Page 61 - 2008 DT 12 issues

until they were moved to temporary thy successor will soon be chosen. Service, a ranger’s resume often looks
holding at the Tortoise Conservation Max would want it that way. The new like someone who can’t hold a job.
Center. Their habitat had been razed to tort will have his own name, but he However its been a wonderful experi-
make way for the new Visitor Center, will also be known as Mojave Max ence, and a great life for my family;
but a new habitat for the torts will be with regard to the county conservation and I am hoping (as is Bob Taylor)
program, which began in 1991. Yes, that some of these life lessons will
there will be another tortoise, but there prove helpful in working with you
will never really be another Max. We’ll and all the partners in seeing through
miss you, buddy. o the next phase of development and
public service at the NCA to continue
New Visitor Center and increase the value of the land to
Manager for Red Rock be meaningful, useful and enjoyable
to people of the city approaching our
loha Friends of RRC! Vol- boundary, as well as the nation.
unteers, Friends and soon My first memory of wanting to
Ato be—neighbors…(I un- be a Ranger was at Pfeiffer Big Sur
derstand that you’ve prepared the State Park, Calif. where I followed the
real estate market for my successful ranger around the campground when
entry into desert homeownership). I was about 10 or 11 years old. But
My family and I are excited about the planning, for me, started at Yosemite
soon-coming day when we actually get National Park, where my parents met
Carol Snyder with Max our boots on the ground there and start when both worked in the valley. When-
enjoying with you all the spectacular ever my family wasn’t at Yosemite, we
installed once construction is com- treasures of Red Rock. spent any non-school time at a State
pleted. I’m sure Max had been told. I’ve spent the past 33 years as Park or a lake, waterskiing and camp-
Still he must have been a bit lonely. ing. My family
Those rendezvous with his ladies had eventually went
produced a great many little torts to into the nursery
shore up the future of his threatened and landscape
species. Oh yes, Max did his share! His contracting busi-
ladies often stood up at the enclosure ness, but I kept
wall on their hind legs just to get an alive the desire
admiring peek at the legendary Max to work in the
and vie for his affections. He had a parks.
reputation to uphold. One day dur-
Each spring, Max was the star of ing my second
his own show, the Mojave Max Emer- season as a rang-
gence Contest, in which Clark County er, I was getting
school children competed to guess the ready to lead a
date on which Max would wake from Park ranger Tanaka-Sanders on duty guided hike and I
his winter hibernation and amble out met a pretty Ha-
into the sunlight. The local television waiian girl, Laureen, who went on my
stations covered his appearance and a Park Ranger working in various
the contest winner was announced and capacities as an Interpreter, Museum hike, and after a little more discussion
feted. An art contest was also part of Curator, EMT, Maintenance Super- (effective interpretation?), agreed to
the festivities. Each year, students sub- visor, Law Enforcement Ranger, marry me. We have two exceptional
mitted their portraits of Max, with the Operations Officer, District Manager, children; Ka’iulani, who recently
winner’s drawing proudly displayed Commercial Use Manager, and even- graduated with honors from Vanguard
at the Visitor Center and published in tually, Chief Ranger and Unit and Park University in Costa Mesa, Calif; and
th
the newspaper. management. With the movement and Kapono, who will be starting 11 grade
The contest will go on and a wor- variety of jobs in the National Park when we get to Las Vegas. They sing

FORRC/August/2008 Page 3