“Working hard or hardly working?”

Ah hah ha.  Hah.  Heh.  Uhh.

I hate that joke.  But it pretty accurately describes my first week at work.  One of the reasons why I love my line of work is that the training involved is always, “Go sit in on this class.  Learn some stuff.  Be a visitor.  Enjoy yourself.  Then do it from the other end.”  Don’t mind if I do.  I have had so much fun since last Monday, shadowing the other Rangers, listening to their particular spiels, watching how they handle chatty school groups, unruly chaperones, windy conditions.  And learning the whole time the meaningful facts and insights to this enormous Canyon. 

That’s my challenge, and my goal.  How do I encourage intimate connections to something so overwhelming?  What stories can I tell that will be memorable?  What advice that will encourage folks to be resourceful, and to preserve this park and other wilderness in their lives?  And yes, I believe I can do all that from one 15-minute interaction.  I have to.  Otherwise, what am I out here for?

My job is an exercise in the butterfly effect.  Hopefully my presence in uniform (looking fine, if I do say so myself) might expand young visitors’ minds about the role of women outdoors.  Maybe my kind words of warning might dissuade unprepared hikers from an uncomfortable, dehydrated day’s hiking, or worse.  Possibly my words transforming this gigantic landform into something familiar (a container holding a million billion jellybeans, for example) might put it better in perspective, for a family wondering idly just what is the point of keeping this hole in the ground, well, whole, when it could make a bitchin’ theme park.

I know my job isn’t strictly necessary in some ways, but I do think it’s valuable.  I don’t actively keep the lights on or the water flowing or the people within the bounds of the law.  But I do remind them to care, about each other and about where they are.  And the ease of that comes from how much fun I have doing it.  I’ve just started the learning curve for my own Canyon education, but everyone is kind and helpful, curious and enthusiastic.  I can’t wait to be on their team, doing good work and having a blast while doing it.  In a pretty rockin’ uniform.  Eeep!