I have received several wonderful
gifts from God in the last few days. It has been quite wonderful and I wanted
to share at least a little of that with you!
On Tuesday one of the other rangers
called in sick. He has actually been sick the last three days, which has
greatly complicated things since there are so few of us left, but on Tuesday it
did have an unexpected benefit for me and that was that I ended up covering the
elk program for him that night. I had thought that I was only going to get to
do the program once, but I actually had the opportunity to do it again! The bad
part of that was that I had to close the visitor center, which meant I was here
until 6:30 and then had to start the program at 7:00 so it gave me basically no
time to prepare. That meant I didn't have time to look at my notes or anything
at all. But it still came off quite well. I had fun with it and received a lot
of very positive comments about it. One in particular came from a lady who said
she has been coming to the program and bringing friends for years and mine was
by far the best she had ever been to!
We heard the elk some during the
program, which is rare because they usually are not right by the campgrounds.
So I figured we would hear a lot when we went out. But we didn't. :( We hardly
heard anything at all! And of course I had 30 people come out there with me! So
I was being very apologetic and several people stopped me and said it was fine,
they were glad to be out there anyway. And I ended up staying out there with
several people until 9:45 just being outside and enjoying the night and
watching as the stars were slowly revealed as a layer of clouds was peeled
away. So what appeared to be a disappointment actually turned
into a gift.
Another part of that story is a
family of eight, including six kids who I met that evening. I talked to them at
length in the Visitor Center earlier that day and again just before
closing and then they stayed out with me the entire time. I also made four
of the kids junior rangers the next morning and so talked to them
even more. They are from New Hampshire but have been on the road traveling in
an RV (with six kids ages 4-17) since December of 2007! The mom
is homeschooling all six kids and they are just traveling around the country
seeing all the parks. They had just spent several weeks in Alaska a couple
of months ago. How awesome is that! I want to do that! But at least I got
to hear about it and be a part of their experience. :)
Last night I finally got to go hike
out into the prairie the way I have been wanting to for quite a while. I
put together my pack, which was very strange because in included things
like a full size pillow and an extra blanket, which is not usual backpacking
fair! I then headed out simply walking from my house into the prairie. I want
out a couple of miles and found a lovely ridge overlooking a large section of
the rolling prairie and set up camp. It was so amazing! It was an
absolutely superb night sky and I heard the elk all around me! A couple of
particular gems included seeing an elk approach me in the dusk and
bugle less than 40 yards in front of me! Then I just laid out
under the stars for quite some time, taking in the majesty around me. I
was already feeling peace and love descend upon me, but then I read a letter
that I had received yesterday and brought along with me, and those
feelings were only increased and abounded. It was a beautiful experience!
It was quite cold sleeping out
there, but I made it through to awake just in time to view a gorgeous
sunrise over a nearby ridge. I was going to leave pretty soon after that, but
then the elk started moving again and from my vantage point I watched five
different groups moving around the prairie. I twice had elk come within 50
yards of me and got to see them bugle and heard the cows from a distance not
much further than that. It was a gift. It was a gift that inspires the soul to
sing and sour above the heavens.
How glorious is our God in Heaven
and his creation here amidst our lives!
And to add one more thing today I
also managed to arrange things so that I am going to be able to take an extra
day off next Wednesday, which will allow me to go surveying in the cave again!
So I will have another opportunity to venture into the unknown frontier!
I am in a very good, healthy, and
peaceful place and am feeling very blessed indeed.
On a not as exciting note I did find
out today that Tammy (a fellow ranger who also has a history degree and has 1.5
years of experience as opposed to my five months and who had actually had an
interview whereas I have yet to receive a phone call) did not get the job at
Death Valley, which means it is almost a guarantee that I will not get it. I
also now know that Carlsbad is basically not an option for this winter and
found out today that there were more than 100 applicants for the two open
positions at jewel cave. So in a nutshell, the three places that were my best
bets for getting a winter job all look like a no go. Which means that I have a
very very low chance at this point of finding a winter job. But I am trusting
that whatever happens will be an opportunity for me to grow, advance, and
learn!
Resting in His Peace,
Garrett
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