Hard to believe, but I just completed my final week of volunteering at Crater Lake National Park. This has been one of the most memorable summers I’ve ever had, and being here, I have been able to fulfill my dream of being a park ranger. Not only can I now say I was a ranger, but I was a ranger at one of my favorite places in the country–Crater Lake! What a privilege it has been to be able to work and live in a National Park for eleven weeks.
This past week, I went to the Painted Hills in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument with Heidi and Gabby. We woke up early and headed out toward Bend. We stopped in Bend for a great breakfast and then headed north to John Day near Mitchell, Oregon. We first stopped at the visitor center, where we watched the park video and purchased some souveneirs. Inside the visitor center is a museum of some of the many, many fossilized plants and animals that have been discovered there. What a fascinating place. We learned that Oregon once had a rain forest climate where bananas grew and relatives of elephants and rhinos roamed!
After the visitor center, we went for a hot hike through the Blue Basin. The rocks in this area were a mint green-blue color that were just stunning. We also did a short hike that took us to an overlook of a high peak called Sheep Rock.
Next, we drove back toward the Painted Hills. Luckily we got there in the afternoon, so the sun was hitting the colorful clay hills at just the right angle. We could see reds, oranges, yellows and tans striped along the hills. This is known as one of the seven wonders of Oregon, and I knew when I first heard of it that I wanted to see it before heading back to Michigan. The Painted Hills sure were worth the wait! I even ran into a couple from Wisconsin who had been on my Crater Lake trolley tour a few days prior. Such a small world!
On the way home, we stoppped again in Bend for dinner. One of the most exciting parts of the day happened on our drive home, however, when we saw a mountain lion cross in front of the car! Such a rare sighting, and one I am so fortunate to have in my last days here.
On Wednesday, I was back to work for the week. It was bitter sweet doing some of my last tours. Saying good-bye to the trolley drivers and boat captains was sad, and it was also sad to give my last “Crater Lake Ladies” talk. During my last day doing the ladies talk, my housemate Kristin, her boyfriend Ian, and Ranger Daphnie came to see my talk. It was a lot of fun seeing them in the crowd that day.
I also was able to hike Crater Peak this week, one of the few hikes I had left to do in the park. Again, such a treat when I saw two pikas–again, a rare wildlife sighting. It was as if the animals here were all coming out to say good-bye! I even saw a young fox again here in Sleepy Hollow and a last bald eagle on Wizard Island.
Last night, to celebrate my last days, and to celebrate the other volunteers Tim and Karlie, a lot of the interps and even some of the boat captains came out to dinner at Annie Creek Restaurant. It was a fun way to wrap up the season, and the staff got me a nice card that certainly brought a tear to my eye.
Today, I worked the morning in the Steel Visitor Center, and am now spending the afternoon cleaning, packing, and doing check-out paperwork. Tonight, I am planning on going up to the lake one last time, stopping to grab a few last-minute souveniers, and then playing one last game of volley-frizz.
Tomorrow, I’ll be headed out early to pick up my dad at the Reno Airport, where we’ll head to Salt Lake City for our first night of our three-day road trip.
Looking back, this whole experience was rewarding, challenging, and invigorating. The training was a lot of work, and some of the work days could be long. The good certainly outweighed any of those challenges, however. I have been so lucky to meet people from all over the world and from many different backgrounds. It was very rewarding to be able to help people learn about this unique place, and also continue to learn about it myself, even up to my last days. My co-workers were some of the most hard-working, genuine, and thoughtful people I have ever worked with, and I have such respect for our park rangers and park service. I hope to some day come back to Crater Lake, as it has its own special place in my heart. I also hope to continue to visit and appreciate all of the other special places taken care of by the NPS. A huge thank you goes out to all of my friends and co-workers who made this summer so special, and all of you have a place to stay if you ever get a chance to visit Michigan.
A big thank you to all of you have been keeping up with my adventures on this blog. It has been so fun documenting my summer, and what a surprise at how many of you were interested enough to read it regularly. I can’t wait to see many of you soon. Another thank you to my husband, friends, and family who were so supportive in this endeavor. Because of you, I have been able to do this crazy adventurous thing that I will remember and appreciate for the rest of my life.
Signing off from Crater Lake National Park,
Love, Nicky
My Crater Lake Summer 