Adventures

This place, just as its name suggests, is grand. Not just the canyon itself but everything else seems to be blown up to a larger scale. Visitors, junior rangers, the variety of programs, the pace of things, the community...etc. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The experience has been unique and will give me skills and experience that I have neverhad before.

One of my coworkers looked at me while clossing the visitor center on Saturday and said, "Well, you have survived Easter weekend." Apparently, as I learn later, this is the busiest time of the year. I would have thought Fourth of July. However, we have the same amount of people in July but more staff to deal with the masses. Just This was Saturday....morning meeting, visitor center, unexpected medical(woman passed out and vomitting)in front of the visitor center....run to my mather point talk...run back to the visitor center...over 50 junior rangers on the afternoon...close...phewww. Thank goodness for medical and radio training. It is the pace that I will have to keep up with, but your day goes by quickly.

Junior rangers are out in full force. I swear in 25 of them on average after each porch talk. That one was difficult. You must find a topic that you can get into for 15 minutes but one that is able to entertain and audience under the age of 10. I think this one I have the most fun doing. We talk about adventures...and how we learn from our own and remember things from the past. There were many great adventures at Grand Canyon. All of which teach us something. This place is still a mystery but we do not have to know everything about it to appreciate it. Those adventures in history gave us our knowledge of geology, the map of the grand canyon, and our knowledge of the wilderness. We can learn from own own new adventures as well as learn from those who came before us.

This park is a new adventure and deffinetly a different kind of animal. But I am loving the ride. I find myself trying new things and looking back and saying, "Did I relly just do that?" A girl who used shy and reserved...hardly stood up for herself... and was uncertain of the things that were not familar now finds herself talking to hundreds of people at a time, turning strangers into great friends, and grabbing hold of new opportunities. As the rocks break down...character bulds up here. You can see it on the faces of both employee and visitor.Its not that I have found myself or didn't know who I was...I knew that already. I think when you have new adventures you go out on a limb and it all comes flooding back. Sometimes we just need to be reminded.

"Sometimes you need to go out on a limb...because after all, that is where the fruit is." ~ Will Rogers

The Only Constant

It is easy to get lost in the Grand Canyon. Not just lost of your physical location, but lost in your own thoughts, and lost in time.

The allure of entering the canyon is intimidating and exhilerating. One can do everything in their power to make sure that they are prepared. Water, check. Compass and map, check. Food, (oh wait we dont have to carry food at this park...the mules do that for us) check! Snacks just in case I become ravenous, check. Camera, check. Comfortable shoes, change of clothes, rain coat, check , check, and check. The canyon wonderer is as prepared as can be....for the expected and maybe some of the unexpected. But what the canyon will throw at you might be something that can't be prepared for ...but maybe it is suppose to prepare you.

A place of this size and this much wonder causes you to look at the world from a different angle. And with the steep trail and various vantage points there are plenty of angles to choose from. As you desend from above you start to notice that the trail changes...from red powder to yellow rock to green shale. Tiny seashells and corals peek out from the Kaibab limestone 7,000 feet above sea level. This is a place where no ocean should be...at least for now. What took shallow seas millions of years to create I am crossing in just hours. And these crumbly layers of green, yellow, and red did not stand a chance against the powerful river below... ripping its way through the rock in a blink of an eye (that is if you compare it to my hike), 5 million years. Given enough time nothing is more changable than rock.

Keeping an eye on the south rim is hard. Shifting back an forth, switchback to switchback all directions seem blurred. The only thing you know for certain is that you are standing on the south side of the river. Many might look and say golly...that sure is a lot of rock. Surely they are right there is a lot of exposure. I admit the rocks are what I saw when I first glanced at it. But the canyon has away of changing views and as I stare down to the river and then up and down the canyon walls I think, " That there is a lot of space where rocks used to be." Trillions of tons of sediment were removed from this area. Sure makes my 5'7'' self feel pretty insignificant.

The changes that have occured here are so measurable that they can be seen, traced, back and relived through science and imagery. You can feel the power of the Colorado River as you sink your hands into the icy water and let the sand, newly grinded at the bottom, slip through your fingers. Life has adapted in the canyon and rocks have fallen from the top and into place somewhere along the way. Different levels hold a unique power over the landscape and it all comes together to form an ever changing wonder. Sitting among it all we can all become a part of the canyon because we are alive and can are here. Soon however, we like the rock, will be reshaped by something else. When we do become lost in thought and long for stability in an ever evolving universe we can be certain of one thing. The only constant here is change.

Can We Have it All?

This week has been extremely rough. Now that it is winding down and things are starting to iron themselves out, I might be able to sleep through an entire night. I was put in a situation where I had to make a very difficult choice. One of the toughest yet, at least when it comes to job decisions. Today I was offered a position at Yosemite National Park in CA. It is a GS-5 position in the valley. I knew immediately after my interview that this offer was a formality pending reference checks. Oh and by the way...thanks to all of my supervisors who had such nice things to say about me...yep thats right, I was told so. I have spent the last 6 days weighing both possible outcomes. Of course I was recieving comments and input form the peanut gallery as well as words of wisdom and encouragement from friends and family. So again a big thanks to everyone for your love and support.

A feeling like this can drive you crazy, and I am sure that I could go back and forth for another week and still not be 100% convinced one way or another. I know..."help me"...I said, but as much as I enjoyed different points of view, I knew that this was a decision that I would have to make completely on my own. So I decided to quit my job and become an alcoholic. Just Kidding.

Going back to Glacier would mean returning to a park that I absolutely love and have a stron connection to. It would mean giving programs for the centenial that I have been working on and the thought of presenting them brings me joy and confidence. It would mean good friends that have become family and a place that I still feel I have a lot to give back to. As a frequent visitor to the park even before I worked there, Glacier Has always held a special place in my heart. But, is it time to move on?

Yosemite is one of those opportunities that many rangers dream of. It would mean a fresh start. It would mean brand new faces and new challenges in a fantastic place. It would set my resume on fire, and would be a great chance to advance my career. But, is that enough? Is that what would make me the most happy right now, at this point in my life?

It took a bit to realize that I would have to decide which I wanted most. And in the end that was to belong. Being close to people who know me and love me for who I am and returning to a place that feels like home would bring back warmth to my heart and a smile to my face. But, most of all it would bring back a feeling that I have been missing for a while.

Is Yosemite a great opportunity? Yes. Many may think of me as a crazy person but I belive in my mind that it was the right decision for me and it will make me happy. Maybe one day I will find myself high in the Sierra Nevada giving my all in a job that I love doing, but as for now that will have to remain in the bucket list.

Cape Hatteras was something that was new and fresh and has bettered me at my job in more ways than one. That I can say for certain. Next winter season I see myself trying my luck somewhere else and making another decision for the best. I hope to continue grabbing experiences in the park service one priority at a time.

In making choices like this you always learn something. Maybe it is something about yourself that you did not know before, or about things that are important to you. I can say this...I probably did learn those things but I also learned that chasing after everything you want at full speed can be exhausting. Especially if you try to attack it all at the same time. Everyone has a vision of a life that would ultimately be perfect. Dream job...ideal location...friends...family...love...etc. So can we ever have it all? Is this just a vision for the lucky ones? Are we setting outselves up for dissapointment? I have been thinking abouit this a lot lately. Yes...it think we can have it all. We maybe just can not have it all at the same time...and I hope to spend the summer season enjoying my piece of something great.

Welcome Back the Night Sky

Human appreciation of the night sky has had a long history. People today still gaze up at the stars and planets, asking the same questions as those thousands of years before them. It is a place of mystery, a place that can’t be touched and these celestial bodies bring wonder and amazement to those that enjoy a long lived pastime. Sitting around the fire, one might imagine another world and contemplate the fragile life cycles that we have here on earth.

We also have a history of using the night sky for other benefits and gain. Here at Cape Hatteras, mariners would use the night sky for navigation and direction. It was valued as much as our historic lighthouses that still shine today on the shores of North Carolina. Natural darkness is also vital to the many creatures that call these barrier islands home. Sea turtles depend on the night sky for reproduction as new hatchlings look to the moonlight for guidance back to the sea. Nocturnal land animals rely on night darkness for their own protection and survival.

Today, more of us are taking for granted the experience of natural darkness; a cosmic wonder that is disappearing. Not only are we noticing a loss of visible stars in the sky, but we are losing our sense of perspective as we enter a world of endless sun. 90 percent of the population is now denied the unique beauty of the night sky. Light pollution continues to increase with more and more wasted light directed above. Though modern technology has limited our need to use the sky, we still enjoy staring upward pondering a world beyond our reach.

Fortunately, Cape Hatteras is an excellent place to enjoy the night sky. National Parks are some of the few remaining sections of country where we can enjoy the magnificence of a starlit sky after sunset. This narrow strip of barrier islands, 30 miles out to sea, brings us further from the lighted mainland. At Cape Hatteras National Seashore we have the opportunity to gaze back in history and enjoy a show that has been playing since the beginning of time. So, we ask you to join us after sunset, turn off any unnecessary lights, sit back, relax, and welcome back the night.

Turtle Patrol

Turtle stranding season is in full swing now as we are seeing more and more stunned young turtles wash up. Most help we recieve requires volunteers walking the beaches on the sound side of the barrier islands to look for anything that has been stranded overnight. Recently I have been able to find 3 turtles, unfortunately no live ones. One of the smaller ones was fresh dead, so fresh that we probably only missed him by 12 hours or so. I did have one live one about 2 weeks ago that was transported successfully to rehab. It leaves you feeling slightly depressed when you meet ones you just missed being ablr to save. The turtle in the picture washed up and had been dead for a couple of days im guessing becasue it was starting to smell a little bit. This is a young Kemp's Ridley approx. 8-12 years old. They take 25 years to reach reproductive age so small as they may seem they actually have a number of years behind them.

Most of the strandings that we find are about the same age. This is becasue they are most vulnerable at this size to disease, cold, and wind. As youngsters these turtles are far out to sea, traveling thousands of miles. Being no bigger than the palm of your hand, they are living life near the ocean surface a ways out to sea feeding on plankton and numerous other floating particles that they can find. As they become larger they then return to the shallows where they can feed on larger creatures such as jellyfish, crabs, and snails. Some turtles like the Loggerhead have powerful jaws that can crush any hard shell and your fingers too if you accidently get them too close.

When the turtles first start coming into the shallows near Cape Hatteras they are still small enough that they can be pushed around my ocean currents. Both the Labarodar currents from the north and the Gulf Stream from the south meet at Cape Point causing strong water moments and awkward travel for these animals. During the winter months the goal is to find their way into the gulf stream which they will then stay in the warmer waters until spring. If the crazy island weather hits and there is a sudden cold snap, this is when we are on the lookout for cold stunned turtles. Being so small they do not have enough body fat yet to control temperature. If their body temperature drops too low this will cause a shutdown in their body systems and they become pretty helpless. We come then to find them washed up on the beaches unable to return to the water. These are the turtle that we know didnt make it to the Gulf Stream in time for the colder winter weather.

When coming across a turtle on the beach the first step to to see if there are any signs of life, which can sometimes be difficult if a turtle is really lathargic and out of it. By touching the back of the neck one can sometimes see some head movement. Also, tapping the inside of the front flipper will also trigger some reaction. Sometimes if we are still not sure we poke at the eye slightly to see if it will blink. If a turtle is found alive, the first thing to do it get it out of the water and off the beach. These animals can not be warmed quickly however ( 1 degree F per hour) wrapping them in a towel and keeping them dry is the best way to do so when they are being transported to the vet. There they will be treatting and hopefully released after some time in rehab. Last year over 100 turtles were found on the beaches and 38 successfully returned.

Coming to find a Kemp's Ridley in the sound side of the island (fresh dead).

Wind blown and tired...but a rewarding feeling.

Turkey and Wetsuits

As for hosting my first Thanksgiving it turned out rather well. Kaitlyn (neighbor from home) came up to visit for the holiday because she attends college a couple of hours west of Cape Hatteras and didnt intend on making the 12 hour drive to NY so we hung together for 3 days. We were in charge of the turkey, stuffing, pie, rolls, and gravy. Having never prepared a turkey on my own before I was a little skeptical. The 3 others that joined us included Rachelle and Jenn and Jeff who are they newly weds in the nps neighborhood. They brought the rest.

Most of the preparation details were passed on to me because I was actually willing to take control of the situation. This included removing the neck and giblits out of the body cavities....and then grabing the bird and chasing kait around the house with it flapping its wings. The gravy was the best part and the turkey was delicious. I believe the direct quote was, "This gravy is bangin!" So we had a successful day in the kitchen, proving that we werent just two stupid girls left to handle something important ;)

Today, feeling adventerous, we decided to go down to the surf shop and rent wet suits. We then proceeded to drive to Frisco and drag Rachelle out of her house and flooded back yard to come wipeout ...i mean surf with us. The waves were 10 feet or so but they just werent breaking the way that we needed to get a good ride. I managed to get up on my knees only once before getting slammed into the curl and decided that I would then just float and watch the sunset over the lighthouse. I must admit that turning over underneath your board before a wave hits is a very good way to avoid slamming your head, although you run the rist of hitting yourself with your own board.

Wetsuits surprisingly keep you very warm...until you get out of the water. We should have gotten in closer to where we parked the car. THats all I have to say.

Move of the Century

I have the task of giving a program about the lighthouse. The 2 interp rangers that are stationed here for the winter both need to have a talk on this topic and it is obvioius why. So that means Jen and I are both working on bettering our programs :) We wanted to make each one different so we both choice different lighthouse topics. Jen is delivering a talk about the light's historic values and how life was for the lighhouse keepers out there on the Outer Banks. I chose the epic relocation project named "the move of the century." After the relocation it was named a National Civil Engineering Landmark which I think is pretty neat!

The lighthouse was moved from its original location to its new home 2,900 feet to the southwest. The move was completed in the summer of 1999 so this year marks the 10th aniversary. This truly was an engineering feat. Most visitors come in amazed that it was able to be moved all in one piece without a single crack in the foundation. The only crack in the lighthouse was caused by lightning long before the relacation project.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse weighs 4800 tons...thats more than 2 space shuttles and is composed of 1,250,000 bricks (The tallest brick lighthouse in the world). At 208 ft it is also the tallest lighthouse in North America. Intimidating?....yes. Those responsible for the project were a chimney moving company out of Buffalo, NY and a housemoving company out if Virgina. Both the principal and double keepers quarters were moved as well and placed at the new site.

Preparation began 6 months earlier. Workers dug down 6 feet from the base of the lighthouse and proceeded to separate the lighthouse from its granite base with a diamond tiped cable saw. As the granite was removed, steel shoring towers were placed underneath to transfer the weight. A straight line was then cleared and paved with gravel creating a move path for the lighthouse. The lighthouse now sat on steal that rested on heavy duty rollers. this is how the lighthouse would move...little by little.

Hydrallic jacks pushed from behind as the monsterous structure made its way slowly down the move path. Steal beams were taken from behind the lighthouse and placed in front like stepping stones as it moved along. After 23 days of slow movement the light reached its new home a safe 1,500ft from the ocean on July 9, 1999. It now stood the same distance away from the sea as it did when it was first built in 1870. Just goes to show how fast our world is changing. The island is being shifted to the southwest at an extrodinary rate. She continues to shine today keeping man-kind safe from the dangerous waters of the diamond shoals and we have returned the favor in keeping her safe from beach erosion for another 100 years.