This is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest in the country. I had the most ridiculous medical call at the top of it. It was dispatched as an unknown medical problem. Another Ranger, a guy from the rescue squad, and I all charged up the stairs inside the stuffy, hot, lighthouse. We were met by the "patient" about halfway up. He'd choked on some water, but, unsurprisingly, was fully recovered. My eyes got big and my mouth snapped shut before I said something unprofessional as I panted and dripped sweat from every pore. When I wasn't trotting up the lighthouse for fun, I was watching the beach closures and chatting with fishermen and women. People there are pretty ticked at all the beaches being closed, but I was surprised that only one person called me a rude name. I thought it would be a daily, if not hourly occurrence. I staked out some of the closures and ran around with borrowed night vision goggles (which was cool), but my prey was pretty sparse. I only found a couple people actually in the closures.
I had one day off while I was there. After 14 days, I decided to ask for a break. I went fishing and caught this little guy. It's a flounder. One of the guys I met there took me out on his boat. We had a great time fishing and clamming. We found 31 clams and made a nice Hatteras style chowder. I got a sunburn, as usually happens when I do anything outside. You may wonder how I managed that when you see me in that hat and long sleeved shirt. I foolishly didn't keep that shirt on the whole day. Swimming around after those cleverly hidden clams, I was in my swim suit and my poor back got scorched. But it was worth it; they were tasty clams.
By Independence day I was a little bored with watching the beach closures so I decided to get a drunk driver. How hard could it be? People are allowed to drive onto the beaches. They're allowed to drink (although there's a NC law against drinking spirituous liquor and fortified wines in public) on the beach. Do they finish their beer before they leave the beach? No. Do they drink responsibly so they won't drive away still buzzed? No. I could've gotten a drunk driver everyday if I'd wanted to. I would have, but I figured I should spend most of my time doing what they were paying me to do (watch the birds).
It was a nice case, the fellow I got. A bunch of charges. I think I'm the only temporary ranger to arrest anyone, but the bosses didn't mind. In fact, they seemed happy. One of the district rangers said if I ever get tired of Denali he'd love to see my application. He even offered to have me work at Cape Hatteras during my furlough. It's nice to have options like that and I'm glad I made a good impression. I think because they were happy with my work, they let me go up in the plane. Another Ranger went, he was counting cars on the beaches. I just tagged along to take pictures. Here's one. 
1 comment:
Wow! Sounds like fun work....and the clams and flounder are definitely a bonus. ;)
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