The 2020 Bryce Canyon Covid Crew of Interpretive Park Rangers continued the second week of training while wearing masks and physically distancing. And let me tell you, hiking at 8000-9000 feet in elevation with a mask on makes breathing difficult even though I am basically acclimated.
Changes occur daily and sometimes it’s difficult to keep up. Because most of the Covid Crew doesn’t have access to government computers yet and therefor park email we get almost daily notices to our personal email. A week after Bryce Canyon reopened with limited services the Natural History Association opened for sales in and out of the visitor center. Restrooms in the building were open from 8am-6pm and closed for cleaning and sanitizing three times a day. Limitation to 20 people in the building changed to 40 in only a few days. This means staffing a “door counter” to track how many go in and out. Tables were also set up outside for Rangers and interns to provide information to visitors. In the main amphitheater all trails were open except the Navajo Loop which need repairs. Backcountry trails and campsites were, and still are, closed. Even though no fees were collected the entrance station was staffed with plexiglass barriers. Message from the Superintendent “…if something isn’t working or you are not feeling safe, you can remove yourself to a safer situation.” That was May 13th and 786 vehicles entered the park that day.
I shared the first week of training which seemed pretty mild compared to this second week starting Monday May 18th. Because the Interpretive Rangers were still under quarantine training was outside—which none of us complained about—and that day we had to drive separate vehicles the 18 miles to the end of the road and the Paunsaugunt Plateau for our day at Rainbow and Yovimpa Points. In reality, many car pooled with masks on. The wind was fierce and cold that morning at 9000 feet. Being out of uniform we didn’t have to interact with the handful of visitors seen. Ranger Valerie demonstrated a Staircase geology talk which in the past would be a 20 minute presentation. This year we don’t know yet. But the schedule so far will at least have us “roving” (hanging out) behind tables at Yovimpa Point to talk geology and answer questions.
We also walked the one-mile Bristlecone Loop trail with firefighter (and neighbor) Tony. We learned about thinning in our overly dense forest and the 2018 Riggs Springs and Lonely fires, visible below the point, both started by lightning. Forest ecology is a complex topic that I’m not going to get into here but Rangers need to know and talk about it with visitors, especially when the charred standing dead is easily seen.
We learn later that many seasonal Ranger friends on the South Rim have lost their summer jobs as Grand Canyon is reducing staff and hours open. Things change every day. Some parks don’t anticipate being open at all this summer, or operate with limited services. Check the park’s website for up-to-date information before calling. Trust me, the phone lines are busy all day with questions we happily answer that can also be found on our Bryce Canyon website.
Tuesday morning’s Covid Crew training had us spaced out on folding chairs in a large bay (where an ambulance would park) with the big door open. We learned about Search and Rescue (SAR) and Preventative SAR (PSAR). The what do if… Although these activities are not our specific duties if we are trained and able we could be called for assistance. Plus, we might be the person who encounters a visitor’s need for help in many different ways. The ten Interpretive Park Rangers have a range of skills from First Aid/CPR to Woofers and we need to know and follow protocol when needed.
We also heard about the shuttle system in the park in hopes that it will soon begin operation. Things change every day.
After lunch we met at the Sunset campground—at the time not yet open—to learn the campground rules. Currently North Campground is closed for rehab. Sunset is scheduled to open June 7th by reservation only. Once again, the campground website says it all. Backcountry trails and campsites are not open. I learned a new rule about not hanging hammocks on trees. Seemed to become popular a few years ago and people sometimes use straps instead of rope thinking that’s not so hard on the tree. But our Ponderosa Pine trees have chunky bark that is ripped apart even with straps. If you need a hammock, it must be self supporting.
On Wednesday, May 20th Bryce Canyon National Park began to collect entrance fees again. Of course you can always enter with one of the Park Pass options and save the daily fee—actually good for seven days—$35 per car load.
That day of training started off with a .7 mile walk slightly uphill along the rim from Sunset Point to almost Inspiration Point where we met with several resource biologists who talked about local plants and animals found in Bryce. Most of the wildlife seen regularly are rodents including the Utah Prairie dog, birds, Mule deer, and Pronghorn. Rodents can carry fleas that can carry bubonic plague. Large mammals like bear and cougar are in the park yet rarely seen. Always a good idea to know how to deal with possibly pesty animals, and visitors who may want to feed them or just get too close. If you want to learn more about the wildlife attend my evening program, when and if we give those programs possibly in an outdoor amphitheater and keep visitors at a safe distance.
Star Lily
Also went on a plant identification hunt and learned a few new flowers. Some plants are difficult to ID without flowers. Always fun to share discoveries with staff new to the area.
During the afternoon we met at the North campground amphitheater where Valerie addressed how to talk about climate change with a diverse audience. Having scientific facts is great but it’s important to connect visitors with obvious change where they live. Numbers representing change over time is good for some but seeing is believing works better for others. Seen any changes over time where you live?
That followed by our Chief of Interpretation sharing the cultural history of the area beginning with the native Paiute, early Euro-American explorers, Mormon settlers, and development of the park.
All interesting stuff, some I already knew, but it felt like an extra long day and I went home totally exhausted. But because the following day would be a very late start and end, as we’d cover astronomy, I couldn’t go to bed too early.
Thursday I slept late and started the nine-hour work day at 2:30pm. April, self-proclaimed astronomy nerd—lead the training. We worked in a parking area that was closed to the public but did have some construction vehicles. She covered the care and set up the 11” and 9” Celestron telescopes, and the solar scope. After dinner she presented a PowerPoint that I missed most of because my dinner made me sick and I went home early. The rest of the crew later went to the parking lot behind the visitor center/administration building to set up the scopes and look at the sky.
At present, it’s uncertain when or if we’ll be able to set telescopes up for visitor viewing. This summer’s Astronomy Festival has been cancelled. Things change every day for the Covid Crew.
Friday I woke up feeling fine, though a little empty. It was a day for teleworking from home. I spent most of the day reading. Went to the uniform cache looking for pants. You may remember how my size changed radically in the last couple years, starting at size 6 pants before Berta died, then up to size 12 last year working, and over this past winter I went down to a 10 and then an 8. I’m hoping the size 8 pants I ordered fit as the 10s I borrowed are too big and the 8 is a little tight. I need to keep exercising.
The General Store opened that day from 9am-6pm and although the restrooms were also opened the pay showers and laundry were not. Things change every day for the Covid crew.
I had Saturday off and honestly don’t remember what I did most of the day. Went to dinner at IDK BBQ in Tropic with April. Ordered online from the car in their parking lot then ate at their outside tables.
Sunday I brought my laptop to work studying in the library. Nice quiet place to be and didn’t have to wear my mask if nobody came around, which they did not. Being the second day of Memorial Day weekend the park was busy. Not as busy as previous years, but without the shuttle running parking lots filled. Mid-day the entrance station closed for a while and we went into “Phase 5” which basically means there’s no more parking spaces left. Vehicles have to leave so more can enter. I didn’t get the numbers for vehicle entry.
Later that afternoon, Shawn and his wife arrived with my 5th-wheel. Not only does it fit quite nicely in site #1 with all three slides out but my truck fits as well. I hooked up the power but not the water as it was predicted to freeze that night. I asked April to watch while I went up on the roof to put up the booster. We laughed about no running water but a signal being my priority. I climbed that ladder as good as ever. Sadly, I still don’t have a very good signal even with the booster. No way I could get totally moved in but Sierra and I slept in the “big house” that night.
Monday was my first day in uniform and in public. I helped open in the morning which involves wheeling a cart outside on the plaza in front of the visitor center, setting up tables under shade canopies, and more tables right by the door to count visitors coming and going. Only 40 people at a time allowed inside the building for either bathroom use or the sales area. Film and museum still closed. I enjoyed the two-hour stint answering questions and helping 52 visitors with orientation in the park. Yes we count people. Wasn’t terribly busy being the last of the three day holiday weekend. Visitor mask wearers were about 50%. Yet seeing all us Rangers wearing a mask reminded most to stay back a bit from the tables, as did we, using long-handled pointers or laser lights to show people on the map taped to the table where they might want to go. All the information is also in the park’s newspaper they get when entering.
Under the new normal work schedule, Paula and I would have driven to Rainbow Point at the end of the 18-mile scenic drive, ate lunch, and taken turns roving the Bristlecone Loop trail and answering questions at Yovimpa Point behind tables with pics and props about the Grand Staircase geology. However, the boss decided we should not go as we’d be mobbed, plus the tables aren’t there yet. So, I went home to telework and studied about dinosaurs and the kinds of fossils found in the the Grand Staircase geology, something I’m still rather weak in.
I still hadn’t turned the water on to the 5th-wheel and was dearly looking forward to a hot shower in my own house. No leaks on the outside connections. Oops, forgot to close all the inside faucets. Went in to at least slow the flow while clearing the lines from winterizing. The kitchen faucets wouldn’t turn off. Turned off the water outside and asked neighbor Tony for help. Fortunately, I had a new kitchen faucet still in the box. But even better, when he took it apart, cleaned it of some small particles, and put it back together it worked. And I got my shower.
Monday, 1682 vehicles entered the park, doubled in under a week. Things change every day every day for the Covid crew.
Tuesday is my Friday. After an hour of answering phone questions I became the door monitor in front of the visitor center. With a clicker in each hand for in and out I count. Limited to 40 people, during my 2 1/2 hour shift there was rarely more than 20 people inside. The Natural History Association has a small sales set up outside as well as more indoors. Sales looked good and steady. They sell a lot of black face masks with a Bryce logo.
A couple interns also staff an area for Junior Rangers. And they are heroes.
After lunch I helped staff the information tables again. We work in at least pairs. I stayed after my two hour shift and also helped close, a reverse of open procedures described above. It was a slow afternoon with my count at 68. I work with an awesome Covid crew. Sadly, some of us with opposite days off won’t see each other often but we make a great team.
I was a good kind of tired at the end of the day. And with three days off I’d still be busy moving stuff from the small camper to the larger, going somewhere for groceries, and laundry.
Things change every day, and that’s why this post is so long. And my days are long so my time for social media is short and I am behind reading blog posts.
This was a thorough and packed two weeks of Park Ranger training. Am I ready? No. But I did work the visitor center desk in uniform as a Park Ranger answering questions and providing orientation for almost four hours on Sunday. So I’m working on programs and orienting myself to the park. Still have almost two weeks until my first actual program beyond pointing to the stars. Plus writing this post helped a lot. Because I haven’t spent enough time on the rim many of these photos are from previous visits.