Well, it’s the end of the 2015 season! Today most of my flock and I are migrating away from Brooks Camp; the place I called “home” for 5 months. I shared it with big brown bears, high flying bald eagles, sly wolves, tasty salmon, and a plethora of other magnificent critters. I also welcomed visitors to show them a little bit about what I have discovered about Katmai, and get to experience daily. Now it is time for me to head back to Indiana. I will miss being able to walk out my front door and seeing a big ol’ bear out on the beach, but I will be happy to be back home for a bit. Thanks to my friends, family, and fellow park rangers for all of your support this summer! Although my time is up at Katmai, fret not! I have maaany photos waiting to be edited and published. Until then, I leave you with a poem:

“All In a Day’s Work”

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The season’s over and they come down

From the ranger stations to the nearest town

Wild and woolly and tired and lame

From playing the “next to Nature” game

These are the men the nation must pay

For “doing nothing,” the town folks say.

But facts are different. I’m here to tell

That some of their trails run right through-well,

Woods and mountains and deserts and brush.

They are always going and always rush.

They camp at some mountain meadow at night,

And dine on a can of “Rangers Delight,”

They build cabins and fences and telephone lines,

Head off the homesteaders and keep out the mines.

There’s a telephone call, there’s a fire to fight;

The rangers are there both day and night.

Oh, the ranger’s life is full of joys,

And they’re all good, jolly, care-free boys,

And in wealth they are sure to roll and reek,

For a ranger can live on one meal a week.