I just started my new job at Big South Fork National River
& Recreation Area! This will be my third summer working in the national
parks as a seasonal ranger, although I did several internships in the parks a
few years earlier which involved the same type of work. This is going to be a
long season for me, running from the beginning of May through the end of
October – a full six months! I only got here today, but I can already tell I’m
going to love it.
Yesterday was a long drive – made longer because I wasn’t
exactly ready to go first thing in the morning. I had most of my stuff
together, but not all in bags, and it always takes a while to get everything
into the trunk and the backseat and still be able to shut the door! We ended up
eating lunch before we left, but it worked out.
I was driving by myself, but my dad drove out with me in a
caravan. I hadn’t driven that distance before, but I didn’t have too much
trouble – when I couldn’t get a good radio station I had my favorite mix CDs,
and then the Cardinals game was on… I just kept my eye on the jeep with two
bikes on the roof.
It was a lovely drive. There were fields of yellow flowers –
mostly old cornfields that hadn’t been plowed over yet, and were now full of
wildflowers like groundsel. I did see just a few fields that were obviously
planted with something that bloomed a neon yellow – possibly canola? The trees
were very bright because they had only just begun to grow their leaves. This is
the earliest I’ve ever started a seasonal position – usually they start at the
end of May, just before Memorial Day. This time, there were dogwood trees still
blooming! That’s partly because the weather had been so cool, the dogwood
flowers had lasted a long time – especially under the shade of the new leaves!
Every so often there would be a glimpse, off to the side, of a layer of white
under the taller trees, spreading back into the forest.
Our motel was in Bowling Green, KY, but it took a long time
to get there. The last part of our route was on a smaller highway rather than
the big parkway, and it was a very long and winding road… a very pretty drive,
just a little too long. Then we had a lot of traffic once we got into Bowling
Green, so it was 8:30 by the time we checked in. Fortunately there was a diner
right in front of the motel so we didn’t have to drive anywhere else to eat!
Today we took a while to leave because we wanted to make
sure of our route. It was more winding roads all the way there, but very
pretty! As we went further along we were getting into higher hills, covered in
dense forest. This was broken by occasional fields and meadows carved out along
the road, often with horses grazing. There were still a lot of wildflowers in
the meadows, but now they were more often white or pale pink fleabane, with
less yellow.
We stopped at Jamestown for a much-needed break for lunch,
before setting out on the final stretch. Now it was really curving around, with
a lot of steep slopes. Just after we entered the park, we had to stop for two
deer that had bounded into the road! (There had been a “deer crossing” sign – I
guess it was right!) It felt like I was being welcomed to the park.
We pulled into the Bandy Creek Visitor Center, where I will
be working, and went inside to check in. We met Bill, my boss, and talked for a
while about the job (there were no visitors inside at the time so we were able
to relax a bit.) I got some forms to sign, and a key to the house I’ll be
staying in. Bill gave us directions to it, and we had no trouble finding it –
just had to drive straight down into the gorge and back up out of it before we
got there! (That’s the main road, not my driveway…)
We pulled up and saw a big log cabin back among the trees,
with tall grass mixed with pink fleabane and purple mint in the yard, and bees
buzzing busily about. It was beautiful. It was alright inside, too – it’s a
kind of dorm, with multiple bedrooms and a kitchen on each end, and a common
living room. I don’t have a roommate right now, although I may get one later –
but at least I had a little more room to dump all my stuff as I brought it in!
It always takes a while to actually get everything unpacked. Dad helped me
unload, then drove off to set up his own campsite while I tried to make a
start.
Later we drove to Oneida, the nearest town, for supper and
groceries. When I got back to the house and opened my car door, I froze,
listening to the whip-poor-will singing outside. He was loud and clear – a very
ambitious fellow, singing eleven or twelve times in a row before stopping. I
started carrying my groceries in. When I came back outside, the moon was
shining through the treetop across from the porch, with bits of cloud glowing
all around it. Now I could hear frogs, crickets and other night insects, and
the sound of trickling water… (The pump in the yard wasn’t quite shut off all
the way.) Later, in my room, I could still make out the faint sound of the
whip-poor-will singing away outside, even through my closed window. It was
muffled enough that I had no trouble falling asleep.
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