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Contact: Kyle Patterson, (970) 586-1363
Saturday, June 4, 7:00 p.m. – Rocky Mountain Ranger Ever wonder about the "good old days" in Rocky Mountain National Park and what it was like to be a young ranger making decisions during the early years of the National Park Service? Rangers did everything from building cabins, stringing telephone lines and catching poachers while laying the foundation for the National Park Service. Join ranger "Bob Flame" and Pat Yeager Washburn for a night of adventures in Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone National Parks. Patricia Yeager Washburn is the daughter of Dorr G. Yeager, Rocky Mountain National Park's first chief naturalist and author of Bob Flame: Rocky Mountain Ranger, She will discuss her father's eventful life and the latest edition of the classic book with Ranger "Bob Flame" played by real- life park ranger Don Stewart. Author Yeager took ranger Flame and his heroic colleagues on thrilling rescues, duels with poachers and perilous patrols into the mountain wilds. First released in 1935 and republished in 2010, the novel helped define the image of the modern national park ranger. The incidents depicted in the book are taken from actual adventures shared by Yeager and his best friend, John McLaughlin, chief ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park during the early 1930s, when Yeager was a ranger in the park. "I realize that much of my fascination with the thinly veiled fictional character of Bob Flame is my own joy at having grown up as a ranger kid in that era," Washburn said. Besides being the daughter of a park ranger, Pat is the grand-daughter of Joe Mills and spent her childhood growing up at the local Crag's Lodge. She has many delightful memories to share. In the latest edition of Bob Flame: Rocky Mountain Ranger, Pat contributed recollections of her father to the book's new forward. Along with her forward, Curt Buchholtz, director of the Rocky Mountain Nature Association, contributed another forward for the book. Signed copies of the new edition will be available for sale the night of the program. The Rocky Mountain Nature Association and the Estes Park Museum Friends and Foundation's Friends Press collaborated to republish Yeager's book sharing his tales with a new generation. During his tenure as chief naturalist, Dorr Yeager, establish the Rocky Mountain Nature Association and Pat currently volunteers her time as a board member for the Estes Park Museum Friends and Foundation. Saturday, June 11, 7:00 p.m. - Superheroes of the Night Whether leaping incredible heights or silently flying through the night, nocturnal superheroes of the park are symbols of strength and power. Most of the park's wildlife is nocturnal including elk, deer, owls, and bats. How do they see at night without bumping into things? What do they eat and how do they find it? Join Park Ranger Ryan Carpenter and discover the secrets to the animal's nocturnal powers and how we can ensure they continue to save the day. Saturday, June 18, 7:00 p.m. - The Wild Bunch: Squirrels, Chipmunks & Marmots Squirrels, chipmunks and marmots are some of Rocky's smaller wildlife - but wild they are! The smallest of Rocky's species are some of the most territorial and active animals in the park. Find out who stores up to 15 bushels of cones and how they protect their "cache" while surviving the most brutal winter elements imaginable! Which of these animals avoid winter all together? Can you identify the three types of Chipmunks in the park? Join Park Ranger, Sue Spearing to learn about their lifestyle and even hear a "tall tale" about a tiny animal in this illustrated program. Following the last spring evening program at 7:00 p.m. on June 18, the summer season of nightly programs begins at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. Programs will be offered nightly at 7:30 p.m. starting June 19. Program information can be accessed through the park's website at park visitor centers or by calling the park's information line at 970-586-1206. All programs are free and open to the public. |
Last updated: February 24, 2015