National Park Foundation Shares 26 Awe-Inspiring Places to Stay in National Parks

Released this Wednesday, the National Park Foundation's "Gimme Shelter" is the fifth special edition in its popular Owner's Guide series. From luxurious lodges and historic inns, to secluded campgrounds and back-country sites, readers will be inspired to check out the 26 suggested destinations and discover even more places in national parks across the country.

Visit www.nationalparks.org/gimmeshelter to download a free copy.

@GOPARKS' RELEASES #FREE SPECIAL EDITION #NATIONALPARK GUIDE, "GIMME SHELTER," AT WWW.NATIONALPARKS.ORG

Revolutionary Run 2014

ProRangers Participate in the Valley Forge Revolutionary Run 5-Mile Race

ProRangers Renee Benson, Manager Luis Krug, Jay Copper, Jordan Keiffer

This year marks the fourth occasion that ProRangers have participated in the Revolutionary Run located at Valley Forge National Historical Site.  Almost a thousand runners come to this park every year to take part in a grueling five mile run. The reason I refer to the race as "grueling" is because of the many hills that make the course difficult.

Thankfully, we were fortunate enough to have beautiful sunny weather. The scenic course encompasses significant historic landmarks which include: Von Steuben Statue, Patriots of African American Descent Monument, National Memorial Arch, and Gen Wayne Statue.   

ProRanger Jay Copper receiving his award!

The ProRangers finished the race strong and with great times.  We all placed within the top ten of our age/gender group. ProRanger Jay Copper received an award for placing third of his age/gender group.  We thank the Valley Forge staff for having us and we hope to keep this a ProRanger tradition for the future cohorts. Physical fitness is key to being a successful NPS Ranger.

Stay tuned for experiences from the SLETP 14-06 class!

Good luck to everyone in the academy and stay focused! 

Until next time!

EarthFest 2014

"...the mission of EarthFest is to promote environmental awareness using sustainable concepts, methods and practices to protect and preserve our environment." -Temple Ambler

 

ProRangers Jordan Keiffer, Jennifer Pflugfelder and I including ProRanger Manager Luis Krug and former ProRanger U.S. Park Ranger Timothy Oh, participated in EarthFest hosted by Temple University Center for Sustainable Communities. Kids from various schools from all over the region came to Temple Ambler to learn about protecting and preserving our environment. Seventy-five different agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Philadelphia Zoo, attended the event eager to educate our next generation of leaders.  

ProRanger Jordan Keiffer

ProRanger Jennifer Pflugfelder

   The theme of EarthFest this year was water conservation.  We had a National Park Service tent set up with various information on water safety.  We educated the children on the importance of wearing a life vest. We gave out stickers to kids that answered the questions we asked correctly.  Resources became limited, but U.S. Park Ranger Timothy Oh came to our rescue from Valley Forge National Historical Park with lots of goodies for the children to enjoy.

U.S. Park Ranger Timothy Oh

ProRanger Renee Benson

  The turn out this year was much larger than last year. Children swarmed the tent eager to answer questions we asked about water conservation and national parks as well as wanting to take pictures with us.  We even had some kids come up to us and say that they too wanted to become park rangers when they grew up.  It was very humbling to have two female students come up to me and tell me that they are interested in becoming law enforcement officers.  Engaging the students was very exciting because we felt that we made a difference in their lives today. I am confident that the children learned about national parks, water safety, and gained a new outlook on a possible future career working for the NPS.  

ProRanger Jennifer Pflugfelder & ProRanger Renee Benson with two young ladies who wanted to be junior rangers!

Through dedication and completing the junior ranger booklet, these young ladies received their junior ranger badges!

 Overall, this experience was very rewarding.

ProRanger Jordan Keiffer & ProRanger Manager Luis Krug

Until next time!