27 Jul A Day In The Life of Marshall

Hi Everyone!

I hope you have all been doing well and staying safe!

With this week’s blog post, I wanted to give you all a look into my daily routine with the Flagstaff Area National Monuments.

(Also, before we start I wanted to give you all a heads up that this blog will not be having any pictures; because my blog next week is going to be very picture heavy).

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, the Flagstaff Area National Monuments is made up of three National Monuments (Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater Volcano, and Wupatki). I live at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument (but as mentioned in my previous posts, it is currently closed due to fires). So, depending on the day, I will be scheduled at one of the other two sites. However, I am predominately stationed at Walnut Canyon National Monument. As a result, I will take you all through my daily routine at Walnut Canyon National Monument.

So I start each day at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument; while it was damaged due to fires, it is still an amazingly beautiful place (and waking up in the forest each day is one of my favorite experiences)! After waking up, I commute to Walnut Canyon National Monument, and upon arriving, I begin helping with opening operations. Walnut Canyon National Monument is open seven days a week from 9:00 am-4:30 pm.

Once the National Monument opens, I follow my schedule for the day. Each day our schedule changes as the site supervisor wants to ensure that we have different opportunities for growth and to ensure that we each have a great day at work! While my daily schedule changes, it typically includes four elements: Trail Roving, Visitor Orientation, Preventative Search and Rescue, Research/Training Opportunities (and occasionally Fee Collections). Each one of these elements is critically important in ensuring that park opperations run smoothly and that each visitor has a fun, safe, and educational time at Walnut Canyon National Monument.

At 3:30 pm, we close one of our trails due to time constraints and to ensure that each visitor has an adequate time to enjoy the National Monument before we close. At 4:10 pm, our second trail is closed, and our team begins clearing the trails to ensure that all visitors are able to safely get back to their cars. At 4:30 pm, Walnut Canyon National Monument is officially closed, and we begin with closing procedures to ensure that the team in the morning can be an efficient and fast opening. After everything is complete, I leave Walnut Canyon National Monument along with my team, and I commute back to Sunset Crater Volcano, where I eagerly wait for the next day to begin!

One of the big reasons that I eagerly wait for the next day to begin is because I am fortunate enough to work with the best team I could have ever imagined! The Flagstaff Area National Monument team is one that is truly compassionate and supportive of one another! While I enjoy the work I do at Walnut Canyon, it is the amazing team of Ragers, Interns, and Volunteers that has truly made my time with National Monuments one that I could never forget! I am truly grateful for each and every single one of them!

Before I wrap up this week’s blog post, I wanted to let you all know that my time with the Flagstaff Area National Monument is nearing an end, as my internship will be coming to an end on July 30 2022. I still have another blog post coming your way, so this isn’t goodbye (yet)! But if anyone from my Flagstaff team sees this post, I just wanted to say thank you for all of the memories; I’m really going to miss you all!

With everything being said, thanks again for taking the time to read my blog post, and as always, dont forget to go out and explore your National Park sites!

Best,
Marshall