Soon after receiving my Ph.D. I learned summers for university professors are not "vacation"; they are "unemployment". The first free summer, I worked as an administrator at a camp for handicapped children in California -- my first trip west of the Mississippi River. The next summer, using my voice training in college, I sang professionally in a light opera company in Louisville, Kentucky. The following summer, remembering how wonderful the west was, I decided to go west -- so why not try for a job as a ranger in a national park.
[The picture at the right was taken by a visitor during my Western History Walk in Moraine Park. I'm wearing a replica of the ranger uniform of 1920, which was custom made for me by Rocky Mountain National Park.]
Though I wasn't quite sure what rangers did, I realized a Ph.D. in mathematics was a marginal qualification so I applied to many national parks -- and got many refusals. At Rocky Mountain National Park, however, a very unusual Chief Park Naturalist -- as the secretary described it to me later -- picked up my application, said "My ### this guy doesn't know his ### about the mountains", but turning the application over observed, "This guy has a Ph.D. -- I'll bet we could teach him something this summer -- I think I'll take a chance on him." He did, and within 3 years I was a member of the permanent staff, on furlough 9 months a year.
First I had to learn enough about the Park to answer visitor's questions about the animals, plants, flowers, geology. But the birds -- with a friend on a bird walk, he would call, "There goes a hairychested bellyscratcher!", but before I could find it, it had flown. After 40 years in the Park I could identify only 2 birds: one was a robin -- and the other one wasn't. But I soon found that the most fascinating part of the Park - - aside from the scenery -- was the local history, for many people were still living who knew the original pioneers. So long before I heard of the term I started collecting "oral history" -- from lots of people who have died after talking into my tape recorder -- and I also began to assemble and organize historical documents in our Park library.
My first evening programs in the Park were related to the Gold Rush: "Colorado Ghost Towns" and "Tales of the Gold Rush". I also began to research the establishment of the national parks and developed a program "The Romance of the National Parks". As I became more familiar with the local history, I developed a program "Rocky Mountain Yesterdays" which has been quite popular.
Though I was not a professionally trained historian, I was the only person in the Park with a background in the local history so in the 1960's I was assigned the task of writing the Historic Buildings and Sites report for the Park. This was a delightful assignment for it enabled me - - on my working days -- to visit structures, some many miles in the backcountry in the midst of the Park's most beautiful scenery.
In the 1970's the Park was asked to submit nominations for the National Register of Historic Places, and I was assigned to that task and prepared nominations for about 30 locations. This too called for me to visit sites, some up in the highcountry, to draw maps, take photographs, write architectural descriptions, etc.
The most important long-term result of this work was that I became acquainted with the life of William Allen White, the famous editor of the Emporia Gazette of Emporia, Kansas, who owned a summer home in the Park -- a cabin then still owned by his son. The Park even sent me back to Emporia to interview surviving members of his family and friends who had known him. About the same time I developed a two-hour Western History Walk across Moraine Park which ended with a one-hour talk about White that I gave on the front porch of his cabin, now in the possession of the Park and on the National Register.
Now in semi-retirement I work for the Park as a volunteer ranger in May and in the fall -- before and after the teachers and graduate students come for their summer tour of duty. I still do the same work I did as an employee: I give my evening program "Rocky Mountain Yesterdays" and my Western History Walk, including the William Allen White program, and I also lead other short nature walks. My dear friend Dr. Bettie Willard and I for a time gave a weekend seminar in September for people interested in interpretation of nature and history. From time to time the Park calls on me for historical research on current projects. I do not lead bird walks.
I enjoyed my work immensely, but I also enjoyed hiking into the backcountry on my days off. On my workdays, I would sometimes, for example, lead up to 40 people on a 14 mile trip from Bear Lake to the summit of Flattop Mountain, along the Continental Divide, and down the Andrews Glacier, so I was in good conditition for some long trips on my days off, sometimes walking as much as 20 miles a day. Naturally I saw many beautiful places and have a large slide collection, so I will now show you some pictures.
The first two pictures are postcards which the Rocky Mountain Nature Association published from slides of mine.
Bierstadt Moraine in autumn, Bear Lake Road
Little Horseshoe Park from Deer Ridge
My slide of a wood lily is "published" by RMNP in a slide set.
My aerial view of Longs Peak, published in the Trimble book, "Longs Peak: a Rocky Mountain chronicle".
This view of Poudre Lake, looking downstrem from a point only a few feet east of the Continental Divide, appeared as a full-page spread in the "Trail Ridge" booklet published by the Rocky Mountain Nature Association.
One of my former graduate students included my picture of Sheep Lake in a college algebra book.
I wouldn't want to arouse any feelings of envy so I'll first show you the little log cabin the Park gives me for my work as a volunteer -- but LOOK at the view!!!
Photography in the high country always seems best in the early morning. Here I am, high on the trail at dawn, alone except for my camera, self-timer, and tripod. I know slides lose their brilliance when digitized and pictures take a long time to load, but I hope you will join me in a trip through Rocky Mountain National Park. (For optimum picture quality, you may need to adjust the brightness of your screen.)
- Bring your camera and follow me to:
- Wild Basin
- Bear Lake
- Horseshoe Park
- Trail Ridge Road
- Grand Lake Area
- Other Neat Stuff
- To Estes Park On-Line
Contact me if you like by email
Count since April, 2002: