Meeting Mead

Hiking during my free time

Hello again, everyone! In the time that has passed, I learned that I was having my internship over at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and made the transition over to LAKE from Pennsylvania. On Friday June 4th my five hour flight landed and I quickly became acquainted with Ranger Nick Peterson and the park housing I would be staying at for the summer. I spent most of my first week at the recreation area getting familiar with the layout of the place, by land and air, and learning from Mead District Ranger Michael Garel about what I can expect to see over here in the Mead District. Unfortunately, due to the extreme heat of the summer, I won't be able to explore many of the trails around the area during my downtime since they are closed, such as Gold Strike trail, White Rock, and pretty much all of the trails on the Arizona side of the area. This extreme heat also leads to frequent SARs in those trails, despite them being closed. Still, there are plenty of beautiful sites along and on the water for everyone to enjoy.

Lake Mead’s headquarters in Boulder City

Being over in the West Coast is a new experience for me, so this summer is going to be filled with firsts. One of those being the opportunity to go on patrol with Pilot Ranger Scott Taylor in the skies over Lake Mead. Due to the vastness of the area, this allows the National Park Service to survey and respond to emergency calls out in the more remote areas or hard to reach waters. It also performs searches, locates wildfires, and alerts others of where visitors are congregating the most. According to Ranger Taylor, we can reach just about any part of the Recreation Area in about half an hour or less. He also taught me much about various cultural and ecological sites that are significant to the various Native American tribes that roamed the region.

Posing with the Park Service’s Cessna 206 over at Boulder City Municipal Airport

Picture of Hemenway Harbor I took from the plane

Overall, it has been a very exciting first week at Lake Mead. Along with the aerial tour, I was on a ride along with Ranger Michaela Morris who works over at the Canyon District. She informed me about the jurisdiction found on the Hoover Dam, which once had its own police department, and how the National Park Service took over the law enforcement duties for them. Although the Nevada checkpoint is run by the Bureau of Reclamation security. She also told me about the common law enforcement issues found over at Willow Beach, such as fights over picnic space and public intoxication. Farthest south I’ve made it so far is to Bonelli’s Landing which was filled with cows and burros!

Curious donkey stares back as it and other burros hang around Bonelli Bay

Remnants of the old school at St. Thomas Point

The day after I took a long drive up north to visit Echo Bay, where I assisted a group of visitors free their mud stuck vehicle with the help of SNORR, a volunteer off-road recovery group. Afterwards I made stops at Blue Point Spring, Stewarts Point, and St. Thomas Point. Interestingly, Stewarts Point is home to about twenty-five residents that pay about two-hundred dollars to lease the land. Some residents have resided in the area since the 1950’s. St. Thomas Point, on the other hand, is a ghost town that was once a Mormon settlement. The small town thrived as when it was once a stopping point between LA and Salt Lake city, but the locals were forced to relocate due to the construction of the Hoover Dam. Specifically because of a rise in water levels caused by the dam. Eventually the once submerged town became visible again and is now a two mile trail loop that can be enjoyed by visitors. Overall, it's been an amazing experience filled with new sights and sounds that’s made me excited to learn more about the area in the next few weeks. Aside from getting used to the extreme heat, there is a lot I have to learn about surviving at Lake Mead. 

Until next time,

ProRanger Carlos