Transitions, they’re hard. Change is hard, and it is so easy to let time slip away from you. As I sit down to write this blog, I had no idea it had been a month. Life became so busy all of a sudden, with moving and focusing on closing out the old chapter to bring in a new one.

My last few weeks in Zion were good, pretty hot, but good overall. Michael and I spent a lot of time checking off those last-minute things from our bucket list, which included 3 big things: driving the Kolob Terrace Road (KTR) to see the fall colors, visiting Valley of Fire SP in Nevada and hiking the Sand Bench trail to complete the day hike sampler.

I’ve never really lived anywhere where the fall color change is dramatic, so seeing it on the KTR was stunning. The aspens were all kinds of different colors, we found some lava flows and got caught in a sheep herd jam.

The sheep ended up just travelling through with the assistance of the ranchers, but it definitely caught us off guard for a minute. Valley of Fire was a stunning red rock canyon vista in Nevada filled with gorgeous views, slot canyons and incredible heat. But it was worth it to check it off the bucket list!

Our final adventure was hiking the Sand Bench trail in Zion to complete the day hike sampler. It was HOT, sandy, but worth it to get some great views of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and check off that final hike on my list.

As the season quickly came to a close, I found myself appreciating the scenery, the little moments and all the fun and adventures I had all summer. Michael and I went to 25 different park sites across Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. I had memorable interactions with visitors, made great friends and checked another big, busy park off my list. I Rangered my heart out this summer and wouldn’t change a thing.

For my 19-hour adventure to Big Bend, I was lucky enough to have my high school best bud Gia come join me. We road tripped over the course of 3 days, and made some fun stops along the way.

But most importantly, we had craic. A word I learned at an Irish pub we dined at and brings me laughter and joy to think of, very true!

Gia was the best roadtrip buddy, putting up with my antics, and we still had time to explore the park for a day when we arrived. We did the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive out to Santa Elena Canyon. We saw where the Rio Grande creates the international river border and had a nice short hike along the river.

After Gia left, I went straight into training. It’s a 2-week training, and the first week was mostly hands on, outdoor exploration. We hiked some popular trails in the park, got incredible views and I was able to familiarize myself with the area more. From the sunrises to the geology, trails, roadrunners and sunsets, this park has been gorgeous and has so much to offer. Truly a hidden gem only seeing 500,000 visitors per year.

There’s also been some neat park sites to explore in the surrounding area, I already made it out to Blackwell School and Fort Davis. I was fascinated by the stories told at Blackwell School, one of the newest park sites #430 established this year!

The Interp Staff here is small, there’s only 4 of us seasonals, so it’s much different than what I am used to, but everyone has been so friendly and welcoming so far, I think it’s going to be a great winter. My first day in uniform will be Monday, and I am stoked to get season #5 rolling! Until then, Ranger On!