Junior Park Ranger Adventures
In June 2018, my family of 3, which includes myself (Anita), my son (Thomas; 9) and my daughter (Eden; 11 months) visited South Dakota with Eden’s father for a family reunion. We were captivated by the beauty of the park. The best part was being able to explore and try to find our home state on the pillars leading into the park. But it wasn’t until Thomas found out about the Junior Ranger program that really highlighted our trip. He was given the Rushmore Ranger Activity Booklet and as we walked around the park, he completed each activity. Then he was sworn in as a junior ranger. Thomas could barely contain the joy as he repeated after the park ranger. Even though we had a marvelous time adventuring around Mt Rushmore, nothing compared to the moment Thomas was sworn in and became a junior ranger. We will always remember this moment. That one simple event made my son an explorer for life.