"As a Junior Ranger, I pledge to...

-be a friend to this and all other parks
-to learn more about plants, animals and history
-to conserve water and energy here and at home
-recycle whenever I can
-show a loyalty to the preservation of our earth
-and to keep all wild lands clean and beautiful for future generations."

"Congratulations!" we say, "you are now an official Junior Ranger at Hovenweep National Monument!"
After filling out a book of activities about Hovenweep and taking this pledge, any kid can be a Junior Ranger.  In fact, you don't really have to be a kid--since I don't get a real ranger badge, I undertook the challenge of becoming a Junior Ranger myself on one of my first days here.

It seems to be something of a tradition among Park Service employees, or at least us SCA interns at parks in this region, to collect Junior Ranger badges at each park we venture to.  You have to do a little extra work in the booklet if you're over twelve, but even if you fall outside the normal age range it's a great way to learn more about a park's history and importance.  I've now become a Junior Ranger at Arches and Mesa Verde, too!

Showing off my badge.

Welcome to Hovenweep!

On August 13th, I drove up to Hovenweep National Monument for the first time.  And here I am to stay for the next four months as an intern with the Student Conservation Association, learning what it's like to be a Park Ranger: helping people out in the visitor center, patrolling our outlier sites, and giving presentations on aspects of this place that most interested me.  Hovenweep protects several ruins left behind by the Ancestral Puebloan people about 750 years ago--here's a glimpse of some you might see if you came to visit:

Square Tower and Hovenweep Castle

A tower (built right around two boulders) and multi-roomed home at the Cajon site

Cutthroat Castle

A  mostly-tumbled wall and a round tower at the Cutthroat site

Two weeks in, I'm already in love with this fascinating place out in the middle of the desert.  From where I am right on the border between Colorado and Utah, there are so many interesting things to explore within a few hours' drive that I'm overwhelmed just trying to decide where to go on my next weekend.  Stay tuned for more about where I've explored thus far!