RSB, Grand Canyon 2025
Our story begins and ends with a very long drive that can be a whole other story.
So, I will skip ahead and speak on my experience during this service break focusing
on how I felt throughout the week. It was my first time visiting the Grand Canyon
so after taking some group pictures I took time to walk around by myself a bit and
admired the view. As I stared off into the distance, I felt very proud of myself for
choosing to use my break for something meaningful and was eager to see what else the
week had in store for me.
When me and my roommate Alexis looked outside the morning of day two, we both were very excited to see snow quickly covering the ground. Due to the weather, we couldn't help in the field but there was a lot to do indoors helping the fire & aviation team. As we organized materials, we found ourselves making jokes out of nowhere. It still felt like work, and I had to carry a few heavy boxes, but I never stopped laughing or going back for more. At one point one of us found a box filled with MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) and a group of us gathered in a corner to inspect them and see if we could take one home as a weirdly cool memory. Unbeknownst to us, Max, one of the park volunteers, was standing behind us taking pictures of us going through the meals. Later on, when he showed us the picture, we all laughed at the way he had literally captured our hunger and curiosity.
I have to say that my favorite part of every morning was looking through the pictures
Max had developed for us from the previous day. He was always there capturing every
moment. Sometimes I would try to hide from him because I didn’t feel I looked my best,
but he would find a way to sneak a picture of me every time. That’s another important
thing to mention. The people. Every single person we met did or said something that
impacted us in different ways. Todd for example, commuted every day to see us and
never seemed aggravated or tired. He always brought in positive energy. Joanne and
Deb were always around asking us about our day and helping with some of the cleaning.
We met a few people in the fire and aviation team, but I have to say that my favorite
was Kacie. On Thursday we had a chance to work outdoors collecting branches and logs.
As Kacie cut down some pieces with a saw, Gabriella and I let her know that she looked
incredibly cool carrying that saw around. She always looked like a hero in an action
movie. And lastly meeting Luis from the Albright Training Center and Jason Nez a fire
archeologist made me very happy. Luis told us about his Cuban roots, his time in New
Jersey, Miami, Louisiana and how he ended in Arizona. And Nez shared some of his Native
American culture with pottery and other artifacts. I am a Latina, and I go through
life looking for other Latinos and people of color everywhere I go. I use it as a
reminder that it's okay and realistic for me to dream or aspire to big things in life.
Who knows, maybe I’ll take a break from school and work at a national park for a while?
Wednesday was our day off and we had a mini hike with Sara down the Bright Angel Trail
where we saw Havasupai pictographs on the canyon walls. Seeing how many people hiked
up and down the canyon without ever noticing this made me a bit sad but then Dr. Crider
began pointing it out to the hikers and they were in awe (creating impact even on
our day off). Afterwards a group of us decided to go a bit further down the trail
and saw incredible views, mules and hikers slip in the icy trail. I have to share
that before this trip I had no idea what a crampon was, and I had only seen people
use hiking sticks in movies. I pride myself on being a brave and tough girl, so I
was very skeptical of using safety gear during this hike. But when I saw the first
hiker slip on the trail I immediately put on the crampons and held that hiking stick
with a strong grip. I use humor to get through life and on our hike up the trail I
kept thinking “Shrek, I’m looking down! Ah!” to distract myself from my concern/fear
that someone was going to slip and accidentally push me to close to the edge. Luckily,
we made it! And I felt very powerful afterwards. Definitely made me want to return
someday and hike even further down.
It was strange. I knew most of the students on our trip, but I had a chance to see
a different side of them. Seeing Christopher shed a tear on day one was very unexpected
because I knew only his humorous side. Hearing Alexis talk about changing her career
path to something related to fire management was weird because she always seemed very
set on being a doctor. Joking around with Etwatwa felt strange because normally we
only talk about research, grad school and boring academic stuff. Getting to see these
different sides of the RSB group was really special.
A Raider Service Break serves many different purposes for different people. For me
it was a chance to be in my element (nature), connect with people, and realize that
sometimes meaningful experiences reach us in moments we need it most, but it is up
to us to be brave enough to accept them. Before this trip I felt my life had become
stagnant. But after hearing all the life stories of the people I met I realized I
am just starting to live and create my own story. Imagine how many people miss out
on life lessons because it's a long drive away!