Learn about what it's like to work as a student park ranger as Park Ranger Alyssa helps visitors and works with junior rangers at the visitor center.

(You can also read past blogs in the student ranger blog archive.)

October 18, 2009. Hey, everyone! Wow, it’s hard to believe that the season is coming to an end. This will be my last blog for the year! It feels like only yesterday that I was sitting at

Things are slowing down here at Acadia. Visitors are slowly making their way back home, leaving the visitor center empty. This morning there was a marathon run on the island, which means that yesterday everyone was coming to Acadia to see how beautiful the fall foliage is.

The number of people asking for a hike recommendation is dwindling the colder it gets. The other night it was so cold that I had to break out my winter coat and gloves just to step outside!  It’s no wonder not many people are in the mood to hike; they don’t want to risk freezing.

I’ve only inducted two junior rangers today. Not many children are completing their junior ranger books anymore because school has started, and the park’s programs have ended for the season.

Well, I guess it is time to say bye for now! It’s been a wonderful year, and I’m so happy that I’ve had the opportunity to work with all these fantastic people. I hope that everyone has a fun winter. Stay warm!

—Alyssa

October 18, 2009. Hello again. It’s been a while since I last wrote about the goings on in the park. Alyssa ended up writing a blog instead of me last time, because I was so busy with everything that I didn’t get a chance to write in. School is in full swing and with it, mounting homework piles. Now that I’ve finally caught a break in between deadlines, I can write my last blog of the season.

It has been surprisingly busy, even though the season is drawing to a close. The fall foliage, the MDI Marathon, cruise ships, and the added publicity of the Ken Burns national parks movie have all swelled the visitor numbers. We don’t see too many kids anymore, but plenty of folks coming up to Maine for a week or two to enjoy the autumn air. The leaves are about at peak right now, so take the opportunity to appreciate the “fireworks” display.

This unseasonably cold fall means more layers! The temperatures fluctuate from 50 to 30 degrees in a normal forecast. I personally advise a decent jacket at the least! It has been cold the past couple of evenings. Cold enough to frost the fields and coat my steps in a thin layer of ice, so be careful and stay warm.

The closing of the season means that we have to say goodbye to the last of our out-of-state staff. It’s been a wonderful season, and working with them made it all the better. Our infamous volunteers John and Marjorie and enthusiastic ranger Hunter have all moved on to home or other park assignments. We miss you all, wish you the best of luck, and hope to see you soon!

Well, thank you to all the staff and visitors for making this such a wonderful experience for me. I hope that I will be returning next year for the next round of questions and the masses of enthusiastic Junior Rangers! Ta ta for now!

—Sean

October 5, 2009. Hey everyone! It’s me, Alyssa again, with this week’s blog!! Things have started to become a little bit slower here at the visitor center. It gives me the feeling of déjà vu. When I first began working at the park, it was quite slow as well.

It is pretty cool to come to the park week after week and see how the leaves have progressively become redder and redder. Fall is definitely in the air, a fact I can prove by just stepping outside! It’s time to break out the gloves and hats, hikers! Maybe I’m just a wimp, but I definitely have started to wear my coats already!

Yes, people are still hiking in this cooler weather. Whenever I hear about someone wanting to hike up the Precipice Trail in this weather, I find myself wondering why their fingers do not freeze off on the cold rungs and ladders! The Precipice Trail is rated as one of Acadia’s more strenuous trails. The trail goes up Champlain Mountain and can be scary for people that are afraid of heights!

Since it has been slow at the visitor center, there isn’t really that much to write about! Today was a nice change because Todd and Julia, two of our HawkWatch rangers, came in to help us at the visitor center. It had started to rain, and HawkWatch was canceled. Instead of going home, they came and gave their program at the visitor center. I thought this was cool, since I never had the chance to see their presentation. I was finally able to learn more about hawks! The HawkWatch program takes place on the top of Cadillac Mountain from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day through October 14 (unless it’s raining or foggy). Every year when the hawks migrate, their migratory path places them over Cadillac Mountain. This gives rangers the perfect opportunity to count the hawks while providing an educational program to visitors.

There have not been many Junior Rangers lately. Sadly, I’ve only been able to induct about six all month! All of the kids are back in school like me, and they don’t have time to go on vacations anymore. This will also be one of my last blogs, since the end of the season is approaching for me on October 25. It will be sad to say goodbye to all of the volunteers that I may never see again, because they will be on another assignment in another state.

I hope to see you sometime at Hulls Cove Visitor Center! Happy hiking!

—Alyssa

September 20, 2009. Hey everyone! It’s Alyssa again!

Well, as the leaves begin to change, people are heading out to Mount Desert Island to see the spectacular colors and views… and they are something to look at, definitely! Soon the view from the top of Cadillac will be unbelievable, with a variety of mixed shades of red contrasting against the ocean. It’s a great time to come to Acadia, since it is a lot quieter here now that kids are back in school.

Sean and I are currently only working weekends now, as I’m sure he told you. We are spending the majority of our free time slaving away on our thesis papers. I’m sad to say that play time in Acadia is over for me, and I don’t see myself being able to take anymore time to go hiking. It is a sad thought, but next year I’ll just be that much more excited to hit the trails again!

On a side note, I’d like to add a quick happy birthday to our assistant supervisor Kathy! Happy birthday, Kathy! Now, back to business…

It has been pretty quiet at the visitor center, especially at the information desk. And it also seems that whenever we do get questions, they are very hard ones. Such as “where is the totem pole?” and “where can I get the statistics that show that Acadia is one of the most visited parks?” I do try my best to answer these questions, but sometimes they can be quite the stumpers!!

Well, that is it for this week! Next week I’ll have something else to write! Until then, have a fun week!

—Alyssa

September 13, 2009. Hey again! Although school has started up, I'm still working at the visitor center desk on weekends, so I'll be blogging for a little while longer at least!

Most of the schools around the country have started up as well, so the majority of kids have already left, and the visitor center is much quieter than it used to be! It doesn't seem likely that I'll catch Alyssa in the Junior Ranger count though. I'm pretty sure I'll still be trying to catch up to her next season with the giant lead she has now!

So with the new season come the fall foliage seekers! Already the oak trees on my road are getting a brownish tinge to them. Birds are migrating south, the weather is much more brisk, and it's darker earlier in the afternoon. It doesn't seem possible that its fall already; the summer went by so fast!

I've still had some time here and there to go hiking. The latest expedition included the North Bubble, Conners Nubble, and the edges of Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond. It was only about four miles or so, but by no means was it easy. The views from the top of the North Bubble were just fantastic. It was one I had never done before, because I had always gone up the South Bubble to see Bubble Rock. Bubble Rock is the large glacial erratic that was believed to originate some 50 miles north of here. The glacier picked it up and deposited it on the side of South Bubble Mountain when the ice melted. The North Bubble is definitely one I want to do again. We hardly met more than six or eight people on the entire trail, and the ponds below looked like glass because it was such a beautiful, still day.

I'm certainly excited for the Ken Burns national parks film to come out on the 27th! From the amazing clips that he had excerpted from the master film for the preview, I can hardly wait to see the rest of it! The film of course encompasses Acadia National Park, but the rest of the national parks that he visited for the filming and interviews all over the country are very well documented. I'm eager to learn what he uncovered about the history and importance of each of them!

Well, I'll be back here on weekends till we close in October and I'm sure Alyssa will be blogging too, so until next time, ta-ta for now!

—Sean

September 8, 2009. Hey there everyone! This will be my last entry before school starts (cue sad farewell music.) I'll still be here on weekends, but it won't be the same as being here every day. Now that the busy part of the season has ended and school is starting again, some very dear friends of ours have left to start college. Saying goodbye to them was difficult. Especially to those who go to school far away, and who I will most likely never see again. However, a lot of my co-workers are still here to man the center until the end of the season, which is October 31.

Two of my co-workers who we call "the Sara(h)'s" were amongst those to leave us last week. They made their farewell a memorable one. I had already said my last goodbye to them, when all of the sudden they both came up the stairs in their normal street clothes and handed me their Senior Ranger books. They had always joked about completing the program before they left, but I did not take them seriously! I began the ceremony, and my supervisor once again ran downstairs to fetch her camera to document the whole event. I asked them the usual questions, and we all had a good laugh when I asked them, "What do you think a ranger does in the park?" They answered with all sorts of ridiculous stereotypical answers. It definitely made that goodbye a little bit easier.

As for all the other Junior Rangers that I inducted this month…well, they were awesome! I don't want to brag or anything, but I did induct 105 Junior Rangers for the month of August, a fact that I proudly flaunted in Sean's face. It would be ok if he had at least done half that many, but when I had finished counting I found that I had inducted quadruple his amount. We now have a running joke that he owes me 75 Junior Rangers to help even out the score. The thing is that I have so much fun inducting the Junior Rangers, I don't think he'll ever catch up!

The visitor center has become pretty quiet lately. Now that school has started we're not seeing many kids…in fact I haven't seen a kid all day! I personally like it when it's quieter; it gives you more individual time with each person. That gives you a better chance to evaluate what they want to do and present them with their options! Well, that's all I have to write for this week! I hope to see you up in the visitor center sometime! Happy hiking!

—Alyssa

August 31, 2009.  Hey, I’m back! It’s the last week of August, and school is fast approaching. The weather is certainly cooler, and everything has the hint of an early fall about it. Most of the families with children have gone back home, so the visitor center is much quieter, especially this morning!

Our Junior Rangers have done a wonderful job this season! They have always been enthusiastic and interesting. As they go back to school with their patches, they have some good stories to tell their classmates this year! Alyssa held a clear lead this month, inducting more than 100 Junior Rangers. Many bonus points to her!

With the end of the busy season we start to prepare for the fall crowds and say goodbye to those of our staff who are leaving us for schools abroad. Both Sara and Sarah have been amazing people to work with this season, and we are all going to miss them in the weeks to come. They have been fun and exciting, and their enthusiasm and humor has helped make this season a great experience. Best of luck to both of them in college and we hope to see them back here soon! Deb, one of our volunteers, also left us to go back and teach at her school. We miss her as well and are looking forward to seeing her next season (if not sooner!).

Now that the hurricane season is upon us, we must be careful to warn people about the surf and other weather conditions. Hurricane Bill and Danny have passed by us, bringing heavy rains and incredibly high seas. The hurricane season has just begun and there are many more storms bound to form. Rip tides, heavy currents, and big waves are always a present danger, so be cautious especially near Sand Beach and Thunder Hole.

As the summer season comes to a close, both Alyssa and I will be preparing for our return to high school. However we will be up here at the desk on the weekends until we close in October. The fall rush of people coming to observe the changing fall colors is just around the corner, so I’m sure there will still be plenty of questions for us to answer!

Later!

—Sean

August 21, 2009. The date for school to start is close now; the official countdown has begun, and what a sad countdown it is. I've never seen Acadia so beautiful, and the thought of having to spend my days studying in a classroom again is more than a tad depressing. But school will not begin for a couple of weeks, which means that I still have some time left to spend outdoors. This is an amazing thought when you factor in how awesome this weather has been!

I feel very guilty about writing so much in last week’s blog because Sean, the other student ranger, got quite angry at me. While he was trying to write his blog last week, he looked over what I had written in mine to make sure that we weren't writing about the same things. He discovered that I had written about all the topics that he'd been planning to write about! He looked at me when I checked to see what he was doing and said, "was it really necessary for you to write about all of the exciting things that happened to you as well as all the exciting things that happened to me?!" To that I answer: yes.

On my last two days off the weather was so hot that it was almost too uncomfortable to be outside…almost. Swimming was a must on these days, and I do recommend going swimming to anyone on these hot days as a way to cool off. Be careful which trails you’re going to be hiking, folks, and make sure to bring plenty of water with you. Becoming dehydrated while hiking the Precipice isn't much fun—and it's dangerous. One trail that I love is the Bowl, which is up the backside of the Beehive. Not only do I get to hike a trail with spectacular views of the ocean, but I'm rewarded with a quick swim in the water once I've reached the top.

I had what I can definitely say was my most interesting encounter with "Junior Rangers" yesterday morning. At around 8 a.m., right after our doors opened and I was still shaking the cobwebs out of my head, I had two "Junior Rangers" come in and place their Junior Ranger books on the desk in front of me. I looked up in shock to see a 16 year old girl and a 17 year old boy looking at me, trying very hard not to laugh. Of course, this got me laughing. It was a little bit hard for me to stay serious, because I had no idea if I should ask them the same questions that I ask the younger children! As I went to get the hats and badges for them I told Kathy, our supervisor, the story of what was going on. She quickly disappeared. A few minutes later, the teens had dramatically put their little hats onto their heads and we were all in tears from laughing. While they were reciting their pledge Kathy came up with a camera and took some photos. It definitely set the tone for the rest of my day, putting me in a much better mood.

On a final note, I’d like to add that Sean and I were both given a "Thank You" award this week at a park award ceremony for being ushers at the Ken Burns film premier. As I write this, I don't even know if Sean knows that he received an award yet… and I'm sure that next week he’ll be reading this blog saying to me "I wanted to write about that!"

Well, that's it for now folks! I’ll be writing again in another two weeks…happy hiking!

-Ranger Alyssa

August 16, 2009. Hey y’all! I’m back for another blog! So the August rush has finally arrived, and the sea of visitors has swelled far past my expectations. The crowds seem to have held off taking their trips here because of all the unfavorable weather in June and July, and are all visiting Acadia now! It is interesting to predict the flow of visitors though, now that we have a consistent rush every day. At about five minutes before opening, the phones start ringing for ranger program reservations and do not stop until about nine. Not long after the phone rush ends, the visitor center is packed from wall to wall with people asking questions, buying passes, or being inducted as junior (or sometimes senior) rangers!

I’ve been out in the park again with my hiking pal. She and I have now survived the Precipice Trail and the West Face Cadillac Trail, and are planning more trips sometime next week. Both trails are difficult but for different reasons. The Precipice, being classified as the hardest hike on the island, is comprised mostly of ladders, rungs, and sharp drop-offs. The West Face Trail is more of a straight up scramble on the side of Cadillac with no ladders or handholds whatsoever. Although both are beautiful and cool to do, I’ve found out that heights and I don’t necessarily agree all of the time!

As you have probably heard from around town or from Alyssa’s latest blog, we’ve caught the attention of Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan. Their newest film is about the national parks and gives a wonderful view of just what a spectacular idea these parks are. A premiere of the film was shown at the Criterion Theater in Bar Harbor, and Alyssa and I were lucky enough to be asked to be ushers for the two showings. We got to meet some interesting people—VIPs, park officials, and lots of park enthusiasts!

The seasonable weather has finally arrived! It has been in the 80’s for the past couple of days, and will stick around for the next week or so as well. These are the days to be out and about! The warmer weather during the day is coupled with much clearer skies for some great night sky scoping. Just last night at about 10:30 there were no clouds at all, and the Milky Way was clearly visible. My friend and I were able to pick out some constellations and a satellite or two!

Well, I will be back in another week to talk more about my park exploits! Bye!

—Sean

August 7, 2009. Another week gone, folks, which means that we are another week closer to school starting. It’s strange to think that in about one month’s time, I’ll be back in a classroom, and no longer able to be outside for the majority of my day. This is such a shame, since the sun seems to be showing itself more and more these days!

Right now, I must say that inducting junior rangers is one of my favorite jobs. This isn’t only because of how wonderful the kids have been lately, but also because inducting kids gives me an excuse to go outside! Sometimes it gets so noisy in the building that I “reluctantly” take the kids outside so I can hear their responses to my questions. Just the other day I had two of the most adorable children from Australia, who were so eager to talk to me about their trip to Acadia that their parents had to drag them away!

Last night was quite the exciting night for Acadia National Park! Ken Burns and Duncan Dayton, famous for their documentaries, came to the Criterion Theater in Bar Harbor. They were showing short clips of their new series titled “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” It was a special screening that included parts of the documentary that pertained to Acadia National Park! Sean and I had the privilege of being able to help out as ushers for the night, and as a reward got to shake hands with Duncan Dayton and Ken Burns! After the performance Sean ran up to the front of the theater, took down the temporary sign on Ken Burns’ seat that read “Reserved for Ken Burns,” and had Ken sign it for him. He then ran up to me exclaiming how he had “won the Ken Burns’ lottery”!

I am very excited to announce the opening of the Precipice Trail! I am excited since this means that I can finally hike the trail! I’ve always wanted to hike it, but my parents would never let me because I was “too young.” But now that I’m a park ranger, I have the perfect excuse! It’s one of the few mountain trails that I haven’t hiked, and I’m always quite envious when I hear visitors coming in telling me how amazing it is. I may have to steal Sean away to accompany me so I don’t hurt myself!

Well, it’s back to work at the desk now! It’s been so busy at the desk lately that it has been difficult finding time to write this blog! August has definitely been the busiest month of them all I’ve noticed… and we’re only six days into it! I’ll just have to hold out and hopefully hike some new trails when I’m off! Happy hiking!

—Alyssa

August 5, 2009. Hello again, all! With a dripping wet July behind us and a really nice day to start August off, things are looking much brighter! I’m quite sure that there were not more than a handful of nice days all last month!

I managed to get out and go hiking on one of those decent days on one of my days off. I ended up hiking up Sargent and Penobscot Mountains with a friend. The views were incredible even though it was a little misty! My friend wasn’t too happy about having to start hiking so early in the morning, but the pictures we got from the summit of Sargent were worth it! My family also took the opportunity to get out and do something on one of the nicer days as well. They and some of their friends went to Echo Lake the other day to escape the humidity while I was here at work. Although the water was cool and pleasant, it seemed that everyone else on the island had that same great idea to go swimming there at the same time! Hopefully I’ll get the chance to get out and do some more hiking and biking in the month to come.

So the season presses on, and the questions keep on coming! With the crowds come more Junior Rangers than ever. I think just today I’ve sworn in about 6 or 8, and Alyssa has done at least that many today as well! The funniest part about Junior Rangers is that you end up encountering a wide range of different personalities. I’ve had everything from the most excited, prepared and outspoken kids, to the shy and quiet kids who have to tell their parents the answers to my questions, and have them talk to me for them. All of them, however, are still interested in the park and end up learning a lot through the ranger programs.

Just yesterday I ended up taking an unexpected hike during work to take part in a rescue up on top of Champlain Mountain. The call came in that there had been an injury at the top of the Precipice Trail and the rescue team needed help. John, a volunteer, and I were asked to go help out. We drove up to the Bear Brook Trail and met the rescue team on the way down with the injured woman on the litter. I had never seen one of these rescue operations in action, but the rangers in charge made sure that I got involved with the process! Using teams of six people, we carried the person down the trail, passing her off to the next team when we got tired, or when we had come to a place that would be too dangerous to shuffle across. We eventually made our way back to the road, where the ambulance was waiting for us. After a quick debriefing with the rescue team, John and I headed back to the visitor center. The entire rescue took several hours, but I was only involved for about an hour. We realized what a hard and tiring job it can be! I was really glad that the rescue team was so willing to let John and I be involved in the operation, and although I wished it had been because of better circumstances, we got to share in a really interesting experience!

As the season has gone on, I’ve come to learn more about the park than I’ve ever known, even though I grew up with the park in my backyard! The rangers often do talks around the big relief map in the middle of the visitor center about the park and its natural history. When I have a chance to listen in on them, I learn a lot!

Well, I’ve got to run and help out up at the desk, so I’ll be back next week! Ta!

—Sean

July 29, 2009. Hey there, everyone! It’s me, Ranger Alyssa, with my new blog! It’s so strange how hectic things can get one second here, and really quiet the next! I can never tell if the day is going to be very busy or very quiet. I used to believe that if it was raining, it would be quieter, but that theory was derailed on one of our more rainy days when we had bushels of visitors!

Once again though, I must talk about some of the questions that I’ve been asked here at the desk. The most common question that I’m asked is, “Where are the moose and bear?” I always feel bad when answering this question because the person is so hopeful to see one of these great animals while they’re here. I have to be the bearer of bad news and tell them that it is very unlikely that their wish will come true. My co-workers and I sometimes talk about painting a portrait of the “Ideal Acadia.” There would be very flat carriage roads with puffins, moose, and bear lined up on the side of the road. There would be seals waving from Eagle Lake with eagles flying overhead and Thunder Hole would be thundering the whole time. Sometimes it’s hard to explain that nature does what it wants to do and that seeing wildlife is a hit or miss event.

The junior rangers have been as pleasant as always. Whenever I see one of those little kids walking up to me with their little green and blue books, I run to prepare for their arrival. Some of them are just so adorable that the moment I see them it brings a smile to my face that I can’t shake until I’ve finished inducting them. Sean, the other high school ranger, and I will always find ourselves sharing our latest junior ranger adventures. Most of the time we have to fight over who inducts the kids!

Sadly, there hasn’t been much time for me to go hiking around Acadia because it seems that whenever I’m not working it’s rainy and dreary. Hopefully this pattern will break, though, since I have compiled a list of trails that my friends and fellow Acadia National Park rangers have told me that I must hike. Hopefully, the sun that has been forecasted for later this week will arrive when it’s supposed to and let me hike these trails!

Well, there isn’t much more left for me to say, so until next time, make the best of this weather and go outside every second that you get!

—Alyssa

July 21, 2009. Hello again! Blog number 2 and counting! So for the past couple of weeks it’s been pretty busy, even despite the rain, and the questions keep on coming! Although the weather hasn’t been the most favorable of late, people are still excited to be out in the park learning and exploring.

I’m still up here at the desk answering questions and giving advice most days, whether it is where to hike and bike, or what birds can be found and where. A whole range of things really. However, most of it is just helping people get an orientation to the island, and where they might end up going. I’ve become so used to the map being upside down from my perspective behind the desk, that when looking at it right side up, I can’t give directions to save my life!

I’ve come across some strange or unusual questions in my time behind the desk. Some have been about the locations of things that people remember from many years ago as a kid, and the name of the place they have half forgotten, or gotten confused with another place. While others may be about finding moose—how, when and where would be the best place to see them—even though moose rarely come to the island!

I’m still inducting junior rangers, usually several a day or so. Many have come from around the country, but several have been from even farther away. All of them are excited and interested in the park because most of them have gone through other parks, and like Alyssa said, some of them have done the ranger programs everywhere they have been.

I haven’t had too much time to be out in the park as of late. I have family staying with us for a few weeks, and they are all game for some hiking, so I’ve been able to suggest some good ones they should do while they are here. This is the first time that most of them have been here to visit, so they are really interested in the park and my job here as an interpretive ranger. Being a ranger certainly makes touring family around much easier!

Well, I’ll be up here at the desk continuing to help the ever-growing flood of summer visitors, and I’ll be back to write about more of my ranger exploits in a week! Later!

—Sean

July 15, 2009. Hey there folks! It’s me, Alyssa again, for my second blog! Wow, it’s really strange to think how fast time flies here… it feels like just yesterday that I was writing my first blog, and here we are two weeks later! Needless to say I’ve been quite busy around here as July seems to be one of our busiest times. Most likely I’ll be saying that about August as well! It’s strange to think that it’s already July 11. July is half over and the sun has finally decided to make an appearance. We have that to be thankful for, at least. The only sad part is that it seems that the only time the sun ever shows itself is when I’m inside! It is funny how things turn out.

One of my main jobs is still inducting the junior rangers every day. The other day I had a very adorable child who was dressed from head to toe in junior ranger paraphernalia. She had everything from the junior ranger hat to the junior ranger vest, which was adorned with so many different junior ranger badges that I had to question where she was going to put her new one. She answered quite promptly, “Well, I’ll just have to get a new vest now, won’t I?” Those kids never cease to amaze me.

There is also my job behind the desk. This is a never-ending job, since it always seems to busy here at Acadia, whether there’s rain or shine. For almost the whole month of June it was raining and we still had a pretty consistent flow of visitors. I think that the most popular question that I was asked was “What’s there to do while it’s raining?” Of course when you factor in this spectacular weather we’ve been having lately, it’s no wonder Acadia is much busier than I’ve ever seen it! While I’ve been trying to write this blog, I’ve been called back to the desk at least 4 times to help answer questions.

Lately I’ve found myself more enthused than ever to hike the trails. I think that this is because I’m talking to so many enthusiastic hikers all day and their excitement has started to rub off on me! Not that I mind, I love finding any excuse to spend time outside!

But in my opinion, one of the best parts of the job is working with the other rangers and volunteers. I work with so many people that enjoy living every day and go hiking for hours upon hours every week! I love hearing about their different adventures, which of course hypes me up to follow in their footsteps. I can tell that the rest of this summer is going to be quite amazing. Talk to you later!

—Alyssa

July 5, 2009. Hi, I’m Sean, one of the summer rangers at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center this year. I am going to be a junior at MDIHS [Mount Desert Island High School] this coming school year, and I can often be spotted if not here at the desk, around town in the Bar Harbor Town band. I actually found out about the park ranger job from a teacher at the school who was friends with another of the rangers at the center. Small island, no? The idea of working for the park really appealed to me because I’ve always enjoyed having the park right in our back yard, and I wanted to make sure others could enjoy it as well.

Most of my day to day stuff deals with giving directions and helping out visitors with trip planning, but I also get to work with all the new junior rangers as well. In middle school I remember going on school trips with rangers on the carriage roads, and also doing the junior ranger programs. Now that I’m a real ranger, I get to work with kids who have just done the program as well. The kids are always excited to be sworn in, and have really interesting stories about what they had been doing out in the park.

Along with all the visitors, I get to work with some really wonderful staff people too. Some are volunteers who travel the country going from park to park helping out, and others are rangers who are local. Both are willing to lend their experience and knowledge to show me how to get things done, and help the visitors. Everyone has been really helpful in showing me how the whole visitor center process works, and how to have a good time doing it.

During the day, we end up helping people from all over the country, and occasionally, all over the world with directions and general advice when they are here visiting the park. I’ve had questions about fishing, hiking, weather, carriage rides… basically anything and everything.

On my off days, I’ve had the opportunity to go on some of the hikes myself, and then I am able to give visitors my personal experiences and ideas about the area afterwards. I’m off to go help out at the desk (today is the fourth of July, and is shaping up to be a busy one at that!). You’ll hear from me again next week!

—Sean

July 1, 2009. Hello! My name is Alyssa. I'm one of the high school rangers here at Acadia National Park this summer. I go to the local high school here on the island, and will be working for the season at the information desk in the Hulls Cove Visitor Center! Working here was a decision I made based on the fact that I currently want to work with the environment in some way after college. And what better way is there to work with the environment then to work with your local National Park Service? It's amazing to be able to come to work everyday and hold conversations with visitors who are just as interested as I am in our local beauty.

As a ranger, there are certain duties that I have to fulfill everyday. Two of the main things I do include talking to and giving visitors information, and inducting junior rangers when they have completed the Junior Ranger program.

Talking to Junior Rangers is always such a fun thing to do. The kids always seem to enjoy the Junior Ranger program and love wearing their hats and receiving their patches after the induction ceremony. I've had Junior Rangers visiting from as close as Ellsworth, to as far away as Italy! One of the questions that I ask them is "What does being a Junior Ranger mean to you?" This can be a very thought-provoking question for some of the younger kids…but most of the time they always come up with something to say that in my mind sounds very mature for their age. I’ve received a myriad of very intelligent answers…whether they say "it means protecting our park’s natural resources" or "it means leaving no trace," there is always a bit of pride in the Junior Ranger's voice when they realize that they know what they're talking about.

The other part of my job includes talking to visitors at the information desk, and this can be quite an adventure sometimes, as well. Sometimes, it can be very hard for me to understand where it is exactly that a visitor wants to go. This happens because a visitor will have a certain nickname for a location that isn't always the real name of the place they're looking for. I remember just a couple of days ago a visitor came in and asked me for the location of "Bouncy Rock Beach." The visitor was referring to Hunter's Beach, but sometimes a person will refer to a place by a certain name for so long that the name eventually sticks in their mind…much like when a person receives a nickname. A lot of visitors come here asking me for the location of the "Blow Hole," which of course is "Thunder Hole."

Well, I've had fun writing about some of the things that I’ve done here at the Acadia National Park Visitor Center, and I've had even more fun sharing my stories! I'll be writing again in the near future, so stay tuned!

—Alyssa