Tales from the Parks: My Adventures as a Park Ranger - Paperback

by Russell Cahill (Author)

If a bear lumbers into a hotel in the middle of the night, how do you get it to leave? Join former National Park Ranger Russell Cahill for this and other true life adventures. Join him as he lowers terrified climbers down the sheer cliffs at Yosemite, follow along as he traces the source of the "death lights" on the remote coast of Maui, and be with him as he creates chaos in the basement of the White House. From a childhood spent in the state parks of California to protecting the lands in the farthest reaches of the United States, the author will keep you guessing about what comes next.Readers will meet President Nixon, Charles and Ann Morrow Lindbergh, Governors Jerry Brown and Jay Hammond, and a host of characters who shaped the national and state parks during the past century. There are descriptions of building a cabin with hand tools in remote Alaska, volcanic eruptions and the biggest tsunami ever witnessed. Lace up your boots, and come along.

Author Biography

Russell Cahill, a retired park ranger, lives in a forest adjacent to a salmon stream near Olympia Washington. He is of Native Hawaiian ancestry and has written about the people of Hawaii and Western North America. Russell was born in San Francisco prior to World War Two and says he is old enough to have played American football while wearing a leather helmet. He is married to Narda Pierce and is the father of three children, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Mr. Cahill is a graduate of San Jose State College, (now University) with a degree in Biology. He has served in Yosemite, Glacier Bay, Katmai and Haleakala National Parks and has been the Director of the Alaska and California State Park Systems and the Deputy Director of Washington's State Parks. During the 1970s Russell with his late wife Susie took their children to a remote place in Alaska and built a cabin using only hand tools. He spends part of each summer at the cabin in Gustavus, Alaska. He and his wife Narda have kayaked in Alaska, Mainland United States, New Zealand and Western Australia. Since his retirement he has served as a member of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, State Parks Commission, and as a Community Services volunteer. Russell and his wife have traveled extensively based on the theory, "retire early and often." They once walked from Idaho to Seattle just for the heck of it. Russell claims his most interesting job was as a bouncer at a go-go club during college years.