Addy Falgoust, Park Guide
Description
View definitions and links discussed in this episode at go.nps.gov/WhatWeDoPodcast
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TRANSCRIPT:
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Ashton: From Yellowstone National Park. This is what we do. I'm Ashton Hooker.
Brett: And I'm Brett Raeburn.
Ashton: Hey, Brett.
Brett: Hey, Ashton. How's it going?
Ashton I'm good. How are you doing today?
Brett: I'm doing awesome. It's getting close to lunch, so my stomach might rumble a little bit here.
Ashton: Um, mine is seriously rumbling as well. I hope you can't hear it through the microphone.
Brett: Yeah, I have this big lunch box behind me. I'll try not to rummage in it too much. So, we'll see.
Ashton: Well, today we have Addy Falgoust who is a park guide here in Yellowstone. We're going to talk to her a little bit more about her job and what it's like. And so as a part guide, you know, if you're a visitor to Yellowstone, you might see them out and about either in the visitor center, roaming park trails, park-guided walks and talks, things like that. So along those same lines, we have the Junior Ranger program and it's pretty popular.
Brett: Yes, I've heard of it.
Ashton: It's in a bunch of different parks, Yellowstone as well. So my question for you, do you happen to know how many Junior Ranger badges are awarded here in Yellowstone?
Brett: Every year?
Ashton: Every year.
Brett: Number of Junior Ranger badges... so not just people who, like, get the books and don't go through to graduate?
Ashton: Correct.
Brett: I'm going to say... I'm trying to see if Miles would give me any hints here because he orders the badges. I think it's like I'm going to say 160,000.
Ashton: Oooh. Wow, That's more than I thought you're going to guess. But really, you're not too far off. So in the past couple of years, you know, we've had a few weird years with COVID and the flood and stuff, so it's been a little lower the past few years, but it's been about 50,000.
Brett: Okay. I'm like, So come on, Junior Rangers, step up.
Ashton: Yeah, Yeah.
Brett: But this year is going to be the year know 160,000.
Ashton: But in a normal year, it's about 50,000 to 100,000. So, you're not too far off.
Brett: That's that is a lot of Junior Rangers being sworn in.
Ashton: It's a lot more than I thought.
Brett: It's a lot of oath-takers.
Ashton: Yeah.
Brett: We're in good hands.
Ashton: Yes, we are. All the Junior Rangers out there. So, anyway, we're going to talk with Addy more about she does in the park. So, Addy, thanks for joining us.
Addy: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Ashton: How are you doing?
Addy: I'm doing well.
Ashton: Good, good. So, ready to dive in?
Addy: Absolutely.
Ashton: Okay. So how did you get your start with the National Park Service?
Addy: So I got my start in 2017 as an intern in Glacier Bay National Park.
Ashton: And that's in Alaska?
Addy: That's correct. Yeah. It often gets mistaken for a glacier in Montana. So often I do specify Glacier BAY in Alaska.
Brett: I heard that emphasis on BAY. Yeah.
Ashton: Cool. And so what drew you to that? Did you always know you wanted to be a park ranger?
Addy: So growing up, my family traveled to national parks. I think a lot of people in this career and they kind of, you know, was really interested. I fell in love with the Tetons and I was like, I want to live where they are one day. And the way to live there is to become a park ranger. So simple enough, I'll just just do that. And, you know, it got a little bit more complicated than that. But in high school and college, I started to look more seriously into pursuing a career in that direction. I actually visited Yellowstone in college and spoke to some Rangers on that trip and asked them, "Hey, how do I get into this field?" And they gave me some good information on internship programs like the SCA and also how to find jobs in USA Jobs.
Brett: What is that, SCA, just for those who don't know?
Addy: Yeah. So the SCA is the Student Conservation Association, and the internship that I did in Glacier Bay was through them. Ashton: Okay. And so what exactly did you do?
Addy: Yeah. So the position there was an education intern, and Glacier Bay has pretty few visitors that actually set foot on the land there. And the number of visitors in the winter is pretty much nonexistent. And so most of the visitation is in the summer on cruise ships. So in the winter, they have a pretty robust distance learning program. So we were actually using Zoom before COVID and before Zoom really became a thing and essentially taking students on virtual whale-watching tours and field trips to the park.
Ashton: Wow.
Brett: Wow. That sounds like a good gig. Yeah. So you're on a boat, like, while you're doing this?
Addy: No. So we were in an office with a green screen that made it look like we were on a boat. I did get to go out with the oceanography team, though, which was really fun one day and we got to take water samples. So I did get to have that experience in the bay, but most of the time was spent in the office.
Ashton: Okay, so did you go from Glacier Bay and then Yellowstone or were there other stops in between?
Addy: There are few steps in between, yeah. So after Glacier Bay, I did a couple of seasonal positions as an interpretive park ranger and also an education position in Grand Teton National Park. And then I was pretty fortunate to get offered a permanent job pretty early on in my career. And that was in Hot Springs, Arkansas. That was also a park guide position. I was there for a few months and then took a lateral reassignment to a part guide position here, and I've been here since it's been about four and a half years, I think.
Ashton: Okay. So tell us a little bit about being in Yellowstone. A lot of people don't know that there are actually park Ranger rangers that live on the interior of the park. So what that means is like, you know, not at any of the park entrances. And so Yellowstone closes down in the winter. So you're you know, you're at Lake Lake Village outside Yellowstone Lake. So tell us what that is like. Like, how did you even get here this morning? Talk us through what that is like.
Addy: Yeah. So essentially, we kind of get snowed in and the winter and often we, you know, things are complicated, but there's a lot of snowmobiling to your car and then transitioning to take your car to a location. Currently we have less snow this year, which you think would make traveling easier, but it's actually made things more complicated because my car is at one location, but there's not enough snow for me to snowmobile from the roads. I have enough snow on them to my car, so I have to take like an in-between car to get to my car. So to get to the studio this morning, I took a snowmobile and a couple of vehicles. So and it took about 2 hours. Whereas normally if I could just snowmobile straight here, it would have been probably 30 minutes faster than that.
Brett: So, wow, that is dedication and confidence that we appreciate you.
Addy: Yeah, but those of us in the interior look for excuses to get out. So I was very happy to be out here today.
Ashton: Wow. Well, we're glad you're joining us and that you took the long trek to come all the way up here.
Brett: What's your typical like? How often do you get out to get groceries and things like that?
Addy: So it really varies depending on the year. Typically, I try to stockpile groceries in the fall so that I never need to go out specifically for a grocery trip. But if I happen to be out for another reason, then I always get groceries. But I'd say usually in a normal year I probably leave twice a month each winter. So every two weeks.
Ashton: Okay. So I've seen some park rangers who live in the interior in winter. They do a lot of canning. Are you into that?
Addy: No, I am the unhealthy ranger that lives off of pasta and frozen pizza.
Brett: Ramen!
Ashton: Hey, it's delicious.
Addy: I don't do any canning, but, you know, if you just eat a lot of pasta, dry goods, that stays really well. So I can really stock up in the fall.
Ashton: Wow. So in a typical winter, like one that we're not having now with not as much snow, you would normally just snowmobile everywhere, correct?
Addy: Yes. Yeah, I snowmobile to my vehicle at whatever entrance it's located at. And typically it's not a big deal. You know, I actually really enjoy snowmobiling most of the time and there's incredible opportunities to see wildlife along the way. Amazing scenery. The sunrises and sunsets in the winter are always really special. So although it has its challenges, overall, I really like living at Lake. There's incredible opportunities for skiing around the neighborhood. But it's not to say it doesn't come without its challenges.
Ashton: Mmhmm, for sure. So in your current position as part guide, do you have a typical day? Can you tell us a little bit what that's like? I know it probably varies from day to day.
Addy: I'd say my I have a typical summer day and a typical winter day. Would you like to know about both of those or just one of the seasons?
Ashton: Sure!
Addy: Okay, so in this summer, a typical day, a third of it is usually spent working the visitor center, front desk, answering questions, helping people plan their trips, answering questions
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