As fun as being in the park is, there has been a lot of adventure and excitement for me in the surrounding areas, a lot of this blog will be about my excursions outside of Big Bend! My travels recently brought me out to the water again, where my heart lies.

Michael and I took a trip out to the recently renamed Gulf of Mexico, formerly the Gulf of America. We explored the north and south ends of Padre Island and even got to check off two more NPS units off our list! Our first day we spent on North Padre and visited Padre Island National Seashore. We went on some short walks out to an old-line camp, and their nature trail, became official Junior Rangers and even camped on the beach!

It was a gorgeously clear day, and I had never seen so many seashells washed up on the shore that were mostly intact!

Our second day we headed south and visited Palo Alto Battlefield, a small but important site that told the story of the Mexican American war. It was fascinating to read the history and the stories behind it and see how much land the U.S. acquired after winning this war, including my home state of California.

That night we went to a seafood buffet and enjoyed some crab legs, shrimp, and prime rib. We walked through a neat sandcastle sculpting exhibit and we even rode a Ferris wheel!

For our hotel breakfast the next morning, we were served a Texas shaped Belgian waffle and took a stroll on the beach before we had to head back to Johnson City.

Michael had to work Saturday, but I took an extra day off to drive home. However, I was able to attend his LBJ Boyhood home tour, a 30-minute tour taking you through President Johnson’s reconstructed childhood home. It was great to see Michael in action, getting the audience excited and using his humor to make them all laugh.

In between my Michael visits I laid low and explored things around Big Bend that were on my list. I took my little meep meep Subie on one of the backcountry roads to Mariscal Mine. I talked to a friend who took a similar car out there, and I figured, well it is rough but if she can do it, I can! Mariscal Mine was an old quicksilver mercury mine and had a whole community of folks living in this area mining and shipping it out of the park. It was interesting to walk around the buildings and think about the grit it would take to live out here.

The next day I took the recommendation of several colleagues and drove up to Balmorhea State Park. It is a natural spring fed area that leads into a swimming area. The foundation was poured and there were diving boards which gave it the feel of a pool, but at the same time because it is a natural spring there were literal fishes and turtles and algae swimming around. I jumped off the high dive a few times, did some laps and just floated. My soul was completely rejuvenated.

For my final trip to Johnson City, we went to ANOTHER park unit. I know, big surprise. We took a little trip up to Waco and had a fun filled day of adventures from visiting Waco Mammoth, visiting the Waco seige site, the Dr. Pepper museum and seeing Rend Collective it was epic.

Waco Mammoth is a relatively new park unit, established under President Obama in 2015, the whole reason it is a unit is because some ranchers accidentally uncovered a femur of a Mammoth! We got the behind the scenes ranger special tour from one of Michael’s colleagues and it was so cool.

After visiting the park unit, we headed over to the Waco seige site, the largest standoff in American history since the Civil War. It was sad, but an interesting stop for us to see.

Waco, TX is where Dr Pepper was founded. Although I am not a huge soda drinker, Dr Pepper has always been my drink of choice, so of course I felt like we needed to check out the museum. It was incredibly detailed, lots of reading, but cool to see, and at the end I got a Dr Pepper float which made it all worthwhile!

To end the day, we went to a Rend Collective concert. Rend is one of my favorite bands that has been on my bucket list for a minute, and Michael happened to get a notification that they would be in Waco the same day we planned to visit. We bought tickets about 2 weeks before and it was such a fun end to the day. What a perfect coincidence.

Working for the federal government has been a unique experience, I have learned and seen a lot in my 3 years of civil service so far. I have had good days and bad, but at the end of the day, its the job I dreamed of. People are starting to see that things have been challenging for federal workers recently, and in the midst of spring break (our busiest time of the whole year), visitors are showing up for the rangers. People are thanking us for our service, and taking the time to bring us small thank yous. Recently, I have gotten a few thank you cards, banana chocolate chip muffins, and lots of support. Its been inspiring to see.

Thank you all for following along on my journey. This blog was started mostly to share my adventures with my close family and a few friends, but the amount of people that tune in to my updates consistently amazes me and I am so grateful. Some of you may know this already, but this August 2025 I will be returning to school to get my Masters in Parks and Recreation at the University of Montana in Missoula.

This means that this summer will be my last stint with the park service for at least 2 years, and I felt like my last season needed to be my best one. But alas, I am going to prison, a federal prison. It was time to move closer to home and family, so I am thrilled to announce that my summer job will take place at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco! Until next time, Ranger On!