Skip Ryder

This is Skip Ryder, and just in case you were wondering, no, he does not exist. Not only is he a fictitious National Park Service character, what he stands for also does not seem to exist.

Who is Skip Ryder? Well that is a perfect question. Mr. Ryder is a poster that hangs in the Museum of the National Park Ranger in Yellowstone National Park whom often catches the attention of women who enter into the building. As you walk through the front doors of the museum Skip's face sits right in front of you welcoming you, but did I mention Skip Ryder is probably the most handsome Ranger you've ever seen. He captivates everyone with his fine Park Ranger figure and perfect Ranger smile. Like mentioned above though, he is not real, too bad, right? Well Skip Ryder is more than some fictitious character to some of us; he is something you look for.

Let me explain, or try at least. As mentioned in an earlier blog there is a lot more to being a National Park Ranger then most people think. Sure we have the greatest job in the world, as I know many rangers would testify. We get to live in the most incredible places and are given the amazing opportunity to share our love for these places with others. Rangers are truly a breed of their own, you can easily tell when you meet people working in the Park Service, they truly love what they do and in most cases it's their calling. Some folks “abuse” the system though just using the job to occupy them till they find something “better.”

There are many questions misconceived thoughts about this glorious job. "So the Park Service moves you from park to park?" Well, I imagine many people in NPS wish this were true because then you would be guaranteed job security, but this definitely not the case! As a ranger we still have to apply year after year hoping to get the chance to work for the place we love so dearly. We don't just magically move; we apply to move and compete along with everyone else.

"Life must be simple working for the Park Service, look at what you get to do on a daily basis..." No, it is not a simple job. Well not in all cases. Sure we get the pleasure of talking to folks, enjoying the scenery, and interacting with fellow rangers (whom most often tend to be very similar people) but it's all the other "stuff" that comes into play.

Try being in a job where your season lasts 6 months maximum and then you have to move to another park for another 6 months just so you can be doing the work you love to do. Sure you get to see a lot of new country and meet lots of new people, but how many true relationships do you have the opportunity in being a part of?

Keeping in touch with friends from the past seems almost impossible when you so often on your days off want nothing to do with people, plus many times it can be a hassle if you're in places with no means of communication, such as cell service, slow mail service, and Internet restrictions. It's tough and I feel awful on my lack of communication with the "outside world" but it just seems to happen.

Now put many of these factors together and imagine you are just starting off in the park service as career (you're not retired and doing this for fun or a school teacher in the winter or etc...) This is what you do for a living. How many opportunities do you have in creating intimate relationships? Almost none. So it seems. If you're in a serious relationship with someone outside of the Park Service it is incredibly hard to work through things, like never ever being together. Working in the park and having that long distance relationship is going to cause a hassle, because somewhere down the line if you want to be together someone is going to have to sacrifice what they want in their life.

So date or marry someone in the park service! So much easier said than done, because once again you may end up in completely different locations at some point, so is it even worth it?

I was reading a book called "National Park Ranger: An American Icon" by Charles R "Butch" Farabee Jr. And in the last Chapter entitled: "The Ranger Life" he has a chapter titled "Isolation and A Ranger's Spouse" he goes on to say in this chapter... "Wives-and an increasing number of husbands-of rangers serving remote duty in our parks and monuments commonly demonstrate real toughness in surviving the unique rigors of isolation. Rangers and their spouses in these select places need to be flexible and self sufficient... Not all park service couples can handle this demanding lifestyle. Divorces are; unfortunately, relatively common and suicides have occurred on occasion."

Depressing, huh? Then you run into the issue of the tight nit circle the NPS is. Say you date a ranger or two and it doesn't work out, how do you deal with that? You now have to work together in what can be a very uncomfortable situation, plus the Park Service is such a small world you're bound to run into the person again or meet someone who knows them.

Out of the two options though, it really is hard to figure out what you want! Well unless you're me and you've realized that the answer is Skip Ryder.

Skip is the Park Ranger's version of prince charming, but does he exist, as of now, no. But it's hard to see what my future brings.  We will see what this job brings forth in the relationship aspect in my life; it really is a hard thing to work out!

Anyways, after all my chattering on, of course there is so much to mention while being here in SD for the first time, which I will catch you all up on tomorrow. ‘night.