Interpretive Rangers

When I thought of park rangers before coming to Denali, I thought of officials taking money at the entrance, enforcing rules and laws, and making sure visitors don't cause problems with wildlife and such.

What most people don't realize is that a huge part of the park ranger system consists of interpretive rangers. The interpretive rangers educate visitors about the park. They help visitors discover and understand the beauty and wonder of the park. The ecosystem, wildlife, plant life, natural & cultural history, and so on. They are all so smart and really care about connecting visitors to the beauty of the park. They usually work in a message about the importance of taking care of our planet and our living resources.

Each ranger brings with them a gift of knowledge and and understanding about the spiritual and physical aspects of the park. I have enjoyed contact with each of these amazing people.

Interp Ranger Elizabeth Beavers and I rode in a van for about 90 miles south to join a train of visitors coming from a Princess Cruise. She goes from car to car explaining the history of transportation in Alaska and to Denali in particular. She also gives passengers an introduction to the park. She does this 5 times for each car on the train. At the end of the run, her voice was gone...
Interp Ranger, Frannie Christensen takes visitors on a "discovery hike." We walked through the forest and then along a river. It was about a 5 mile hike. She pointed out various plant life, traces of wildlife like scat (poop) and animal tracks. Taking a look and discussing a bone on the rocky river.Frannie answers a question from a visitor.
Interpretive Ranger Amy Clary explains the history of the far reaches of the park known as Kantishna which is past Wonder Lake. These visitors travel 13 hours round-trip to hear her program.
She takes them to Fannie Quigley's cabin. Fannie is an historical figure in the history of the park. She was a pioneer miner woman who died in 1944. A view of the restored cabin where Fannie spent much of her life. She lived here without the benefit of roads or trains.