Questions, Questions... Questions... and more questions

Questions... I get them all day every day... most of the questions I get are repeats of questions.. It's like groundhogs day for me. I literally answer the same questions over and over again, every day.  Needless to say... It gets tiresome.  Here are some examples. 

How is Petrified Wood formed?

Hypothesis: This stuff can't be wood... Was it a catastrophic event?... There must have been some kind of  forest fire here... It was a volcano wasn't it!

Answer: There was a giant river where logs were preserved in mud, silica (from volcanic ash... so  a volcano was involved!) enriched ground water saturated the logs making the cell structure of each log crystalize until it became complete rock. 

Why does some of the wood look like real wood?  Is it older? Or younger? Or is it petrified at all?

Hypothesis: Uhhh... This cannot be real... or can it?

Answer:  This is permineralized wood.  Basically it did not reach full crystalization and agatization... there is still real wood cell structure within this bad boy! However, it is completely rock and quartz crystal and is the same age as the other stuff.

Does it snow here???



Hyposthesis: NO.. It doesn't snow in Arizona... duh... It's way too hot here to ever snow!... You cray cray...

Answer: yes... Yes it does snow here! 

What if.... I kill something... on accident while I'm here?

Hypothesis:  Jail.  Jail time... Lawsuit.  That is a federal bug... I bet the FBI will hear about this and hunt you down. 
Answer:  If it's small, on accident, and not on purpose... I think you'll be okay.

Are there poisonous snakes here?  Will I get bit by one?

Hypothesis:  Yes... No... Maybe... I don't know...
Answer: Yes, there are snakes in the park.  Fortunately, we only have one venemous species of rattlesnake in the park called the Hopi Rattler.  Chances are you will not see this type of snake.  Just beware of the little critters and watch where you put your hands and where you step! 

Are there real Indian Tepees in the park?

Hypotheses:... uhh..
Answer: No! These are geologic formations... Don't miss them! Best part of the park in my opinion!

MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTION: Where are the bathrooms? Do you have bathrooms?  Can I use those bathrooms?

Hypothesis:  Upstairs?  In the Auditorium?  I'm just going to wander around until I find them... Answer:  Kick it to the left, Kick it to the left. 

BEST QUESTION EVER: How are you so cool?

Hypothesis: You know a lot about geology.. you wear green and grey... you are a fed...
Answer:  My Raybans be rockin' fools!  and all of the above as well. 





Back on the Job

It has been quite some time since I posted! I'm sorry it's taken so long! In my defense, I just finished a long semester at the UA, changed my major to spanish, and moved home from Tucson since my last post.  I had so many other things to worry about, blogging just didn't make my list of priorities.  Nevertheless, I shall make my blogging presence known once again.

I am back, guys! Ranger Kait is back in action.  I can't tell you how good it feels to wake up, put on my spiffy uniform, and go in to work at the forest (the Petrified Forest that is).  After a week of training, I was ready to be back in the good ol' green and grey.  With that being said, I'm going to now fill you in on how my first week back on the job went (I think I'll skip training).

Saturday: I worked the Painted Desert Visitors' Center (PDVC) aaaaallll day.  I didn't rove, walk trails, or leave the building for 2 reasons: 1.) I wasn't assigned to be out of the PDVC 2.) We had 70mph winds blowing through the park.  Now that's a bad hair day if I ever knew one!

Sunday- Monday: didn't work! Everybody's (but Kaitlin) working for the weekend (my take on Loverboy's 80's hit)

Tuesday: Opened Rainbow Forest Museum (RFM), hiked Long Logs and Agate House, and spoke Spanish with at least 2 visitors.  Overall pretty good day!

Wednesday: Thought I was supposed to help open RFM, so I woke up and drove down south.  Well, I got there early, went on inside, put the flag up, helped count money, and then thought about it and realized that I was ON THE WRONG END! I was actually supposed to be opening the PDVC.  One of my worst nightmares became a reality... I worked on the wrong end.  So, I jumped in my car, called my supervisor, and drove to the other end to save the day... well... kinda just man the desk like I had been originally assigned.  Pretty much became the laughing stock of Interpretation and probably will never live this mistake down, but heck, that's life, right?

Thursday: Once again worked at RFM (the correct end this time), walked Agate Bridge and Long Logs, met some Pollish people, took a picture of the Pollish people, hiked some more, spoke a lot of spanish, and finished off my day working behind the desk.

Friday:  RFM again, walked Crystal Forest, showed this really nice couple some amethyst in the petrified wood, hiked Blue Mesa, and on my drive back to RFM noticed a big group of brown things in the road... I started to slow down for 2 reasons: 1.) I hear hitting big animals can do some damage to cars and I wasn't about to wreck one of the interp vehicles 2.) I thought I was getting the opportunity of a lifetime!  I thought I was about to see a group of Pronghorn (Antelope look alike that is actually the fastest land mammal in North America that inhabits the park) on the road! I was practically shaking in my boots!  As I neared the giant brown cluster of animals I realized that these were not pronghorn... the mystery animals were a bunch of cows standing in the middle of the road.  Still exciting, but a little more annoying than anything... I had to call them in to dispatch and watched as one of the Law Enforcement Rangers honked his horn at them to get them to move out of the way of the visitors.  All in all, it was a pretty entertaining sight.

Saturday:  Closed PDVC... I was so sick today... Pretty sure I'm still running a little bit of a fever.  I guess I pushed myself too hard throughout the week.  I didn't even hike and I will hike rain or shine if given the opportunity.. It was a rough day.

This is what a Pronghorn looks like.  I took this picture last summer sometime. 

This is my little imposter Pronghorns aka Cows...

My beautiful park :)

Stay tuned for more next week! I may think of more things to post about, but until then... GOODBYE!

So I Decided to Start Blog

Hello!  Sooo... I decided to start a blog.  You may ask, why?  I don't have any kids, I'm not married, I'm not crafty, nor can I cook very interesting food.  So why would anyone find my life interesting enough to read about?  Well, I'll tell you! My name is Kaitlin Smithson and I am a sophomore at the University of Arizona.  I am a pre-business major with a minor in spanish.  Now that may not seem too out of the ordinary, but when you hear what I do as a side profession you may fall out of your seats.  I, Kaitlin Smithson, am 19 years old and am a National Park Ranger at the Petrified Forest National Park.  Yes, you heard me right!  College student by day, Ranger by break from school.  With that being said, I am going to blog about my college experience along with my experience as a Park Ranger. 

This job has been an immense blessing in my life.  Not only do they pay me well above minimum wage and they hold my position as a seasonal ranger even while I'm down in Tucson at school, but I absolutely love the work.  I work in the department of interpretation as an interpreter.  You are probably thinking that because my minor is in spanish I interpret for spanish speakers.  Well... That is not the case!  Interpreters actually don't interpret foreign languages, but interpret all of the geological, paleontological, archaeological, historical, etc. information for the general public.  I give presentations explaining the park and try to get the visitors to feel the same love for their surroundings that I feel.  I love working with people, being outdoors, and learning about the world around me, so naturally, this job is a perfect fit!

I love what I do and I hope my blog may get other college students to look into this wonderful opportunity (in my next post I will explain how to go about doing such).  I also hope to be able to give some insight into what college is like for those planning on joining me in furthering their educations.