In the memoirs of Forest Service lore, there are tales of Rangers jumping on their horse and riding for days, fixing trails, looking for forest fires and literally spitting and whittling with ranchers and loggers. We are told romantic tales of leaving their wife behind in the little cabin in the forest for long days of campfires, cans of beans, cowboy poetry and sleeping on the ground under the stars. An early Forest Service forester’s duty was riding the trail alone with his horse and a shovel to stop the flames of an occasional lightening fire. “Home, home on the range!”
But, where does Baby Boomer Ranger roam?
I very much wanted to attend the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco to see the latest in Apple computers, software and accessories. But, I also had commitments to two of my projects. Every Tuesday, I have a project status update conference call with the Shasta- Trinity National Forest, and every Wednesday, I have a conference call with the Bureau of Land Management, the City of Los Angels Department of Water and Power, and their project contractor.
What’s a Baby Boomer Ranger to do?
Answer: Do it all!
In the middle of computer software vendors and demonstrations of iLife, iPhones, and iMacs, I stepped aside and did my Baby Boomer Ranger work. I made my conference calls. I do not think that the others on the calls knew where I was, and it really didn’t matter. I was there with them, doing my job “Caring for the Land and Serving People.” My office was temporarily situated in Moscone Center. After doing my public servant duty, I was alone with no horse, but I did have my cell phone, my digital camera and my iTouch.
My temporary office at MacWorld
From the convention, I should mention one amazing item I learned about at MacWorld. There are now digital cameras that automatically ‘geotag’ photos. The camera has a GPS unit build-in, and when you take a photo, it adds the location to the photo’s metadata. After you download your photo, you can call up a Google map that displays digital pins at the locations where you took your photos. I thought, “Now that is what a Baby Boomer Ranger needs, photos that remember the locations of where you were!”
Me and my iTouch at MacWorld
This week, I grabbed my Google map and my cell phone, threw my dress clothes in my overnight bag, and put my laptop computer in its Samsonite wheelie briefcase. I’m in downtown Los Angeles for a face-to-face meeting on the Barren Ridge Transmission Line Project. Surrounded by high-rise office buildings, I’ll figuratively ’spit and whittle’ on how to protect the natural resources on the Angeles National Forest and provide renewable energy to the City of Los Angeles. Again, no horse, no shovel, and if I see any flames, I’ll be running in the opposite direction!
Sunrise in the City of Los Angeles, Central Library and the Bonaventure Hotel
When traveling for work, I like to drive the Forest Service hybrid (if it is available) and I enjoy Subway sandwiches and an occasional In-and-Out burger. Sometimes, I’ll partake in a glass of merlot and dinner at a restaurant draped in white linen tablecloths. If can stay awake in the evening, I’ll spend a few minutes blogging or surfing the World Wide Web. My computer, my digital camera and my cell phone are always with me and I call my husband every day I am away.
Last week, I was in the Moscone Center in the heart of San Francisco, and this week I am in downtown Los Angeles next to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Disney Concert Hall. When I get back to my office in Clovis, I’ll plug in my cell phone, and set up my computer. I need to call the Shasta-T again, as well as the Lassen, the Tahoe, the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona, and the Umpqua National Forest in Oregon.
Where is a Baby Boomer Ranger’s duty?
Anywhere she can get cell phone coverage.
Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California
