| Show 16G The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday December 7 1986 Here’s why the Fisher FHV-90- 6 is our best selling VCR ‘Disabled’? Not This Naturalist 3 By S J Guffy Associated Press Writer ROCKY MOUNTAIN Colo selection Slimline 99mm height when Michael Smithson shows up to lead a nature walk in the Alpine tundra he knows his audience is watching him more closely than they might watch another National Park Service naturalist “I see a lot of hidden surprised faces” he says with a grin “Oh I guess they’re not so hidden And no one ever says anything” Then he adds delightedly the visitors “find they have a hard time keeping up with me It’s not long before they forget that I’m in a wheelchair” And so he is It’s a lightweight wheelchair the sort that sports-styl- e wheelchair athletes use for basketball and tennis It’s the only one Smithson uses When he guides tourists by the fragile tundra plants he says “I just roll around the flowers” “Sometimes people will say ‘You ought to have a motor’” Holding up his hands and grinning again Smith-so- n says “I tell them I have two motors and I need the exercise” Smithson’s duties as naturalist for Rocky Mountain National Park’s north district include many nature walks and responsibility for all the park's official photography He has worked his way up from supervising the park’s dispatch center over nine years and five different jobs naturalThis year the ist was named the Interior Department’s Handicapped Employee of the Year and was the regional winner of a competition that recognizes the best among the Park Service’s interpreters — those who help the public get the most from their national lands It’s a long way from the day in 1975 when he took an fall out of a tree at Nisqually-Delt- a National Wildlife Refuge in Washington state A recent wildlife biology graduate on assignment to study birds of prey Smithson thought he’d have to start all over again finding a way to earn a living "After I fell I didn’t think anyone would hire me to do active research in the field” he says Smithson went into training for museum work at the University of Colorado En route to his second year of classes at the university he and a friend were driving through Rocky Mountain National Park when a motorcyclist crossed the center line The cyclist died in the accident but Smithson and his friend were only badly shaken A park ranger took them home for lunch then helped them find a room for the night “We started talking and he knew my professor at CU I told him my background and he asked if I had ever considered the Park Service "Six months later he called and said there was an opening" Occasionally children will ask Smithson why he’s in the wheelchair He tells them Less often park visitors walk over and start pushing the chair trying to be helpful "People from foreign countries like to ’help’ the most” he says He tries not to embarrass anyone when he asks them to stop Mostly though the Park Service uniform of gray shirt and green pants makes the difference in how people tret him he thinks "They” see that more than the wheelchair Smithson is married to a woman he's known since college They have an adopted daughter and hope to adopt a son too He misses being able to “just get up and walk somewhere” but the injury has made little difference in his love of the outdoors “Before I fell I was a rock climber There’s very little besides that that I with auto indicator Soft touch controls Tape-in- ” Power driven front load design -S- ometimes Electronic tape counter 16 function wireless remote qpntrol and Qlocktimer timer quick recording tape speeds (QTR) 9 S3 r ° can be yours for just $349 month or under All this $21 v-- ft f r f per ‘t yc f i v - T AlP i L -- A r - r r if 4- V j J5'I j1’1 4fiw3iUi- - SMifa 6 U f- - r - t 'jf 3 80-fo- don t £ TV V) fvsi off-limi- ts 255-fo- A C"'V ' Ac X Tv v i F'aT fCV-- s 'i I't I ij fl f vyawa a (£ i J fe v - r mmi it ' X A V -I I xx)i i 3 a vt v t - (lifiii 3 L x do now ” The tundra areas that are part of Smithson’s territory lure visitors to an altitude of 12000 feet Each summer season a number of visitors suffer altitude sickness or chest pains that require oxygen If Smithson finds himself at the scene he lifts himself from his chair and goes to work He has hiked the park’s trails using crutches and leg braces He rides horseback to see areas that would be in his chair A focal point of “Rocky " as this park is known is Longs Peak the highest point along Colorado's Front Range It's a challenge that annually lures thousands of would-b- e adven turers — and many don’t make it to the 14 summit In September Smithson made it all the way up the north face of Longs Peak a project he’d daydreamed about for years He used a horse to reach the boullevel then der field at the 13000-foo- t pulled himself up the rest of the wav while sitting in a glass fiber shell — a "scooter” he calls it Smithson planned the expedition specifically to avoid lightning storms but still ran into snow and ice along the way It was an outing with two friends like so many others undertook this season but it took Smithson 27 hours to go up and nine hours to come down — more than twice as long as some might be able to manage Smithson doesn't mind talking about his disability He will tell you he prefers "disabled” to ' A jg't y r clighl in the Season this Christmas at Crossroads Plaza where SANTA The Sounds ot the Season and delightful services make shopping Simply the Best s Crossroads Plaza has Nordstrom and 140 fashion & specialty stores You’ll find the perfect gift tor everyone on at a price you II love Take time vour list to shop for sparkling holiday fashions and have a bite at one of the manv great rt staurants Wein-stock- bv the Stop up a Noidstiuin’s Hot Holidav Beverage Cart Mall ev el 1 Mam Stieet Tntranc e I xf - 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