Daily Blog
3/2
First day, mostly orientation stuff up here at Mesa Verde. Long drive (20 miles) up to the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, where I’ll be working mostly. The day was filled with orientations and introductions and cliff dwelling tours (well, only one, but it was pretty cool). There may have also been an incident where I left my car lights on the whole day… but that doesn't matter! I got the car rolling again and as I drove down at the end of the day, Mesa Verde became swathed in snow and clouds. 3/3 Today, I was introduced to the projects I’ll be working on for the next couple of weeks. I’ll be labeling books and putting them into the interpretive library database, as well as cataloging pottery shards. More to come later. 3/4 I started out the day by exploring Mesa Top Loop, which is a great way to see about 600 years of Ancient Pueblo history through preserved ruins (like Square Tower House). After that, I shadowed the museum desk and took another tour of Spruce Tree House. 3/5 Science Fair! 3/6 I have received my Junior Ranger badge! I was able to shadow the dispatch desk for a while, and then finished the day with project work. It turns out that I had to clean the dishes (i.e. ancient pottery) with a toothbrush. Long Reflection The first week was pretty cool. I was able to explore the park more so than I thought I would through tours, shadowing and driving around! I was pretty nervous when I started out because I didn't really know what I was doing, but I think that by the end of the week I calmed down a bit. I feel that the next two weeks will be a lot of fun because I’ll be more comfortable going to work and talking to everybody. I'm excited to delve into the project work they have me doing and maybe, just maybe a volunteering gig down at Spruce Tree House (answering questions, telling people not to sit on walls, etc.)! 3/9 Started the day by shadowing the desk. Then had some time to finish up washing pottery and labeling books. I finished off the day with a self-guided tour of Spruce Tree House and shadowing the Rangers who were down there. 3/10 I visited Cedar Tree Tower and went hiking. Project work time for the rest of the day. 3/11 Project work time…Mostly organizing the pottery shards. 3/12 I paused library work to go check out the visitor center and the massive collection they have; shelves upon shelves of old pottery and CCC furniture (upon other things). I think inventorying the bugs was the best part! I finished the day by shadowing the fee booth. 3/13 Project work time, got all the books into the computer. I was also able to work with some volunteers down at the horse barn. It was surprisingly fun to muck the barn and walk the horses around for a bit. 3/14 Today I "worked the schedule," which means that I was able to dawn some volunteering outfit and work with my mentor down at Spruce Tree House. I answered some questions about the cliff dwelling, as well as why I was there, interning. After that, we worked the museum desk for the rest of the day. Long Reflection The second week was great! I was able to talk to the rangers more about their own experiences and how they got to where they were (which was one of my goals for this internship).I was also able to "stand in their shoes" by shadowing the desk and the cliff dwelling. I very much enjoyed seeing the bigger collection they have at the visitor's center and inventorying their stuff. Surprisingly enough, I really liked looking at all the bugs they had collected. This makes my re-think my interest list just a bit (as you can see): Interests -Chemistry -Biology -Archaeology -Paleontology -Entomology -Park Service -Forest Service -Library work -Cats Another goal that I had for this internship was to flush out my interests, and see if what I thought I liked really is what I like, and I think that happened (although I have yet to see some dinosaur bones). 3/16 I hired people today!..Er... Well I looked over some resumes of people applying to the park and took notes on what might be best if I ever apply. It was a cool opportunity to "look inside" the hiring business. I spent the rest of the day numbering, bagging and entering almost one hundred pieces of pottery shards to the Interp library database. 3/17 Today was a busy, busy day. I started out by meeting one of the law enforcement rangers at the Morefield campground, where we attempted to hike along the Knife Edge trail, but ended up turning back because of the snow conditions. Instead, we went down to the horse barn to groom the three horses they have. After that, we went down to the visitor's center for a meeting dealing with the CPR equipment they had. Then we drove over to Yucca House, a very discrete National Monument located in (or very near) somebody's background. After that I was able to check out Mesa Verde's ambulance and firetruck! 3/18 Well, as it turns out today is my last day on the job at Mesa Verde. It definitely felt weird realizing that the three week long adventure had come to a close so quickly. It was an amazing opportunity to get into the "real world" and experience the National Park system that I've always been so interested in. I started out the day by looking through "discovery packs" they give to children in the summer time, in order to make sure everything (binoculars, field books and activity sheets) was there. I then inventoried everything in four old ammo containers that contained items from some of the ancient cliff dwellings. I finished off by giving a small tour of my work space to the LINK coordinator, Zoë. After that, I worked at the museum desk with my mentor and thought about the project I would do to summarize what I've experienced. As I drove down the twisty road, heading back home, I had an odd feeling that I may return to the park soon. Long Reflection As I said in my last post, I feel incredibly lucky to have had this experience. Going into a job environment and meeting people with the same interests as I do was amazing! I've learned so much in these past three weeks than I could have ever hoped for, and I was able to get advice on the next steps of my life that could potentially give me a good basis for applying to a National Park position. I will keep exploring this option as I get older because I could see myself actually working in Mesa Verde, doing anything and everything (well, maybe not the law enforcement part of law enforcement). I have meet amazing and dedicated people during this internship, like my mentor Sandy Groves, whom I wish never to forget. This internship has also opened my eyes to possibilities that I would have never considered (interpretive ranger, librarian, curator and entomologist). There was one thing about this internship that surprised me a lot. I found that the clash between old (Ancestral Pueblo life) and new (our life) was profound. I would be standing in a florescent-lighted, air-conditioned room washing ancient pottery, when I'd assess my situation and laugh. It was weird to think that two different time periods could exist together. In a way that made me feel incredibly small (and I'm sure the existentialism project in humanities started that), because I would think about what the ancient pottery makers must have been thinking: What would happen to this insignificant little bowl I just made? Nothing probably. When in reality, it has become priceless and beautiful. But anyways, I will really miss interning at Mesa Verde. |
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