Discovery, Preservation, and Explosives!

Discovering

Tuesday I spent with an Managerial Archeologist named Dwayne. In the morning, he showed me photos of archeological sites in Historical Jamestown Island and introduced me to the challenge of erosion that Colonial Historical National Park is facing. Succeeding the lesson, I gained a deeper understand of global warming and it’s direct impact on Jamestown Island. Water tends to expand when it warms. Subsequently as the sun is warming the Earth, the water levels begin to rise because it takes up more space in volumes. During the afternoon, we took a ride westbound to Jamestown Island to see some of the behind the scene archeological excavation on the “Angela” Exhibit. “Angela” was one of the first documented African slaves to come to America from Angola in 1619. The reason why I put the name “Angela” in abbreviations is because Angela was not her real name, but was the name that her slave master assigned to her.

Sea Wall, Jamestown Island 

Preserving

On Thursday, I was fortunate enough to see the other side of archeological work: Preservation. After an artifact is discovered, time effort and money is poured into the object in goals to preserve the item for as long as possible. I helped an archivist begin inventory of the thousands of artifacts discovered in Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg. Some of the artifacts were used in the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures of these artifacts because they are protected from the public, unless on display.

French Cannon Used in the Revolutionary War, NPS Warehouse 

Washed-Up Phosphate Can

On my last day of Week 2, Ranger Bussell and I received a call about a phosphorus can that washed up on a shorelin. Turns out it was a hazardous can of red phosphorus (used as SOS flares in Naval vessels.) I was adventurous enough to get close for a picture. This investigation involved the Navy Bomb Squad, Fire Marshall, and the National Park Service.

Phosphate Naval Vessel, Naval Weapons Station

A Refreshing Start

A Refreshing Start

A day after leadership camp I headed to Philadelphia International Airport and soon after I arrived in Newport News, Virginia. I met my supervisor at the airport and he was so easygoing and friendly! We clicked right away as we began to drive down the beautiful historical tour roads of Colonial Historical National Park.

Bald Eagle, Wormley Pond, Yorktown Battlefield

My supervisor worked first shift that week, which started by opening all of the historical tour road gates at sunrise. While doing so, we were fortunate enough to spot box turtles sunbathing in Beaver Dam, colorful domesticated ducks roaming the fields of Surrender Road, and bald eagles perching by creeks looking for their next meal. After our refreshing peaceful morning, law enforcement took the lead while driving down the 23 mile Colonial Parkway. I had the opportunity to call on the radio, and respond to dispatch for the first time. I learned fairly quickly the phonetic alphabet and basic communications within the park. In between our traffic stops, I was fortunate enough to get introduced to various park divisions and discuss their meticulous inter workings. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly and I gained access to a lot of information.

Complimentary CPR Training

On my third day working, my supervisor offered a CPR class to me, and all of the Park Rangers at Colonial. in a span of three hours, I became certified in CPR in adults, children, and infants.  

CPR Training Materials, Ranger Office

Common Violations at COLO

By being at this park for a week, I learned common violations that were relevant to the locality of Colonial Historical National Park.

Tour roads in Yorktown: potential for archeological resource violations/ destruction or taking natural resources.

Colonial Parkway: there recently has been construction on the bridges in Colonial Parkway. As a result, various traffic violations occur such as 36 CFR 4.12 (failure to comply with traffic control device.)

Parkway Pull-outs: there are a plethora of pull-outs along Colonial Parkway which serve the purpose of fishing, U-Turns and a place to sit and eat lunch while watching a pretty view. These pull-outs are very resourceful when it comes to ones leisure time, however, there are many violations that occur in pull-outs. Fishing license checks happen often between visitors and Park Rangers. Additionally, launching or docking vessels such as boats or kayaks are prohibited.

To Conclude

In short, it is awesome to witness all of the fine details that require effort to make Colonial Historical National Park a beautiful, safe space. As an extra factor, I am eager to contribute, and be in service to Colonial Historical National Park.

Quotes from the South: "How are you?" "Fine as frog's hair."

In the true style of southern hospitality, I received multiple emails welcoming me on board to Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park before I had even stepped in the office. My first day was smooth, most of the office had off for the holiday and most people spend Memorial Day on the beach, not at the forts, so we were able to tour around the park without the usual crowding. I saw the tunnels of Fort Moultrie, the visitor center covering the complex history of the site from the Revolutionary War until WWII, the center’s observation deck overlooking the shore, and the nearby docks where the maintenance and LE boats wait to sail to Fort Sumter.



Later in the day, I met Chief Ranger Ben Byrnes (Starbucks in hand) and Cavin Clark, an NPS retired ARPA (Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979) expert preparing for a training session later in the week. Thanks to them I got an in depth tour of the park, focusing on all of the specific concerns that come with a park that has so many historic structures and archaeological artifacts. Proper management and care of these sites is a tricky process, and it’s made more challenging by the risk of looters.

Going downtown into Liberty Square, a common ferry take-off point for visitors, we discussed the unique issues of jurisdiction in a park that traverses an ocean and borders a busy downtown. For example, while both the point of departure and arrival of the Ferry are NPS jurisdiction, the Ferry itself is not. Since this LE unit is still developing, there are some grey areas with jurisdiction that require communication with local law enforcement, coast guard, and the state DNR. So far I see that creating a new LE unit takes lots of planning, supply-ordering, attention to the unique needs of the park, and taking fellow unit’s considerations to mind. I’m excited to watch it all unfold.



While this is a small park, we still managed to have an interesting contact the second day I arrived. A visitor reported a man passed out face down in the brambles outside Fort Moultrie. Sure enough, a man had stumbled up from the nearby beach, likely overheated and having abused substances, and passed out. Ranger Erin called EMS, ensured the scene was safe, and proceeded to contact the man. While he was reluctant to receive any help from law enforcement specifically, and adamantly declared his name was “Good Citizen”, he was taken by EMS for treatment without a problem. This was a great opportunity for me to see how the local EMS responds, specifically on the challenging terrain near the beach, and to meet a couple of law enforcement officers from the local Charleston Police.

Later we made it out onto the Ferry and took a tour of Fort Sumter. It’s a powerful, beautiful fort, and it’s clear why it’s such an attraction. I had a chance to peek into the archives and artifacts in storage at the park at the Charles Pinckney House, which were outfitted with plastic hurricane protection and housed in a building lined with sandbags.

My week ended with specialized ARPA training given by Cavin Clark. The staff stayed after hours (with the help of a potluck) to learn about ARPA and view a film regarding the Effigy Mounds Site, followed by a discussion on how we can take these lessons and apply them to our specific case.

Cultural with a Twist

          My second week has arrived and it was well spent learning the importance of the division of Cultural Resources. Join me on my experience.

   This is the library and it holds a lot of valuable and important information.

Cultural Resource has stored over time some ancient look but can’t touch information[1] . This was my first week being away from the Law Enforcement Division. Some of you may ask: “Destiny'' What is that?”

Well it’s a department that deals with all the artifacts and behind the scenes of the park. In this division the first day I was able to go through documents dated all the way back to the 1770s and present years. While doing that I put in order the dates that were missing based on the dates on the file given. When film is being stored, any colored motion picture or valuable film has to put in a below zero freezer to maintain how it was first seen from years before. The following days I did the same thing with putting in order the dates but instead of documents, I was handling historical items. Then for two days I was given the opportunity to do inventory check in two buildings “The Todd House” and “The Bishop House” they both had distinct items with numbers written on them to identify what they were.

As you can see, the first picture is the Cultural Resources library, but it’s not just any library. Inside, the division stores items from the 17^th and 18^th Century.” I was able to handle at some cool things and that was amazing. There were artifacts and other items that I was able to see and handle, it was pretty amazing to experience that.

                                                               

                                                                    Bishop White House"

 

A city girl meets City Park

       

         Some may say get out of your comfort zone and try a park that is not in the city. Try a park that is way up in the mountains or based off of a river. I wanted to be in an environment that is the city but a different city from my fast pace life growing up in New York. Philadelphia definitely is a different city; it may be fast pace but it’s a lot slower than New York. Now that my first week is done and I’m approaching my second week, keep reading to find out if the city girl’s decision to stay in a city was the right one.

         Approaching the park, I thought to myself this park is huge and might be overwhelming in some trying to learn how it was developed and operates to this day. Yes, Independence National Historical Park is a busy park. From the history to the untold stories, I have definitely been slightly overwhelmed all for the greater good. I’ve learned about people I never even knew existed, such as Edger Allen Poe, he was a famous poet that lived in Philadelphia briefly and was famous for a few poems called “The Raven” and more; that would later be known all over the world. Poe even married his cousin; Yes his cousin. However, Poe was very talented and I couldn’t believe I never heard of him. I have an awesome supervisor who has also brought to my attention that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, and the basketball team well known as the 76ers was names based off of that historical fact.

           I can ramble on and on about the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall being a great place to visit but I'm won’t. I do like being in a city park, its way cooler than I thought. It may not have the river or mountains but it’s definitely a sight to “see ” from the tons of people who seem really amazed by the park, to the rangers who guide them in the right direction and loving the atmosphere. To think it’s only been a week, A WEEK! This should be pretty great.

 

“Jumping in” at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

“Jumping in” at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Hello ProRangers and Park People!

          Since my first post I’ve graduated college, spent a week at New River Gorge training with ProRanger and started at my internship park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO). Located along the shoreline of Lake Superior, PIRO is the first established National Lakeshore. It’s known for its multicolored cliffs, unusual sandstone formations, twelve-mile beach, and water recreation!

View from the Log Slide looking towards Au Sable Light

Lake Superior facing towards the Great Sand Dunes

My first couple of days at PIRO has been immersive, to say the least! After being checked into housing in Grand Marais, Chief Hughes was kind enough to drive me to the other end of the park in Munising. This allowed me to start orienting myself to the park, discuss its major functions, and what to expect for the summer. At the marina (the official docking port for the National Park Service boat, Arrowhead), I met Ranger Paupore who took us out onto Lake Superior for some of the best views in the park. Not even one day at PIRO and I was provided with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The North Country Trail runs along all 42 miles of the park

Many of the trails have access points to the shore

On my first day, Ranger Paupore guided me through some of the major areas of the park through the eyes of a law enforcement officer. I found this time extremely valuable, because it allowed time to ask questions about 36 CFR laws, common violations, and general questions about the park. Later that day, Chief Hughes joined us on the Arrowhead for something pretty cool (pun intended) – jumping into Lake Superior! At around a brisk 35 degrees, the water temperature of Lake Superior demands cold water gear like dry suits. We took this time to check the function of our cold water gear for the season. After suiting up and putting on our life jackets, Chief Hughes and I took the plunge. This shocking exposure to the cold water of Lake Superior served as a catalyst for the necessity of proper water vessel operations and safety.

The days after were nothing short of beneficial and each ranger I worked with was able to provide a fountain of knowledge in their area of expertise. Ranger Tuuri (debatably one of the best boat operators in the upper peninsula) and I responded to an incident that required a water rescue. The individuals involved were returned safely back to shore, but without our quick and efficient response the outcome may have been different. In addition to its natural resources, PIRO is home to many historical resources like Au Sable lighthouse. I was lucky enough to have Ranger Hughes take me on a tour. Some of the best information about our parks come from individuals like Ranger Hughes, who care for the resources with a sincere sense of responsibility.

Au Sable Light Station

Built in 1873 the lens focal plane is 107 feet above sea level

I look forward to the rest of my summer here and feel thankful for the abundance of experience that the rangers around me are willing to share.

          Until next time,

          ProRanger Dover