Tale of a Yosemite Ranger

I always have idolized grandiose adventures like Indiana Jones, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Around the World in 80 Days. I dreamed of having a great adventure in the wilderness, spending my days exploring caves. I've lived in six different states and I've probably spent half of my life in hotels. I'm a well traveled person, to say the least. One big problem though — I can't drive. 

One night, I was bored and on the verge of passing out in my bed. I decided to check my email for the last time before succumbing to sleep. Just as I was about to power off my phone, an email caught my eye. It mentioned something about a national park job, but that was all I needed. I was barely able to process what I typed as I went through the application process. 

I applied for three different jobs at Yosemite National Park. The second I hit submit, I was back at my pillow and fast asleep. I didn't hear anything about my application for months and by the time I got two rejection notices I'd completely forgotten I had applied in the first place. I had already given up on my silly dream and I knew even when I was half sleep drunk inputting my resume that I wasn't getting a job. When I heard back a few days later that I was being seriously considered for one of the jobs, I was absolutely gobsmacked. I had to reread the email multiple times. 

Recreational Fee Clerk — that's the formal title I was given. I just assumed I would probably run a small welcome shack in the middle of nowhere for a summer and feel like a better person for it. I would not have that quaint little experience. 

After an arduous process, I was eventually hired and given a start date of May 4th. I spent weeks packing, daydreaming of making friends and having the adventure of a lifetime! My dad drove me all 26 hours there, the thought of it being a last hurrah before I would be an independent adult. After a teary departure, I settled into a dreamy two story cabin and got ready for even more excitement. Then I met my roommate.

I was told beforehand that I would only have one roommate for now, but to expect more. The house was two stories and had four bedrooms with space to hold six people. There was one absolutely gorgeous room upstairs that faced the mountains with a more than perfect view. I had peeked around and, assuming I was alone, talked to my dad on the phone about how I wanted that room something fierce. I knew going up those stairs everyday would be tough, but I could do it. 

As soon as I finished talking to my Dad and was getting ready to move my things upstairs, my roommate came down. She clearly just rolled out of bed, her long brown hair was sticking up everywhere and she was wearing a baggy gray sweater that hung off her loosely. We talked for a bit and she introduced herself as Natty, a small town girl who also happened to be from Oklahoma! We bonded a bit while she showed me around downstairs. She made all these claims about how she was making the upstairs area into a hangout spot for herself and her "homies". She even claimed that one of her friends was moving in soon and she saved the other room upstairs just for her friend. In essence, she guilt tripped me into moving into a room I didn't want downstairs. She seemed a bit... Off, so I decided to stay safe and take one of the downstairs rooms. 

The entire time I moved my things into my new room, she was ignored me in favor of her phone and her vape. Being from a family that uses marijuana medically, I didn't mind from a personal standpoint. However, marijuana is federally illegal and is not allowed in any national park. I didn't say anything because she could have just been using a nicotine vape, and I honestly just wanted to have a peaceful house. 

As soon as I was done and had everything situated in my room, I went to talk to Natty again. She didn't even look up at me as we talked, just texted away and occasionally looked up to laugh but never at me. It was like talking to a brick wall. One thing did stand out — her only rule. All the doors were to remain unlocked at all times. It was a big house and only two of us were in there, so it felt extremely unsafe but she told me everyone did it. She also warned me that there was a mouse but it wasn't a big problem and she set out traps 

My first day of work came and went, mostly uneventful. My second day, however, was a completely different story. I ran three campgrounds with a few other rangers, plus the onsite office. I was still being trained, so I was shadowing a ranger and the campground hosts (old people who volunteered to keep the area running smoothly day in and day out). 

I separated from my supervisor for less than 30 minutes to take inventory of the campground to make sure no one had broken any rules. After a few minutes, people started to say that they weren't allowed to leave the campground. I later found out it was because a woman had gotten ran over while biking and died in the road. My supervisor was an EMT so he left me at the campground without saying a single word to me. 

After such a long day, I immediately went home, said goodnight to my roommate and fell asleep in my room. Barely an hour after I managed to go to bed, I was woken up by something that hopped up on my pillow. Not even an inch away from my face was a mouse.