Consider this a highlight reel
Well howdy…
We’re going to pretend like it hasn’t been two months since I wrote one of these, deal?
Anyway, here’s some highlights of what I’ve been up to over the last two months!
I’ve started volunteering at a local humane society on the weekends. It mostly looks like a lot of sweeping and mopping but I definitely get my kitten playtime in too (there’s no dogs at the facility - they’re all fostered). Just don’t ask me what the odds are that I come home with a cat…
I’ve gotten to join the park’s Resource Management team on 4 surveys thus far, 3 of which were ran by outside researchers from local universities. So far I’ve helped them survey birds, bats, fresh water sponges and macro invertebrates. (You can read all about it in my next blog post. Spoiler alert: the macro invertebrates were definitely my favorite.)
I’ve gotten to visit multiple new (and some reruns) National Parks - with more on the horizon!
In June, I capitalized on one of the NPS’ fee-free days and made the drive out to Shenandoah. After stopping at one of the visitor centers, I did a short hike to Lower Whiteoak Falls… where I got to go swimming!!! If you’ve heard me talk about it, one of the things on my 2024 bingo card that I made for myself was to swim in a natural body of water; happy to report that it’s been checked off the list! The hike was nearly perfect - uphill to the waterfall (which feels rare), only about a mile and a half each way, and despite being a fee-free day, it wasn’t all that crowded. There were two ‘levels’ to the waterfall and while I wasn’t feeling bold enough to venture to the top, I was more than content chilling in one of the small natural pools that had formed, letting the water rush over my shoulders as I watched some kids using the rocks as a slide elsewhere in the falls. At the end of the day, I let myself air dry on some of the large flat rocks where everyone was storing their stuff (which was a refreshing example of community and trust, might I add) and spent some time drawing in my journal.
With my coworkers, I’ve also had the chance to visit… Fort Hunt Park, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, and Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge (a Fish and Wildlife Service site).
Not a park itself, but a super cool experience was getting to visit the National Capital Region’s (what my park is a part of) Museum Resource Center. The museum resource center is basically what it sounds like - a building that holds a large number of artifacts and natural resources for all of the parks in the region. For us, that’s a lot of parks within DC, plus a few outliers like us. The staff there is small but mighty and is responsible for identifying and preserving new artifacts that come from these parks, as well as working with each park individually to curate their visitor centers and manage their natural resources. While visiting, we talked to the in-house archaeologist and got a tour of the collections there. The most remarkable piece… the coat Lincoln was wearing when he was assassinated. We finished the day by getting to look through a bunch of old photographs from Prince William Forest Park.
Fun fact: my supervisor has turned my on to getting the Junior Ranger badge from every park I visit. So now, as I’m visiting these parks, if I have the opportunity to I will go out of my way to stop by the visitor center/ranger station to fill out my little activity book and get my badge. It’s the perfect free souvenir and if you know me, you know I love a good trinket… and I love a collection. So fair warning, if we’re ever traveling together… you better be ready to embrace the whimsy of youth with me and get our badges.
I’ve continued my concert photography journey - now venturing into DC for shows. Since being in Virginia, I’ve gotten to shoot 5 shows for my own publication which is super exciting! Just within these first 5 shows, I’ve really gotten a taste of the scope of venues this city has to offer with my first show being at Songbyrd Music House which has a capacity of 250 people (which truthfully I think is generous) and I’ve also gotten to shoot some of the biggest shows of my career, being Green Day at Nationals Park (~41,000 cap) and AJR at Capital One Arena (~20,000 cap) both of which were this past week. I even got to photograph a show at Wolf Trap - the country’s only National Park dedicated to the performing arts… a very words colliding moment. And to shamelessly self-promote, you can check out my work over on my instagram, which just so happens to be linked at the bottom of every blog post ; )
Took myself on a solo-adventure to watch a symphony orchestra play along to Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 1… also at Wolf Trap.
Worked both weeks of Prince William’s Spy Camp (their most popular interpretive program) where I got to put my summer camp hat back on and help facilitate programs, take photos, and teach archery.
Tagged along on a few interpretive programs like a fishing event, guided hikes, and a school field trip.
Funny enough, an internship can actually lead to networking - who’da thunk? Since being here I’ve gotten to talk to a good number of people working for the NPS and other agencies within the Department of the Interior. I attended an intern career day with the Fish & Wildlife Service but the most fulfilling conversations I’ve had has been getting to talk with people currently in VIS (Visual Information Specialist) roles, as that’s the type of role I’m hoping to pursue. I’ve connected with someone who works at Harpers Ferry Center (my dream place to work) who used to work for the internship program I’m a part of and am hoping to connect with someone on their AV team soon.
I’ve played lots of virtual games of Wingspan with mom… though probably not as many as you’d expect, lol.
Killed many, many, bugs… oh yeah, and 2 mice that were living in my house…
** to clarify, I did not ‘kill’ the mice. But they did die… in my house… I love being an adult**
But yeah, these have been some of the highlights of what I’ve gotten to do so far! As a friendly reminder, this blog (and this post in particular) is certainly a glamorized depiction of what my experience is like. While it’s fun to marvel at all of the positive things that have happened, I also want to be realistic and acknowledge that this doesn’t take into account the boredom, the loneliness, the car troubles, or the interpersonal struggles (among other things) that I might also encounter during my time here.
Anyway, hopefully I’ll continue to post more of these soon! Thanks for hanging around till the end and hearing what I’ve been up to :) Miss y’all!
