14 Jul “¿Y Yo Qué Dije? ¿Y Cómo Es? ¿Y Yo Qué Dije?…”

As the sun is rising over the black mountains that surrounds Craters of the Moon I am being bombarded every morning with loud chimes and vibrations from my phone. It’s a little difficult to get use to the work schedule I have. There are days that I anxiously wait for the clock to strike at 2 in order for my shift to start and finish at 10:30PM. Other days much like the one I had today, I struggle to alert my body to move up and out of bed at 6:00AM. These past weeks of training have been filled with so much information that I am struggling to remember everything that was presented to me. I constantly have to reassure myself that I am remembering the information correctly and ask the people around me for guidance whenever I begin to doubt. Although I am a little self-conscious that I might be asking the same question I think it would be better to know than to not know. It has been surprisingly busy these past couple days! I am constantly on my feet as an Interpretive Park Ranger that it feels nice to be able to sit down every once and awhile. Instead of long nights of going out and watching movies as I did back in my home in Pacoima, now I just want to go back to the house unit and just sleep. It’s a demanding job, but enjoyable at that. It makes me really appreciate the actual Park Rangers that work here and provide information to visitors all the while making sure that they are doing their best to preserve and protect the natural landscape. They are one of the most valuable people in the National Park Service. With every working day that I sometimes imagine my family out of random coming through the double doors of the visitor center to see me. It would be the best day to be able to show my little sisters, aunts, uncles, and grandparents how beautiful Craters of the Moon is at this point in time. I know that they would be amazed at the amount of wildflowers that are blooming. My little cousins and sisters would be all over the lava tubes and explore every inch of the cave itself. Hopefully, in the future we as a family will be able to enjoy the outdoors together and have a blast! But, for the meantime I send lots of love and good vibes!