, it has not sunk in. It probably won't until I am at the airport and even more when I actually arrive there.
For now, it is very --------- surreal.
I am looking forward to learning about a new time era and putting everything I can into meaningful, informative presentations to the public. My impression will be a 1940s park ranger and spending a lot of time when working at the Savage Cabin. This was one of the first structures built in the park and is still used by rangers during the winter as a way station while patrolling the snow-draped backcountry with their sled dog teams. The history of this area is so different to what I have studied throughout my life here in the southeast. It is a far cry from the American Civil War, Revolutionary War or the French & Indian War. However, as with any area, there is HISTORY. The local indigenous population, Athabascan ( sp ? ), is involved with interpretation in the park, there is Gold Rush history AND to the southwest in the Aleutians, WWII was felt when Japanese troops landed and fought a series of brutal, mostly forgotten, engagements against American troops. Though my concentration on historical research has mainly centered around events in American history east of the Mississippi, my interest in history is of history itself, regardless of the time frame.
The hardest part will be the separation from friends and family here at home. However, it is only a few months and there WILL be a homecoming. It is not like I am being deployed for 12 months, or more, to a war zone where the possibility would exist of me not coming home. In addition, with today's technology, I can keep in touch via cell phone and Skype.
I truly do not know what to expect and realize I have a LOT to learn, both with my position and the way everything is going to work. My wife worked in Yellowstone for four years before I met her and she is able to share some insight, but even that was not recent and things may have changed. Not only that, but Yellowstone and Denali are two separate NPS sites.
Friday morning will be a bit rough with parting ways, but I will not say goodbye for I will be returning. A great experience, a foot in the career door, and a great addition to my resume. I pray God will keep me safe as well as my family, and have faith He will help me to do my utmost and totally ROCK this position.
Even with it being so close, for the moment, it has not sunk in. It probably won't until I am at the airport and even more when I actually arrive there.
For now, it is very --------- surreal.
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