Happy News!!

It's official! Patrick was offered and accepted a position at... Death Valley National Park!!

Patrick will be giving tours at Scotty's Castle. He starts March 30th, so we've only got a few weeks until the move!

Some people might be wondering why we are so excited to be going to Death Valley. For one, it's the largest National Park in the contiguous United States, so there will be a lot to do and see. But even more importantly, it's a permanent position. Most people who desire a career in the National Parks will have to start out doing seasonal 6 month positions for several years before they will be able to get a permanent one. For obvious reasons, moving every 6 months isn't really practical for us. So we feel so lucky and blessed that Patrick was able to get this job. The National Park Service is so much more competitive than we thought it was going to be. Some people think that you can just transfer to whatever Park you want to work at, but in reality there are only a few parks that offer permanent positions in Patrick's field (interpretation) each year. And there are usually several hundred applicants to each opening. The application packet is huge, including a seven page resume, all college transcripts, and essay questions about how well suited you are to the position. It is then mailed to a regional office, where it is ranked along with all of the other applicants and given a score from 0-100. If you score above 90, then it is forwarded on the the hiring official for the Park you applied at. It is then compared against the other applicants, and the hiring official will select 3 candidates to interview. She first calls the employer and current supervisor, and if she is still interested in you, you will get a call to schedule an interview. The interviews are by phone and normally last for about an hour. After doing all the interviews, the hiring official will usually select one from the three. But sometimes they decide not to hire anyone after all. It sounds simple, but the process usually takes about 3 months.

We have been waiting to hear on this job for 6 months. Patrick applied in September, was interviewed twice in November, we were told they would be hiring before the new year, and then in January, then February, and just when we had given up entirely on the job, Patrick received a call and an offer.

After so many months of applying for different positions and being uncertain about our future, we are both so excited and happy to finally know where we are going and that Patrick's career in the National Parks is becoming a reality. There will obviously be many challenges to living in Death Valley (the hottest, driest, lowest point in North America), but we are just looking forward to this opportunity and feeling grateful for it. And of course, we hope that many of our friends will come visit!