Hello everyone!

I hear you have a couple of questions for me. My friend that is up here with me for the winter is Jeff. We have worked together for the past three summers here in the park. Also, my daily schedule right now is pretty simple. Jeff is working with the maintenance crew, repairing things in the hotel. I have been putting our massive amount of groceries away, chopping wood, and preparing meals. Once the maintanence crew leaves, Jeff and I will be working on our to do list which includes repairs to rooms in the hotel, shoveling snow, painting, etc. We plan on working four ten-hour days per week, so we can hike and explore on nice days. We will also be spending some time preparing food to eat. Since we cannot just go out and purchase food, we have to bake all of our own bread. We are also growing sprouts from wheat berries, mung beans, alfalfa, and lentil beans so that we have fresh greens. Once the road closes and we are officially snowed in, we will fall into a routine, and I will let you know what that is.

The park rangers came by on Monday to talk to Jeff and I about the rules of living in a national park all winter. They also told us who to contact in emergency situations. Avalanches are a big danger out here (we will talk more about this when it starts snowing). When we ski out of the park to get out mail, we have to pass through an avalanche zone.

Tuesday my friend Victor brought his mother (who is visiting from Ohio) to see this side of Glacier National Park. We showed her around the massive, dark hotel (all the windows are boarded up). Then, we spotted a moose across the lake. We drove to the other side of the lake to get a better view. We stayed far away because moose are wild animals which makes them VERY dangerous. The female moose was in the water feeding on aquatic plants, which are rich in sodium. We will be talking more about moose very soon!

In the mean time, a little more on the National Park Service:

The National Park Service (NPS) was founded in 1916 in order to preserve beautiful places for future generations to come. Glacier National Park (my winter home!) became a national park in 1910 before the NPS was even created. Today the NPS controls every part of national parks. They look for lost hikers, teach visitors about the park, enforce rules, maintain campgrounds, and do many other important things.

This is the national park emblem:

There are five parts to this emblem

1. The arrowhead shape represents historical and archaeological treasures.

2. The tree represents all vegetation.

3. The mountains represent all land formations, scenery, and recreational opportunities.

4. The bison represents all wildlife.

5. The lake represents all clean water and recreational opportunities.

Assignment: Become a park ranger for a day.

• Create your ranger name. For example: My name is Ranger Highland Heidi.
• Draw your own emblem. It can be any shape you want it to be, but be creative. Next fill in your emblem. Your emblem should include 5 things that are important to you and to future generations.
• There are 58 National Parks in the U.S. Pick one that you would like to be a ranger for the day at. For a list go to: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/parks/ Scroll to the bottom of the page to find a list of parks and their pictures. Click on the picture for information on the park.
• Tell me why you chose this park.
• Also, tell me in what state the park is located.