By Guest Blogger Judy Wagonfeld

Lucy loves the mountains. Darby loves the water. If they had listed these diverse passions on a dating site the two might never have met. But, who needs social media when you’ve spent your entire life in a national park? Like minded folks pop up behind every tree, along trails, in park housing, next to rivers, lakes and oceans. The cultural background mimics nature, following cycles and adapting to change. One cannot encapsulate that life-style or its emotions on a fill-in-the-blanks form.

But we can, by elucidating the beliefs instilled in Lucy and Darby Robinson, an extraordinary Mount Rainier Ranger couple. Their words spill out like water from a river’s headwaters. They swirl around obstacles, meditate in pools, and permeate the surrounding landscape of the workers and visitors who enter our treasured National Parks. Like great leaders, these two model societal attitudes and behaviors that demonstrate love and respect for our environment. Listen to Darby:

“My parents met in the Everglades (National Park). I grew up there; my father spent his whole career as a seasonal ranger; my ranger mother did all sorts of things and eventually served as the fee manager at Crater Lake. They helped instill in me the sense of mission. When I look at my work and career, I know I need a positive mission and a motivation. I need to do things for this amazing greater good …I champion the (national) parks and do the best I can to help others appreciate them.”

As with most park rangers, these ideals seem innate, emerging from a deep genetic core. Life and parks merge as one. As a child Darby biked along the Everglades’ swampy waters, passing alligators and manatees. He volunteered on Junior Ranger projects. His family camped, canoed, fished and worked seasonal park stints, mostly at Crater Lake National Park. Unwilling to forego the fun, Darby completed high school through correspondence courses. Eventually, his parents settled full-time at Crater Lake where Darby worked seasonally while attending college for a videography degree.

During that era at Crater Lake, he toured First Lady Laura Bush whom he says, “was very active and game for anything.” When Interior Secretary Sally Jewel visited, she joined one of Darby’s school groups, penguin-sliding down a snowy slope. After college, Darby veered off, photographing weddings and events. He soon realized he had to follow in his parents’ footsteps. Returning to Crater Lake he met Lucy, a ranger from another park family whose nomadic history reads like stops on a bus route that included a passenger list of relatives who worked for the NPS; her parents, an aunt, a sister, and a grandfather.

“I grew up in park services. My dad was a rails and trails foreman,” says Lucy. “We moved around a lot. My mom was a nurse practitioner in the Indian Health service. We lived in Arizona parks, Yosemite, the Olympics, Mesa Verde and Crater Lake,” she explains. “Now, we (Darby and I) constantly think about who’s going to give up what in terms of where we might go next. Some couples in the park service never live together. They make big sacrifices to remain in the parks.”

The pair accepts the risk. In fact, when newly married, the NPS offered Lucy a full-time Budget Analyst position in Washington, D.C. Although nothing came up for Darby, they forged ahead. Soon after, the NPS hired Darby as a full-time Interpretive Services Ranger.

“D.C. was a crash course in American history,” Darby laughs. It was ‘happening’ history and monuments to history.” As a perpetual student, Darby learned from passionate co-workers. On and near the National Mall he led tours up the Washington Monument, describing its ceremonial stones and views. He took visitors to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial & Gardens, discussing Civil Rights and to the new (2016) Women’s Equality National Monument addressing Suffrage. At the Lincoln, Jefferson, F.D.R. and multiple war memorials, as well as the Ford Theater, he imparted historic information aimed at bringing history to life. Being on the Mall, far from the nature, bewildered, fascinated and challenged Darby. Adapting, he toured government officials, foreign dignitaries, families, and tourists. Transforming into a human Wikipedia, he interpreted,  fielded questions and explained our democratic form of governing. And, he learned that most people, unlike his family, did not have to drive an hour to town for groceries.

Likewise, Lucy missed nature but welcomed the city’s opportunities. During school, she had served at Crater Lake and Mese Verde in dispatch, wild land fire fighting, EMT services and structural fire operations. After completing undergraduate study in marketing and a master’s in advertising, she left the parks, gaining business management skills in her degree topic’s industries. But she felt unfulfilled.

“I was looking for something to do and decided to join the Peace Crops. I was sent to Azerbaijan where I worked with a Norwegian community development team. We taught business startup and improvement. We provided micro loans to farmers and helped develop a beekeeping program…I had a great experience and knew I wanted a service oriented career.”

Darby calls Lucy a “spreadsheet ranger.” An accurate description according to Lucy who considers herself a numbers and data person and a dedicated problem solver. As Rainier’s Acting Budget Officer, Lucy’s rebuilding the Finance Office but will return to her beloved Budget Analyst role. Interfacing with program managers, field staff and the management team, she monitors expenditures  to match priorities and funding. In a world of constant challenges, she strives to bring people along with change.

On an opposite path, Darby serves as the Lead Interpreter at Paradise. In concert with the education wing, activities include guided walks and snowshoe hikes from Paradise, coaching seasonal employees, and offering programs including geology, flora and fauna, photography and astronomy. And, according to Rainier’s Superintendent Chip Jenkins, in 2018 Darby revitalized the Junior Ranger Program, boosting participation to 12,000. Darby developed seven topics for each of seven days, repeating weekly. At three hours each the programs invite families to participate with their kids on self-guided walks, fur and animal identification, Animal Olympics in which kids try jumping or leaping like park animals and balance on balls as if mountain goats on rocks. Rangers also provide evening events at Paradise and Cougar Rock campgrounds and classic Junior Ranger programs atWhite River and Ohanapecosh.

“Last year I was blown away by how so many seasonal employees came up with new programs and ways to share ideas and familiar stories,” recounts Darby. Next year he aims to engage kids and families with English as a second language.

On days off Lucy and Darby car camp, hike, and backpack. Last summer Lucy circuited the Wonderland Trail with a friend. This year they hope to explore the North Cascades.

Both know that in the NPS you must be prepared for everything: extreme weather, budget cuts, diplomats, crowds, lost and injured hikers, changes in regulations and, of course, governmental shutdowns. Even on tougher days, Lucy says to herself, “At least I work for the Park Service.” When Darby has a bad day or feels in a rut, he says, “Then I have an interaction that centers me—that one interaction when I get to see through a visitor’s eyes. That always keeps things in perspective.”

And as long-time park brats, they adopt Darby’s mantra:

“Don’t settle. See what you can do better.”