23 Jun The Heat is Rising

Summer is here and I am feeling it for sure! The temperature has been in the low 100’s the past week and it is quite a difference from the foggy summer days of Northern California that I am used to. With this comes interesting days, because I don’t know what it is about the heat but it makes people do some crazy things. Most importantly, it means we have to make sure that the visitors are staying safe and drinking enough water, which is difficult to do when there is only water at the entrance of the park and some may underestimate how much they actually need. Overall people have been good, though, and I am making sure to also stay hydrated. I did feel like I was back in California last week, though, when I went up the Sacramento Mountains and hiked around. From the altitude, the lush green trees covering the mountains made me feel like I was in the Sierra Nevadas, and I did get a little homesick but I’m having a good time here anyways.

In other news, but also slightly related to heat, my Upward Bound event is this Friday and the high is supposed to be 110! It is going to be an adventure making sure that everyone is able to get some shade since we will have close to 100 people, but I am excited for it to happen. As I have said before, events like this are where I help facilitate a group of students from the area who may not have the opportunity to visit national parks. I love being a part of creating an outlet to diversify these outdoor spaces and, most importantly, the theme for the event is to be a short career fair for the National Park Service. The students will go around in a round-robin style talk to hear someone from each of the divisions, like Interpretation, Resources, Administration, Facilities, and Law Enforcement (LE), tell the students in about 10 minutes what they do, how they got to their position and, the most fun part for some, show off the equipment they use like the LE vehicles or the big tractor to clear the roads. Hopefully they will all get something out of the day, even if it’s just a nice day in the park.   ~Angelica