The Adventures of Big Bliz: California, No Doubt About It (6/2

Getting to know National Park Service staff and fellow interns was amazing! And California wasn't so bad either...

The class of 2012 National Park Service Business Plan Interns in Malibu.
Have you ever seen a better jumping photo? I seriously doubt it.

Who are the beautiful jumping people above? They are my fellow park service interns. These 15 brave souls, including me, are from masters programs in business, public policy/administration, and environmental policy. We are the 14th class of interns in the National Park Service Business Plan Internship, from all over the country, and spending the summer scattered across seven units of the National Park system: Congaree National Park (South Carolina), Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio), Gateway National Recreation Area (New York), Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona, my new home!), National Mall and Memorial Parks (Washington, D.C.), Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park (Texas) and Yellowstone National Park (Idaho, Montana and Wyoming).

Fellow interns and park service staff on top of the highest
peak in the Santa Monica mountains.

Before jumping in to our consulting duties at our parks, we spent a great week at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area learning about the park service, getting to know each other and generally having a great time. The week started with a hike, which was an excellent way to get to know each other. I'm pretty allergic to the cocktail hour schmooziness of business school, so this was a welcome change. In addition to getting to know each other, we also learned a lot about the history of the park and wildlife in Santa Monica from Ranger Ken. Who knew there was such a great place to hike just outside of Los Angeles?

Most of our days were spent in conference-style training, but it was by far the best view I have ever had while at work!

View from the Malibu community beach house where
we had training all week.

In addition to our terribly rough training days at the beach house, we also took breaks to explore more of the National Recreation Area, which includes a diverse collection of mountain trails, beautiful beaches and even a mock old-west town where Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman was filmed. Pretty cool!

Can't you see Dr. Quinn walking down this street?

Some of my fellow interns were more excited to role
play being stuck in the mock old- west jail than others....

Getting the history of this park of the Santa Monica Mountains
National Recreation Area form our fun Ranger guide!

Did I mention that my fellow interns Laurel, Jay and I
went through a lightning speed ranger training program?
(L to R: Laurel, Jay, and me)

Finally, a trip to the coast of California would not have been complete without a little time at the Santa Monica pier, swimming in the Pacific ocean (sorry, no photos of my cold self battling the seaweed), and watching new friends play volleyball Top Gun style.

Here are some photos from the Santa Monica pier:

The Santa Monica pier is the end of old Route 66. I didn't
drive it all, but did cover a significant portion
between Albuquerque and Flagstaff.

They had the Zoltar machine from
the movie Big. Too cool! I got my fortune,
but it was so nondescript that I don't even
remember what it said...

Last but not least, check out these hot beach bods. Also be sure to notice the cute ranger doll in the photos. She is our group's mascot and will travel to all the parks this summer for adventures seeing the Grand Canyon, riding on a buffalo in Yellowstone, brim fishing in Ohio, etc.