R is for Ranger

by C-130

Whether they work directly with the public or behind the scenes, it takes a whole lot of work to manage a National Park. In this collection of one-shots we will be exploring the lives of rangers and staff who protect Piston Peak National Park. So let's get ready to greet the guests because it is time to explore Piston Peaks National Park. Z is for Ziggurat! This story is complete!

14. N is for Naturevan

N is for Naturevan

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Consuming a bad batch of fuel could easily ruin anyone's day, but a bad batch of fuel that took out the entire the Park's entire interpretative ranger staff in the middle of fieldtrip season was ruining the Air Attack's day in particular. While Ranger Jammer had kindly given the team a script of what was supposed to happen at each of the fieldtrip activity stations, things dissolved into chaos before the first batch of kids even arrived. Meteorology with Cabbie soon turned into the C-119 being treated like a jungle gym, while plant ID with Windlifter had really been an excuse for storytime from the start. Blade was able to handle the safety briefing but only because he glared the students into submission…Then there were the Smokejumpers who had been supposed to teach the kids about how to identify animal tracks…

"You taught the kids how to build and light a campfire?"

"AND HOW TO PROPERLY PUT IT OUT." Avalanche added proudly…clearly missing their Chief's incredulous tone.

"But you taught a school's worth of third-graders how to light fires."

"Well," Dynamite squared her tires and stared Blade Ranger down, "it kept the kids' attention."

That had been very true. While the other rotations had struggled keeping the kids on task, the fire making activity had kept them riveted. And while Blade highly disagreed with the Smokejumpers' choice in teaching materials, he couldn't argue with their classroom management.

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Term- Naturevan- A mobile interpretative field museum, used to educate and manage temporary concentrations of visitors or allow for education outside of the park boundaries. Popular topics of Naturevan exhibits include identification of wildflowers, information about animal migrations, and fall foliage guides. Naturevans may be equipped with projection systems and lights to facilitate campfire programs.

Author's Note- So this was officially the shortest story in this particular collection but good things come in small packages. Also, just for your information the author totally agrees with the Smokejumpers that children should be taught to respect and have a responsible relationship with fire.