Home Again

It is that time of the year again, when leaves change color, the air becomes cooler, and summer dies out and gives way first to fall, and then to winter. It is also that time of the year which NPS seasonal rangers dread the most. As of a few days ago, I am back home in Ohio once again. My incredible year at Antietam has come to a close. It has been an unbelievable few months, especially the last few weeks with the 150th. In the months ahead, I will be back home, trying to make ends meet and do what I can to continue moving forward as a young ranger and historian. These are tough times for many folks right now, so I am certainly not alone in that regard.

And yet, while I am back home for a few months over the winter, all is not lost. I will be back in Maryland in a few weeks for Antietam's annual luminaries, and I hope to resume my regular ranger duties sometime in the spring months. Being back home affords me the opportunity to continue doing volunteer work for the James A. Garfield NHS, which is a fascinating site with an outstanding ranger staff. I am very fortunate that the folks at the Garfield site have taken me in to give me another park to call home for the winter.

In addition, I have some very exciting projects in the works as well. First, I am in the process of writing articles based on my research for publication. I hope to have news on that front soon. I am looking at a few shorter articles to supplement a larger article encompassing the project in its many facets

 A few days before I left Maryland, I made an early morning trek to Gettysburg to watch the sunrise from Cemetery Ridge. Let these photos remind you, as they remind me, that no matter how difficult things might seem in the short term, the sun will always continue to rise, and God has a plan and a future for all of us. All we have to do is have faith in Him.