DIVERSITY | Offering a place for everyone
15 July 2008
Oh Ranger: The Most Beautiful Office in the World
By Sue O’Connor
My mother always told her friends I was a ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park. The truth is I’m an equipment operator on the road crew. I get to operate all that great equipment that kids in sand boxes dream about. And better yet, on roads that are 8,000 to 12,000 feet above sea level. I view these roads as my most precious jewels. They are beautiful, educational, exciting, and cross the Continental Divide; but can be dangerous and downright nasty to navigate. I have often said I have the most beautiful office in the world. It’s usually noisy, but the views are always breathtaking and change with every season.
These roads were planned and built by people who, generations ago, appreciated the environment. The beautiful rock work everywhere, above, below, and all around, is testimony to these people.
It’s no small job keeping the roads open, passable, and safe, certainly not for the faint of heart. Mother Nature has thrown us a lot of everything in my years of service: floods, fire, lighting storms, micro bursts, blizzards, avalanches, totally-off-the-charts wind gusts, snow drifts the size of Gibraltar…generally the stuff of which adventure films are made.
So, I am driving through an adventure film! Whoa, but wait… I can’t see out my windshield. Is this plow ever going to stop sliding sideways? I’m getting a bird’s eye view of Forest Canyon. Are my legs ever going to quit shaking?
The good news is we don’t open the roads to the public unless they are safe. I wanted to let you know what goes on behind the scenes. Of course, without a team of professional coworkers, most important the mechanics, none of this would be possible or passable. The West is still wild where I work.
O’Connor is an equipment operator at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
This article originally appeared in the American Park Network guide to Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. More information on visiting the parks is available at OhRanger.com.
