Meanwhile at Jelly Bean National Park… - February 23, 2019
I can remember when it started. My hubs Laur and I were hiking in the Jelly Bean National Forest (not the real name, of course) when we met up with a lad who looked like a Forest Ranger. We asked about his job and he explained that he was volunteer patroller for Jelly Bean National Forest (JBNF.)
Because we hike in the JBNF a couple of times a week, we were really interested in this program but said in a resigned tone of voice, “But we’re snowbirds – we’re only here half the year.” Our lad said, “No problem. We take snowbirds!” And then I added, “But we’re Canadians.” And our lad said, “No problem. We have lots of Canadian volunteer patrollers.”
Yee haw! When we got home, I immediately looking up the website for the Jelly Bean Volunteer Patrollers and got the email for the chair of this team. Ranger Smith (not his real name) replied back very quickly. He explained that yes, they do take Canadians but they prefer “year-rounders.” And that the class for 2018 was already full. However we could apply for the following year, which we did.
We were delighted to receive an email in the Fall of 2019 that we had both been accepted for the initial interview. Hoot hoot!! They allowed us to interview together – which was taking a bit of a risk on our part. You know Laur and me. “We just hiked Jellybean Peak last Friday.” “No, Laurie, it was last Thursday. It was raining on Friday.” “Jannie, you’re thinking of Black Bear Mountain…” “Let me get out my calendar…” “How can you ever find anything in that purse!?” And on we are likely to go. But we managed to hold it together for half an hour, and a week later we were informed we had passed the interview. Yes!
Next step was to observe our mentor working at the front desk and interacting with the public at various spots in the Jelly Bean and Black Bear Canyons. We were given different mentors and different times to observe and possibly comment. The chair told me when I expressed a desire to be mentored together – to save time and travel dollars - “Trust me. I’m the voice of experience here. It is better when couples mentor separately. They can patrol together, but not mentor together.” True dat.
We both passed that part too. You are wondering how a person could possibly fail “shadowing.” If the mentee (a) cannot keep their mouth shut or (b) has a tad harsh attitude toward beginning hikers and explorers, you will get tossed out! You can likely figure out which of us would be guilty of (a) and of (b).
Next up, going with our mentor on a hike. I think this was to ascertain our physical fitness. And half way through the hike, my mentor asked me to lead it - to establish my trail-finding and -keeping ability. For Laur this is no problem. For me this is a bit of a miracle, but it’s a hike I knew fairly well. Laur and I had just done it a week ago in prep for this part of our testing.
Next, the exam. Twenty questions – some of them tricky. One of us got 100% but that was because it was an open book test. I may not be able to find my way around a trailer park, but I can still read! 😊
And then, two very long mornings of information sharing and the opportunity to ask questions. It ranged from how to interact with the public (which both of us “got”) to the ability to hear complaints (which I get and Laur doesn’t) to accessing the flow of water (which I don’t get, but Laur does) and the mating habits of mountain goats (which neither of us particularly wanted to get.) 😊
We were given our Jelly Bean Volunteer Patrollers certificate. Only one more step to go. Go out with our mentor for a few hours – helping people find their way around the park and suggesting hikes geared to their interest and ability. This was the part that scared me the most. I have no sense of direction and the memory of a goldfish. So Laur practiced me up the afternoon of the day before.
And then came the morning of the day we were both going to be completing our final phase of volunteer training – and then came the email advising both of us that we could not complete our training at this time because we are Canadians and may not be covered by Federal liability insurance. We were crest-fallen… So will a number of other Canadian volunteers be…
You may ask, “Why did this come up now and not a few years ago?!” Well, one of us asked, at our last training meeting, “Are you sure it’s OK for Canadians to volunteer? I mean, we can’t buy a National Forest pass so how can we be National Forest volunteers?” Our chair said he’d look that up, and he did, and voila. Laurence said to me later, “Laurence – you dorkonard!” I said that I liked that name – and could I use it more often?
Laur and I decided to drown our sorrows with a hike in the Santa Ritas. I listened to a Rick Warren sermon on dealing with disappointments. And Laur said that he’d rather bang his head against a cactus than listen to what he considers pop theology. (He’s wrong of course, but I digress.)
And somewhere in the middle of the hike – when I was between podcasts – both of us got a fit of the giggles about this. We were told that we would be refunded for our expenses and Laur I are started listing the things we could possibly be reimbursed for.
I said to Laur, “Sigh! We’ll never get to be Yogi Bear and Boo Boo!” To which Laur consoled me, “Jannie, we get to STAY Yogi Bear and Boo Boo!”
My hubs, smarter than the av-er-age bear!
(PS - Thank you Julie for your photo assistance. You are THE BEST!)
Because we hike in the JBNF a couple of times a week, we were really interested in this program but said in a resigned tone of voice, “But we’re snowbirds – we’re only here half the year.” Our lad said, “No problem. We take snowbirds!” And then I added, “But we’re Canadians.” And our lad said, “No problem. We have lots of Canadian volunteer patrollers.”
Yee haw! When we got home, I immediately looking up the website for the Jelly Bean Volunteer Patrollers and got the email for the chair of this team. Ranger Smith (not his real name) replied back very quickly. He explained that yes, they do take Canadians but they prefer “year-rounders.” And that the class for 2018 was already full. However we could apply for the following year, which we did.
We were delighted to receive an email in the Fall of 2019 that we had both been accepted for the initial interview. Hoot hoot!! They allowed us to interview together – which was taking a bit of a risk on our part. You know Laur and me. “We just hiked Jellybean Peak last Friday.” “No, Laurie, it was last Thursday. It was raining on Friday.” “Jannie, you’re thinking of Black Bear Mountain…” “Let me get out my calendar…” “How can you ever find anything in that purse!?” And on we are likely to go. But we managed to hold it together for half an hour, and a week later we were informed we had passed the interview. Yes!
Next step was to observe our mentor working at the front desk and interacting with the public at various spots in the Jelly Bean and Black Bear Canyons. We were given different mentors and different times to observe and possibly comment. The chair told me when I expressed a desire to be mentored together – to save time and travel dollars - “Trust me. I’m the voice of experience here. It is better when couples mentor separately. They can patrol together, but not mentor together.” True dat.
We both passed that part too. You are wondering how a person could possibly fail “shadowing.” If the mentee (a) cannot keep their mouth shut or (b) has a tad harsh attitude toward beginning hikers and explorers, you will get tossed out! You can likely figure out which of us would be guilty of (a) and of (b).
Next up, going with our mentor on a hike. I think this was to ascertain our physical fitness. And half way through the hike, my mentor asked me to lead it - to establish my trail-finding and -keeping ability. For Laur this is no problem. For me this is a bit of a miracle, but it’s a hike I knew fairly well. Laur and I had just done it a week ago in prep for this part of our testing.
Next, the exam. Twenty questions – some of them tricky. One of us got 100% but that was because it was an open book test. I may not be able to find my way around a trailer park, but I can still read! 😊
And then, two very long mornings of information sharing and the opportunity to ask questions. It ranged from how to interact with the public (which both of us “got”) to the ability to hear complaints (which I get and Laur doesn’t) to accessing the flow of water (which I don’t get, but Laur does) and the mating habits of mountain goats (which neither of us particularly wanted to get.) 😊
We were given our Jelly Bean Volunteer Patrollers certificate. Only one more step to go. Go out with our mentor for a few hours – helping people find their way around the park and suggesting hikes geared to their interest and ability. This was the part that scared me the most. I have no sense of direction and the memory of a goldfish. So Laur practiced me up the afternoon of the day before.
And then came the morning of the day we were both going to be completing our final phase of volunteer training – and then came the email advising both of us that we could not complete our training at this time because we are Canadians and may not be covered by Federal liability insurance. We were crest-fallen… So will a number of other Canadian volunteers be…
You may ask, “Why did this come up now and not a few years ago?!” Well, one of us asked, at our last training meeting, “Are you sure it’s OK for Canadians to volunteer? I mean, we can’t buy a National Forest pass so how can we be National Forest volunteers?” Our chair said he’d look that up, and he did, and voila. Laurence said to me later, “Laurence – you dorkonard!” I said that I liked that name – and could I use it more often?
Laur and I decided to drown our sorrows with a hike in the Santa Ritas. I listened to a Rick Warren sermon on dealing with disappointments. And Laur said that he’d rather bang his head against a cactus than listen to what he considers pop theology. (He’s wrong of course, but I digress.)
And somewhere in the middle of the hike – when I was between podcasts – both of us got a fit of the giggles about this. We were told that we would be refunded for our expenses and Laur I are started listing the things we could possibly be reimbursed for.
- The uniforms of course. But also… (and we are joking, of course.)
- Our meals at Korea House and at Lovin Spoonful, after our morning training session.
- Our flight back home from Canada. I mean, we timed it so as not to interfere with our training.
- Gas mileage, Cadillac repairs.
- The value of our time at Arizona minimum wage - $7.50 / hour in the hospitality industry.
I said to Laur, “Sigh! We’ll never get to be Yogi Bear and Boo Boo!” To which Laur consoled me, “Jannie, we get to STAY Yogi Bear and Boo Boo!”
My hubs, smarter than the av-er-age bear!
(PS - Thank you Julie for your photo assistance. You are THE BEST!)