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Show THE ZEPHYR JUNE 1990 PAGE 12 Life at the Devils Garden National Park the ordeals of a seasonal ranger at Arches by Jim Stiles tee winter of 1975, arrived In Moab, Utah, determined to make It my home. A very kind park ranger named Larry Reed offered me a Job as a volunteer at Archea National In 1 Park. For a free apartment and three bucks a day, I filled In at the Visitor Center Information desk, made coffee and drove around the park In a big green ranger carry-al- l. I thought that was pretty neat In exchange for these privileges, I agreed to shave off my beard, thereby revealing I my weak chin. I was rather attached to my beard; not only did It conceal the chin, found I could store nails, a toothbrush, things In there - pencils, pens, as many as 10 eight-penIf need be. But It was December, It was cold, and compared to frostbite and losing toes, losing hair was not so bad. Besides, hair grows back; toes dont So I took the Job. After a quiet winter, chief ranger Jerry Epperson offered me a seasonal position. I was to live and work at the Devils Garden trailer, 18 miles from park headquarters. I would run the campground, patrol the roads and trails, and see that everything ran smoothly at the north end of the park. It all sounded like DESERT SOLITAIRE to me. I Imagined myself as tee lone (park) ranger, surrounded by solitude and stillness, sitting on a rock, observing the clouds pass, the sun set Yes, I would spend this summer by myself, meditating. Contemplating the meaning of life, tee essence of tee desert, of a grain of sand. Pretty heavy stuff. My starting date approached, and my uniforms arrived. I'd never worn any type of uniform before and was concerned I'd look too militaristic, but Larry assured me I looked ny fine. "But Jim, he said, "those white socks and sneakers have got to go. On April 4, moved to the little tin trailer at tee campground entrance. It was right at tee Junction, barely 10 feet from tee curb, but I never gave It a thought I unloaded my gear and moved In. Later, I drove tee big carry-a- ll to Balanced Rock, chatted with a few visitors, and then hiked tee Devils Garden trail to Double 0 Arch. It was the first and last 1 time I wore teat ridiculous Smokey Bear hat on tee trail. When tee wind blew, I had to twist and contort my neck In all sorts of unnatural directions to keep teat round monstrosity on my head. And It was (and still Is) about as cool, comfortable and practical to wear as a cast-iro- n skillet So did Tuesday. And teen It happened. I was sitting on Monday passed quietly. my porch, trying unsuccessfully to think deep, esoteric thoughts when a distant rumbling sound Interrupted my concentration. The noise grew louder and louder. Finally, from around tee comer, I saw an enormous Winnebago motorhome race toward tee campground Junction and turn In. It was followed by another. And another. And another.. .and ANOTHER. They kept coming - motorhomes, trailers, cab-ov- er campers, recreational vehicles of all types. A lady climbed out of an Alrstream trailer: "Yoo hoo, Rangerl Were tee Salt Lake City Fire Department We always come here for Easter. Therell be about a hundred more tomorrow. She roared off In search of a campsite. Ten minutes later, a school bus pulled up. Fifty Boy Scouts poured out of It like ants and started running up and down the sllckrock domes and cliffs, screaming and angry yelling, and, by all appearances, trying to kill each other. A meek, bespectacled little man In a Boy Scout uniform tiptoed over to me on spindly legs and handed me an envelope. "Were Troop 451 from Orem," he whispered. "We have reservations for the group site. I told him where his site was located, but advised him he had to control his kids. "Oh my, yes...of course." He turned In tee general direction of tee marauding little monsters and squeaked, "Now, now, boys. The rangers want us to behave ourselves. Let's all be good scouts. The uniformed urchins continued to act like drug-crazloonies. I went back In tee trailer and pulled the shades. This Is not what I expected, I thought to myself. How Introspective can I be with all this noise? How can I possibly contemplate tee meaning of a grain of sand when these Boy Scouts are throwing It at me? ed hour the campground was full, but the campers kept coming. I worked overtime that night, tee first of many long nights. I parked the carry-a- ll at tee Junction. RV after RV rolled In, long after midnight They needed a campsite, they would say. "But the I campground Is full. Didnt you see tee sign at tee park entrance? would reply. Yes but. Moab. to they would stammer. Sorry, folks, and they would head back At midnight I gave up. I went back to tee trailer and took off my uniform. I was In my shorts and about to turn off tee lights when a lady walked In my front door. She Just walked In. Before I could even voice a protest over this obvious Illegal entry, tee woman with tearfllled eyes began to plead her case: "Ranger, pleasel I'm begging you. Weve driven all tee way from Logan. My seven children are screaming, tee baby threw up on tee front seat and my husband aays hes going to leave me If we cant stay here tonight I beg of you to help us. She sobbed sobs. big "Madam, I said finally. "Do you realize teat you Just walked Into my trailer, my residence, my home? And that I'm standing here In my Jockey aborts? Through the blur of tears, she looked closely at me for tee first time... "Well," she Within an gut-wrench- ing replied, "I did notice you were out of uniform. What could I do? That night this wretched family from Logan, Utah, slept In tee empty group site, but I was hardly rewarded for my kindness and compassion. I survived Easter weekend, barely. (Things got tense when tee firemen wanted to shut down tee campground and have a street dance.) But even after tee Big Weekend had passed Into history, hordes of tourists Just on kept coming, and without exception, they all felt tee need to "check In at tee Devils Garden trailer - my humble home. It was like the proverbial fishbowl, except all the fish were on tee outside. Finally, when one day a German tourist walked In the trailer and asked for directions to Landscape Arch while I was taking a shower (I was actually shouting Instructions through tee bathroom door), I finally reached my limit I put a big sign on my door. I explained teat tee trailer was a residence, not an office. There was no need to stop. I explained tee campground registration system, where tee nearest phone was. Every conceivable question was dealt with on that sign. I proudly Installed tee sign on tee front door and went Inside. About five minutes later, there was a knock on tee door. "Yeah, Ive been reading this sign of yours, ranger ... Is all this Information on here true?" became desperate. Finally, In what I modestly describe as a stroke of genius, I devised a brilliant new strategy. The Devils Garden trailer had two doors, bote on the same side, facing the campground road. Each had small portable wooden steps In front of teem. I dragged one set of steps behind tee trailer. I placed tee other set of steps In front of a blank section of exterior wall. Then I placed new signs on tee two doors. The first sign said, "This Is not a door. The other sign said, "This Is not a door either - there are no doors. It worked. Tourists would read one sign, then the other, circle tee trailer, and leave. Once while peering through tee curtain, I saw a man walk up the wooden steps and actually knock on tee blank wall. But sometimes, genius Is unappreciated. My boss was not pleased. Larry Reed was a patient man and was sympathetic to my plight But the "No door strategy was Just too much. "Doggone It, shoot Jim, Larry said when he first saw tee sign. When Larry's language degenerated to "doggone It" I knew I was In trouble - Larry was not mincing words. "And teat picture has got to go," he added. "You're going to scare somebody. Well, maybe so. It was Just an 8x10 glossy of me In a rented gorilla suit wearing my hat Some thought tee "monkey look was an Improvement Anyway, I thought It added a nice touch to tee door, but again I was vetoed. I went back to tee old sign and tried to make tee best of It As tee summer rolled I I realized on, needed to Include an additional piece of Information. Beyond asking for directions to tee toilet the phone and tee water fountain, people wanted to know - "Was this Edward Abbey's trailer? In ever Increasing numbers, visitors had tears In their eyes. One admirer came with tin snips, hoping to take home a little piece of tee trailer as a memento. At first I told teem tee truth. No, this was not Edward Abbey's trailer. Hla trailer I |
