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Today I gave a talk on the geology of the Grand Canyon. My attentive audience
was 130 visitors to the national park. Briefly and without using jargon, I covered
topics in tectonism, headward erosion, river gradients, volcanism, sedimentation,
accommodation space, stratigraphy, regional geography, rock properties and erosional
processes in arid environments. I love it! Never in my geology career have I
had such opportunity to understand and, in turn, relate so many different processes
to such an eager and diverse group of listeners. And what a diversity of listeners
I had today, ranging four-year-olds to seniors and all visiting the Grand Canyon
on a snowy April day.
I’m a Park Ranger/Naturalist. I tell people that I have finally discovered
what to be when I grow up — a ranger.
My first career was in oil exploration after I earned a graduate degree from
the Colorado School of Mines. I had chosen geology because I was attracted to
becoming a scientist who works outdoors in mountains. For much of my oil-patch
career, I was able to be involved at least in some fieldwork, although walking
on rock became more of a novelty as time passed. Instead I was adding new specialties
such as computer fixes, preparation and revision of Gantt charts, budgeting,
and economic evaluations. All great sport, but my attraction was to the outdoors.
Then came my big chance: a company buyout and an offer of early retirement.
It looked like my wife Lori and I could live on my retirement payment and savings
as long as we did not adopt a lavish lifestyle. We both elected to “retire,”
to sell our house in Houston and to find whatever useful and enjoyable work
we could outside of an office — she in teaching, and I in geology. The
answer for us was the National Park Service.
We’re thoroughly enjoying the comfort, freedom, minimal expense and lifestyle
of full-time RV living and thereby making financial success in doing independent
geology. I suppose that part of our “work” is minimizing our expenses
— just as I was once doing for the company that employed me. All the while
I can be the geologic general practitioner and teacher I had hoped to be. My
wife is finding the teaching aspects of her ranger duties to be equally satisfying.
I began our new life by submitting applications through the Web site where every
opening in the federal government is listed. I submitted applications to several
parks, but found that I was scoring poorly in the government evaluation of my
résumé. I knew I was good … wasn’t I? Why the low scores?
To my rescue came Judy Geniac of the Geologic Resources Division of the National
Park Service. When she looked over my résumé, her response was
that it was well organized and full of good academic credentials, professional
achievement and company technical publications — and very boring! She asked
me: Had I ever done anything fun, like leading field trips, as rangers do? Had
I been a docent at a local park, spoken to school groups, dealt with people?
Her point was well taken because the task of interpreting park geology in words
everyone can understand is perhaps a rarity.
When I affirmed in my résumé that I could connect with people
who do not have science training, Park Service ears perked up. I pointed out
that while I was still working at the oil company, I had volunteered at Brazos
Bend State Park near Houston, which is where this ranger idea of mine started.
I spent my first summer at Grand Canyon, initially as a volunteer and later,
when a position became available, as a paid ranger with, yes, the flat hat,
badge and all. The succeeding three summers were at Yellowstone. I have deliberately
looked for seasonal jobs, leaving the rest of the year for a bit of college
teaching, writing and volunteering.
My other title is Interpreter, and to achieve true interpretation I use common,
non-technical words. Words such as tectonism never appear in my talks unless
I carefully define and describe the process. Usually my talks are so short that
I have no time to introduce new words. Instead, I use analogies from common
experiences — hose water soaking into a driveway to illustrate the concepts
of porosity and permeability. These analogies help my listeners connect the
concept we are discussing to their own experience. The objective of a ranger
talk is not to inject a body of facts into visitors’ heads, but to open
their eyes to a new way of seeing and thinking about their park, about geology
and about science.
The Park Service seems to be hungry for geologic interpreters — people
who can explain and translate the world of geology so that visitors make deeper,
more insightful connections to the parks they visit. So eager is the Park Service
that one function of the Geologic Resources Division is to facilitate placement
of geologists throughout the country.
What an opportunity we have to showcase our science. Folks from around the world
come to our national parks for the wonder that we geologists can help them see.
Park visitors want to learn everything. Because of their questions, I have refreshed
and expanded my geologic background and at the same time gained a bonus that
I can now talk about ecology, botany, human history, archeology, the politics
of river management, and astronomy — all subjects about which visitors
express curiosity.
The best part is researching every aspect of the geology that might touch the
park where I am stationed. Using a vocabulary that is understandable for the
non-professional and gauging and adjusting to interest levels and time availability
of the visitors all demand ongoing evaluation. What a broadening and challenging
experience! What a delight to share with attentive listeners! What a pleasure
it is to encourage others to be enthusiastic about geology!
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