Since 1992 my world has changed about every six months. As a seasonal park ranger I usually work only six months of the year during late spring, summer and early fall. And, I work in some of the most beautiful places in the world, still limited to U.S.A.
.jpg "Mt St Helens 1992")
Mount Saint Helens 1992
I started my career as a seasonal park ranger naturalist while attending Western Washington University during the early 1990s after I’d taken a class in Interpretation. That’s not a foreign language thing, I was interpreting a landscape. I learned about the natural and cultural history of the area making it possible to share stories with visitors and answer questions. My internship was a summer at Mount Saint Helens National Monument 12 years after the big eruption. I was hooked. What an amazing job to learn, share, meet people from around the world, and live in a beautiful place. After graduation, I returned for four more summers to share the never ending stories of Mt St. Helens, a landscape in amazing recovery. I found it almost unbelievable to see the subtle changes that occurred daily.
.jpg "Spirit Lake MSH NM WA")
Spirit Lake
When the mountain blew on May 18, 1980 I was planning a wedding in Illinois. Where were you?