After many emails, thoughts that no one would hire me, and lots of research... I received an email from Mt. Rainier National Park. They wanted to talk to me about becoming a teacher ranger. They set up a time to talk to me on Tuesday, April 29th at 6:00, which was 3:00 Pacific Coast Time. I was so excited, but nervous! 

6:00 came and the phone rang on the dot. I jumped out of my seat, sat back down and answered the phone. We talked about basic information about the park, what's expected for being a teacher ranger, and my interests in the park. 40 minutes later, she asked, "well do you want to come spend your summer here? OR do you need a little time to think?" 

I WOULD LOVE TO COME TO MOUNT RAINIER THIS SUMMER! (As I ran around my house--- SO EXCITED!)

She proceeded to tell me more detailed information. I just received my welcome aboard packet. YES, I'm driving 41 hours in my car!

Where it all began...It all started back in January when I found out about the Teacher Ranger Teacher program that works with the National Park service. The Teacher Ranger Teacher program is through the University of Colorado at Denver. It is a program designed to place teachers in National Parks to work for 6 to 8 weeks. During that time, they will learn about the National Park system, science, and social studies topics specific to that park. Teacher Rangers work together to work on park education projects, Junior Ranger programs, and learning and helping with the maintenance of the park. The idea behind this program is to bring back experiences and information to share with your community, school, and class. I applied for many programs from the east coast to the west coast that  have "wet" housing ("dry" means no running water).