And...here we go! Let's see where we can take this folks.

Big Bend National Park. The vortex. The beginning of the end. After yet another day of time travelling I find myself yet again at the same table. If you'll follow, I'll keep writing. I got here one month ago tomorrow. It's been a hell of a ride so far. Let's see where it goes. This is now my home. in one of the most remote parts of The lower 48. I work with only a limited number of folks from all walks of life. Park life is like none other. We are hired here to make your visit...well..remarkable. But we are people. And the way "society" works here is far different than any place you may have lived. We "parkies" are in the most beautiful places in the country. Only the well-off can come to visit these places, and yet, here, working, you will find folks who come here for a multitude of reasons. And from a multitude of places. During a time of economic recession, the national parks are the few places where jobs are abundant. The hospitality companies that have resorts in the parks hire and recruit in a multitude of places, and they do not discriminate. I work side by side with those who served in the military, those who have been homeless, those who have had serious drug addictions, those who have multiple degrees in a variety of subjects, land owners, business owners, internationals who barely speak english, internationals who simply want to experience the country, folks who have been incarcerated, those who want to escape something, those who want to find something, those who want to hike, camp and learn the landscape. This place holds no real judgement.

I've worked two seasons in Yellowstone National Park before Big Bend. I've visited various parks around the nation, and without working the park system, you may have no idea how the other half lives. the people who serve you, the people who sell you your shitty postcards, and your sweatshirts and your bottled water. The people who clean your hotel and cabin rooms, the people you see wandering around in uniform. Park life is an experience that can't be measured much to "normal" or "actual" life. It is a suspension of reality to some extent. And Parkies, well, they live this life season to season. In places you only wish you could spend 4-6 months in. And they do this (like anything else) at a cost.

We spend our days seeing the most amazing vistas, the most beautiful landscapes. Our backyard and playground are places that families save up all year to visit for a week at a time. We are "lucky" enough to actually live in these places. We call these parks our home. And there is something to be said about living and working in a place that normal people "vacation" to. There is something to be said about the human condition here in these parks. There is another side wholly, a side you might not expect. If you yourself had the chance to live here, what do you think you would do? I'm willing to bet you'd hike every day, or check out the wildlife, or camp, or fish, or just be so insanely happy that you lived in this place, you could keep every single day filled with the best of activities...because..well, you were in the most amazing place ever. But just imagine, for a minute, if you did come to this place...and yes, it was beautiful, but all of a sudden, all that you have known has been stripped away, and all that you may have been comfortable with has been removed. And real life does not exist. There is no sense of actual time. Money, well, it doesn't mean anything except alcohol, gas, or food you actually want to eat. Your privacy is completely irrelevant, your expectations do not exist. You can give in to every whim and will and weakness because reprocussions are almost nonexistent. You have free reign to the back country. You can take whatever you want to take and make what you want. You may save money because you don't have to spend it, or spend it because it doesn't matter if you save it. You may choose the lightness or the darkness, but really, it doesn't matter. Because even if you finish out a season here in this park, another park will hire you for another season. This life is wholly like none other. I suppose the beginning of this blog will outline that to some extent. Or perhaps it is only caused by this life that I am currently leading.

Al I know is that I am here. In a place that few people even visit, or know of or ever live in for that matter. I'll try to document it, but will most likely do a shitty job. Have fun following if you feel like it. For now...Ill be as vague as I can. Signing off, from the vortex..durning another amazing sunset....into the darkness.

-kg