Oh the Places and Views the ProRanger Program Will Take You

Hot Springs Mountain from the Mountain Tower

City of Hot Springs from the Mountian Tower

Shenandoah National Park Mile Marker 51 

Shenandoah National Park 71' waterfall
Mile Marker 51

Shenandoah National Park overlook down to the valley. 

Harpers Ferry National Park 

Harpers Ferry National Park

Back at Devils Den, home of my first summer internship.  Brings back great Memories. 

It's Not a Goodbye, It's a See You Later

Final Night with Konyak, Little, Summerlin,
and Flint at HOSP. 

Hello All! Sorry that this post is late as it was a busy last week at HOSP, along with an extended trip home and hitting the ground running when I got back. My last week at HOSP was just as busy as the rest, as we were able to get more drugs off the streets as well as drivers that were under the influence of alcohol. On our first day back since having off, Ranger Little and myself started patrol like usual, figuring out where we wanted to start the evening off running radar. We picked our spot, then it was time to sit and watch until we observed someone doing a unlawful act that we could conduct a stop on them for. We observed a car a short time later speeding on the dangerous road we were sitting on, so we went ahead and stopped them. The stop lead to a warrant arrest on the driver of the car, who along with driving with suspended license also had drugs on him. The passenger of the car was let go with a warning to not hang around people like him as it could get them in trouble as well even if they didn’t know what the other person was carrying/driving with. Later that night after returning from the county jail, we conducted another traffic stop for speeding, which wound up being a young teen learning how to drive with her mother in the car. Although we felt bad that we shook up the young teen, it was a good lesson for her to learn to obey the speed limit and drive safely, as we let her off with a warning for speeding and had her switch seats with her mother. To end the night after a few other traffic stops, we were able to get K9 Konyak two working stops where he could get out and do his job on two cars that other Rangers pulled over that they deemed necessary to ask Ranger Little to bring Konyak out to sniff/work the cars.

The next shift for Ranger Little and I was a busy one, to say the least. Our shift started out at the Ranger Office (RO) as we were having a final group meeting with my time at HOSP coming to an end. At the end of the meeting, I was awarded a challenge coin from Chief Ranger Cully for all the work and dedication I put in this summer and the help I was able to give them. I had the chance to thank all of the Rangers for the time and commitment they gave to me in teaching me so many skills for the job that I know for sure I will be using in the future. I said see you later to all the rangers, as it's not a goodbye as I believe. After the meeting concluded, we headed out on patrol heading towards the spot we picked to start the night out at. While in route we observed a truck towing a trailer that was driving erratically, so we conducted our first stop of the night on the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle turned out to be intoxicated, so we placed him under arrest and brought him to the country jail to have him processed and brought in until he sobered up. He was written citations for DUI, speeding, and reckless driving of a vehicle.

By the time we got back from the county jail, it was time to close up the mountains. Ranger Little and I were tasked with closing Hot Springs Mountain as Ranger Summerlin and Flint were closing West Mountain. Upon arrival of the first overlook on the mountain, we encountered two cars that were still parked there, with people occupying them. Ranger Little got out to ask them to leave while I was calling in the plates so that we would have them on file. Verbal warnings were given to both cars for violation of closure. After both cars left, we proceeded up to the mountain tower parking lot to make sure that was clear. It was not clear as there was a SUV parked at the end of the parking lot, something that doesn’t happen in that parking lot often. Ranger Little approached the vehicle as again I called in the plates. This stop turned out worse than what we had expected it to be, as it wound up being an adult with a minor doing sexual acts. As this is an ongoing case I will not provide anymore information on the case, but will say that I learned a lot of how to deal with such a sensitive case. There is also a lot of evidence gathering that must be done in order to make sure you have the strongest case possible against such a perpetrator of a crime like that. We brought the adult in the case to the jail to have them finger printed and pictures taken, then released until the mandatory court date that she was cited for. This took up the rest of the night as it was a lengthy stop as well as all the paperwork and such after the fact. This case was definitely not something I thought I would experience during my time at HOSP, but am glad I was able to because of all the different skill sets I learned to use in cases like these in the future as they are probably one of the most sensitive cases Rangers/officers handle in the field.

To end my time at HOSP on my final night, I rode along with Ranger Summerlin as Ranger Little would be stuck in the office most of the night doing paperwork for the case we got the night before. To start out the evening we headed over to the house of the victim from the night before to collect more evidence for the case. Upon arrival and contact with the minor and the parent, there seemed to be more events that happened since the night before, so we had to call Ranger Little out to the residence so that he was able to listen to everything they had to say since he is the lead on the case. Upon his arrival we were free to go, so Ranger Summerlin and I headed back to the park to patrol. As my last night was coming to a close, we made one last traffic stop on a car that was speeding down West Mountain as we were attempting to close the gates. The traffic stop resulted in a double warrant arrest, with both the driver and passenger having warrants out for their arrest. Once in custody, I was allowed to assist in the car search after Ranger Little came out to run Konyak on the car. After the search was completed, Ranger Summerlin and I, along with Ranger Flint transferred the suspects to the county jail. After we were done with the transfer, it was time for my time at Hot Springs National Park to come to a close unfortunately.

My time at Hot Springs National Park was absolutely incredible. From all the great Rangers I was able to work with and get to know so well, to the city and surrounding areas, every moment was a learning experience and that is all I could have hoped for throughout the whole summer. I would like to thank first the ProRanger program and its supporters for allowing myself and the other ProRangers these opportunities summer after summer. Secondly, I would like to thank Chief Ranger Cully for having an interest in the program and signing on for this summer allowing me the chance to show what the program is about and allowing me to see your park. Third, I would like to thank all the Rangers at HOSP for teaching me more than I ever thought I would and allowing me to experience things I wouldn’t have thought I had the chance to see/do until I completed the program. Finally, I would like to thank all my supporters, including my family that has continued to show their love and support for me as I take this journey through the program towards a future career as a Law enforcement ranger with the National Park Service! Stay tuned for other posts throughout the next year or so on events and training that we have conducted! Again, thank you all so much for the love and support and hope everyone has enjoyed reading this summer!

Following the Case: From Start to End

K9 Konyak

Back at work again after a few fun days off as you all read about, I started out my half day shift with a little bit of program and training paperwork before heading out for patrol. I would be riding with Ranger Little, who was quite excited about a new tool he had just received that he could use in the field on traffic stops. The new tool that he received is called a tint reader, which allows him to test what percentage of tint the owner of the vehicle has on his/her windows. If it is below the limit it is allowed, but if it is a higher percentage than what is allowed, they can be cited or given a verbal warning to get it removed and get the right tint installed. It was a rather slow day as we did a few car stops with nothing major occurring, so we headed back to the office to end our shift and go home.

Ranger Little and K9 Konyak with the seized
drugs from our vehicle stop

When there is a slow day, you can always count on the next day being busy, and well that is what we got. Again I would be riding with Ranger Little, as we started our day out running radar on Blacksnake Road, one of the park roads that is known to be dangerous for people speeding. Right away, we caught someone speeding and pulled them over, issuing them a verbal warning for speeding and for a broken tail light. Upon clearing that stop, I observed a car coming up the hill that didn’t have a working front light and notified Ranger Little. We proceeded to ride behind the vehicle until there was a clear area for the traffic stop that didn’t leave us or people in the car in harm’s way of passing motorists. Upon pulling him over and making contact, the occupants, one male and one female, were asked to step out of the car so that we could run Konyak to sniff for drugs. Konyak proceeded to sniff the car and sit down, meaning he had a hit of drugs in the car. Ranger Little returned Konyak to the car, then started a search of the vehicle from front to back, as I stood with the subjects in front of the patrol car to make sure they didn’t interfere or try to run. Ranger Little upon searching the rear of the car found a large amount of Marijuana, money, a scale, grinder, and multiple baggies suggesting that one of the occupants of the car sold drugs. We placed one of the subjects under arrest as they admitted to the drugs, and finalized the search of the car, as well as interviews, then were on our way to the county jail.

Since it was such a large drug bust, we decided to get the local Drug Task Force (DTF) involved so that they could possibly gather intelligence to help them take down more drug dealers. We had a DTF investigative agent meet us at the jail so that we could share our intel/arrest information with him. He also wanted to do an interview with subject, which they were kind enough to allow me to sit in on. After the interview was conducted and the subject released until his court date, Ranger Little and I headed back to the office as it was time to enter evidence into IMARS and our evidence room. During the evidence entering process, I helped Ranger Little by weighing the amount of Marijuana we seized, counting the number of baggies the subject possessed, and counting the amount of cash that was seized as well. After counting and weighing everything, entering it into IMARS, and printing barcode labels, we put the evidence in different bags depending on whether or not it was going to be sent to the crime lab to get tested. The final thing that needed to be done was up to Ranger Little, as he started the process of writing the reports, and calling the right people to get the ball rolling on such an extensive case. It was an amazing experience to be able to see  and help in this traffic stop/case 99% of the way (besides court), and know just how much work goes into a case after you make the arrest and do the more fun work!

Also that night upon finishing evidence as Ranger Little started to write the report, we got called out to a motor vehicle accident (MVA) by Ranger Summerlin. Upon arriving we found a car that crashed into a small concrete bridge with no driver or passengers in the area. We photographed the scene, called for a tow truck, and directed traffic until the car was removed. I was given the task of filling out a tow sheet, a task that I had not done before. I found it to be a pretty easy but crucial task for a MVA, as it documents the cars condition and such, ownership, and what towing company took it so that we can put all that information into our report.

The next day Ranger Little and I were on patrol again, running radar and driving around to make sure all was sound. One of our two big incidents for the day was a traffic stop we conducted that wound up with us transporting a subject that was wanted on a warrant to another county close by. The transport and transfer of custody went without incident, and we headed back to the park. Our second incident was helping out Ranger Flint with a traffic stop where drugs were suspected in the car. Upon arriving on scene, Ranger Little and Flint took both occupants out of the car, than had Ranger Little run Konyak on the car. Konyak alerted to a spot in the car, confirming the presence of drugs. The vehicle was then searched with a small amount of marijuana found, that was taken to be processed into evidence. After the stop was over, it was time for us to go home and rest up for our shift the next day.

Our shift the next day was a busy one, as we made a good amount of traffic stops, resulting in a few written citations. On two of the traffic stops, we encountered the drivers having suspended licenses and search waivers, but finding nothing in the cars upon the conclusion of the searches. They both were issued citations for driving on a DL then were on their way home. On another traffic stop that night, a driver we pulled over had an expired DL. That traffic stop also resulted in another citation, as this is a big problem in Hot Springs and we are making it known that the NPS does not take this lightly. Our last traffic stop of the night resulted in a DUI arrest. We were staged at the “honey hole” when we observed a two car truck approach a stop sign, stop, proceed a bit, turn their headlights on then off, then peeled out on the road. Upon conducting the traffic stop at the campground and running the individual through a series of SFSTs (Standard Field Sobriety Tests), Ranger Little came to the conclusion the driver was driving under the influence as he failed a few portions of the tests conducted. He blew over the legal limit on scene, but during the booking process he was unable to blow a correct test on their machines, which results in a refusal. The refusal resulted in another citation that was issued, as he would be left in the jail to sober up then be released a few hours later. This would be our last stop of the day, which proved to be very productive for all the rangers on patrol that night.

My last shift for the week was fairly relaxed, as not much occurred throughout the evening. The first duty I had for the day was to go to Ranger Littles house to check on K9 Konyak since Ranger Little and his family were away for the day. Upon finally arriving at the office, I meet up with my supervisor and went out to do some bike patrol and practice some new skills on the bike. Some of the skills we worked on that day were a running stop, tackle off the bike, and learning how to be able to balance the bike and get down low to go under small spaces. We also rode up Hot Springs Mountain patrolling the area, and descended the mountain on some trails that had us working on our off terrain maneuvering skills. To end the shift, I rode along with Ranger Flint for the night. While patrolling Bathhouse row, a Hot Springs Police Department officer alerted Ranger Flint and I to a possibly intoxicated woman he observed having a hard time walking. Ranger Flint and I, along with the assistance of Hot Springs PD stopped the woman and questioned her. Along with questioning her, Ranger Flint administered SFSTs, but the woman was unable to complete them because of her level on intoxication. Ranger Flint along with the help of Hot Springs PD placed her under arrest and put her in our patrol car as she was going to jail for the night until she sobered up. This ended a very busy week for myself and the Rangers, as there is no other way we like it here at Hot Springs National Park then being busy patrolling the park and keeping visitors and locals safe.

Life Outside of Work

Lake Ouchita before sunset

Normally all of our blog posts are about our work and what we have experienced as part of the internship, but I’ve decided to shake things up a bit. These internships aren’t all about just learning more about the national park service, resource and protection division, and our parks. It is also about the connections and relationships that we make with the rangers while on and off duty. I’ve been fortunate enough this summer to hang out with two of our rangers while off duty.

A week ago, my supervisor Ranger VanNest asked me if I would like to go canoeing at Lake Ouachita State Park and camp out overnight on one of the islands, and of course I said yes. We headed out early in the morning to get an early start so that we weren’t stuck paddling and setting up camp in direct sunlight and heat. Ranger VanNest is a canoeing instructor, so it was a good time going out with him and learning the tips of how to best paddle and steer the canoe, depending on where you are seated. We got to the island and set up camp, and relaxed for most of the day talking about traveling, to his interests as well as career, to where I envision myself being in a few years. Of course, you can’t forget that we had delicious MRE’s (Meal Ready to Eat) and dehydrated food to eat (no seriously I love it!). Sleeping that night was a bit tough as I have never camped out in a humid environment like Arkansas before, but it is all part of the experience which I was very grateful for! The next morning we woke up, packed up camp and made sure the site was clean as it had been before we got there, then got the canoe back into the water to head back to land and go home to enjoy the rest of the day off.

Our Campground for the Night

After my current short week of work, I was very excited and grateful to have been invited out by Ranger Little to go out boating with him and his family on Lake Ouachita. I was looking forward to meeting his family and being able to spend time with Ranger Little outside of work. During my time here he has helped me tremendously and riding along with him a lot has been such a great time, as he has truly become a role model to me and the type of ranger I want to mold myself into. I was also looking forward to finally being able to get back out on a lake in a boat, since it had been some time since my family sold our boat, not having been out on the water since. It was Ranger Littles first time taking the boat out on Lake Ouachita, so we spent most of our time out cruising around the lake and learning the layout of this 15 mile or so long lake. We took a few breaks from the heat and were able to enjoy the water while listing to some music we had blasting from the boat. After the day was over and the boat secured along with everyone’s belongings, Ranger Little invited me over his house the next day for dinner and to hang out, so we parted ways till the next day. The day boating was an absolute blast, and I am happy to say it was time well spent with an amazing family that I am glad I have gotten to know.

Later on the next day, I headed over to Ranger Littles house for dinner and to see his house and property that his family just moved into a few months ago. When I got to his house, I was greeted by their 3 dogs at the front door, along with one of their sons that opened up the door to let me in. It was as if the dogs never got attention (which they all definitely do) as they didn’t leave my side for the first ten minutes I was there. While dinner was cooking, Ranger Littles one son wanted to play Call of Duty, so Ranger Little and I, as well as his son went to the basement to play. Let’s just say that it got a bit competitive between me and Ranger Little, as it is in both of our nature to be a tad bit competitive, of course friendly as we had a blast playing. Dinner was ready after we played for a bit, so we went upstairs to make our plates and had dinner outside on the porch on a gorgeous night. After dinner, we went out in the yard (lives on 5 acres) to go check the game cameras (for hunting) and retrieve the SD cards so that Ranger Little could see what animals have been wondering about his yard. While out doing that, it was decided by his sons that we would set two of the burn piles in the yard on fire (made of branches, trunks, etc.). The first one we lite started with no problem and got hot quick. We then moved across the crick to the next one, which we had a harder time starting. When we got it started though, it took off and the flames quickly grew higher than we thought they would. We stayed out in the yard for a bit watching the fires, talking about firefighting, and working the piles (condensing leftover branches and logs) until there was no more we could do. To finish out a great day Ranger Little and I went to the basement and watched “The Assassin”, and after that the TV show “Last Man Standing”. It was a great day as I enjoyed the company of him and his family and the great hospitality they showed me while I was over.

I made a new friend!

Making relationships and memories outside of work is another great thing 

that we can do during our internships, something that I’ll always cherish and take for granted. It’s these relationships that also make our summers fun and exciting, as most relationships we build will last a life time. The National Park Service Protection Division is a small community, as it is very likely we will cross paths with many of the rangers we meet and work with throughout the summer internships. I am very fortunate and blessed to have this group of guys to work with and hang out with outside of work.

Burn Pile 1

Burn Pile 2

K9 Drug Work & Expect the Unexpected

This week was a short work week for me as my final week of work is coming up, working six days straight then three off before my final two days. Even though it was a short week, it was packed full of good training as well as various stops and calls.  On my first day back, we started the shift by having a group meeting to discuss various topics regarding the park and the protection division. The meeting went well as I was able to learn some of the smaller issues and decision making processes that the rangers have to go through in order to make sure everything is done correctly for the smoothest operation of the division. After the meeting finished, upon my request we all went outside to get a group photo since most of the rangers were present with the exception of Ranger Johnson. I wanted to have a group picture of us all to have to commemorate my summer two internship. After the picture was taken, it was time to start patrolling, as I would be riding along with Ranger Little and K9 Konyak.

From Left to Right: Ranger Little, K9 Konyak, Chief Ranger Cully, Ranger Schreck, myself, Ranger VanNest, Ranger Flint, Ranger Summerling. Photo Credit to Field Trainee Ranger Tim Cole.

AR-15  Manufacturer

We started out our patrol on Sleepy Valley Road running radar and watching vehicles for any violations they may be committing. After a few minutes of sitting in “our spot”, we observed a car that was familiar to us, going 5 mph over the posted speed limit so we initiated a traffic stop. When making the approach, Ranger Little identified the two occupants of the car as a married couple (we found out during this stop) that we had pulled over the week before and cited for possession of Marijuana and driving on a suspended license. We asked both occupants out of the car as Ranger Little wanted to search the vehicle and run K9 Konyak on the car. As they stepped out they admitted to again have possession of marijuana in the car, so Ranger Little ran Konyak as he hit on the drugs in the car, then proceeded to finish his search of the vehicle. At the conclusion of the stop, the passenger of the car got a citation for possession of marijuana, and then was free to go. It’s not the first time that while on patrol rangers and I have come across repeat offenders, as it is sad that some people will not learn their lesson from the mistakes they make.

AR-15 Parts from Disassembled Rifle

The rest of the night was pretty slow due to Hot Springs PD being out in force for a warrant and speed initiative that they were doing. Ranger Schreck we heard was on a stop, so we went to assist. By the time we found his exact location the stop was almost complete and our help was not needed. It was beginning to get dark, so Ranger Little and I decided it was time to go to “our spot” to look out for any drivers that may be impaired by either drugs or alcohol while driving, or just reckless drivers in general. The stretch of road we were sitting on can be dangerous to someone that is driving erratically. We conducted a few traffic stops throughout the night, giving verbal warnings for speeding, roadway markings, expired registration, and some break lights that were out. One of our last stops though was the most enjoyable to Ranger Little and myself because of the “suspects” we pulled over. Both of us observed a car speeding down Gorge Road which is the road we on, with the radar reading 55 mph, so we initiated a traffic stop. As the car was pulling over, they themselves put on red and blue strobes from inside their car, which threw Ranger Little and myself off a bit. It was then we realized that they must be undercover cops for the city, so we pulled up next to the car and found out that they were indeed undercover cops that were out as part of the cities initiative. We had a quick talk with them about their night then we headed away as it was time for our shift to end.

AR-15 Partially Broken Down

The following day I would again be riding with Ranger Little and Konyak. To start off the shift, I had asked Ranger Little for instruction on how to disassemble and clean our AR-15s. After being shown the proper way to disassemble, clean, then reassemble the weapon, Ranger Little left me to do it for about an hour straight while he downloaded body camera footage and prepared to go out on patrol. I must say that after practicing disassembling and reassembling the AR-15 for an hour straight, it becomes muscle memory. Once Ranger Little was done, he came down to see how I was doing, inspected the weapon and approved my reassembly of his AR-15, gave me some more tips and training, then it was time to start the evening out of the office.

K9 Konyak and his ball

Ranger Little decided to do some more training with Konyak, which is always a great learning experience for me. We headed over to the maintenance yard where we would be conducting the training. For the first part of training, we would be working on biting while on leash (6ft leash), as I would use a hidden bite sleeve (in a sweatshirt) instead of the big red suit I had worn the previous week. For the drills, I would be “breaking” into cars and have to follow Ranger Littles commands or else I would be bit. I also was given a cap gun to use to imitate the sound of a firearm going off, but unfortunately, the cap gun didn’t work during either scenario. Even though the cap gun didn’t work, the scenarios went well as Konyak obeyed commands, had good bites, and continued to work until returned to the car. The next part of training was having Konyak search vehicles (13 total) that may or may not have had drugs in them (we planted some training drugs in a few cars). Again, Konyak did a great job at thoroughly searching all vehicles and finding the drugs in the vehicles that we had planted them in. Ranger Little explained that after searching a few cars in a row, some dogs may get tired or not search the car thoroughly, but Konyak showed no signs of this at all which is a great sign. As a treat for every find (of drugs) we would throw his ball for him so that he knows he did well.  The final part of training was using my car that we had let drugs sit in (to create smell for Konyak) and practice a car stop as if it were happening on the streets to see if Konyak would hit on the drugs. On this training, he had a bit of a harder time alerting to the drugs, due to a possible number of factors, but that is why K9 handlers and programs stress train, train, train. After cleaning up and restoring all the cars and securing the drugs, it was now time for us to hit the road for the rest of our night shift, along with Ranger Summerlin, Cole, and Schreck.

During the night we only had one incident that we had responded to and one traffic stop that was new for me. The first incident was called into our dispatch center EMROCC, and then relayed to us, a report of juveniles shooting off fireworks on the promenade and the lawn. Upon arrival on the scene, Ranger Little and I did not spot the group immediately but began to patrol and walk the area. Upon making contact with some visitors confirming the report, Ranger Little came up with a plan to box them in when Rangers Schreck, Cole, and Summerlin got on scene. Upon their arrival, the plan worked, as we were able to search and talk to all of the juveniles in the area, with some giving us some attitude but eventually complying to Ranger Littles commands. No fireworks were found, so the group was asked to disperse and not use fireworks on park grounds.

Picture of the entire rifle and assebly broken down. 

After the incident and doing a few traffic stops after, our final traffic stop of the night escalated very quickly. The escalation factor was new for me as it hadn’t happened to this point during my time here at HOSP and in the law enforcement field. Ranger Little and I observed a car with its driver side headlight out (thought it was a motorcycle at first) and speeding, so we initiated a traffic stop. Upon pulling the car over, I ran the car through our dispatchers as Ranger Little approached the car to make contact with the occupants and get all the documents he needed from them. During this process, Ranger Summerlin and Cole came to assist us and parked behind our vehicle.  Ranger Little returned to the car and ran the occupants of the vehicle through dispatch, which is when at this point things escalated. The driver came back on parole with a search waiver (meaning we are allowed to search the car). Dispatch told us “0” for the passenger, which later on Ranger Little and myself found out that meant to wait for “traffic” (information on the victim). Next, our dispatch told Ranger Little to call them on their cell phone which according to Ranger Summerlin was a “rare” occurrence.  After calling and hanging up with dispatch, Ranger Little informed us that they told him that the passenger was armed and dangerous and had warrants issued for out of the county, with pick up only within a certain mileage of the county which we were too far from. After hearing this, all our senses went up, as all three of the rangers approached the car to remove both occupants out of the car and make sure the scene was safe and that they didn’t have any weapons or such. Upon removing them, themselves and the car were searched, with both occupants having no weapons. We did find a small bag with marijuana residue in the car that belonged to the passenger. In the end, there was a written citation issued for the marijuana, then they were free to go, as that would end Ranger Little and my selves work week, as now it was time to enjoy the weekend!