Tales from the Parks

by Russell Cahill

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.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2016

Reviews

[JTrav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little ranger tales. Somewhat annoying on a kindle

I enjoyed reading this collection of short tales from a very experienced, but just a tad narcissistic, national and state park ranger. I diligently read the cute stories but somehow I missed the page that explained how he went from a lonely co-op ranger to bring offered a superintendent or director's position. But that's ok, i can appreciate a worker that just gets the stuff done that needs to get done. Not too many workers will do that nowadays.
I deducted a star for a really annoying quirk of reading it in a kindle. There are a large amount of spacing and underlining typos. Foot instance, every time the phrase National Park is mentioned, the n and p are underlined and there's a space between it and the next letter. "n ational p ark " there are also do many other similar occurrences I wonder if they are from the digitization or just didn't get caught by any human editor.
Still overall a fun book to read with good advice for hikers, campers, and those who desire homework as a ranger.

[Carolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was somewhat anticlimactic. Maybe the rough transitions between stories? Or simply the voice it was written in but I made my way through it with the joy of walking across molasses. The humor was lost to me. I’m not sure if : oh this was funny! Prior to the the story ever worked for me and it happened a lot in this book. Setting someone up to think a passage is funny and then it isn’t is probably the worst insult as it sets precedence for expecting let downs the rest of the way. There’s an art to story telling and I don’t feel this is it. It’s more a resume of his education, work experience, and contacts. Just as one writes their job duties under each place of work, so does he. Peppered with examples of field work stories that were meant to be light hearted and funny? But weren’t. The example of a bunch of Italian tourists running towards a bear had so much potential to be funny, like I could see what was coming the moment he started the story and then- the bear runs fast towards the mountains away from the tourists- is all you get. Really!?!? Anticlimactic.

[William Ranieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the outdoors? Read!

Definitely a cut above the typical park ranger memoir! Russell Cahill’s excellent account of his life of service to the National and State parks is captivating and entertaining. I wasn’t able to put it down!

[Bonnie Odin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of stories about life as a park ranger. Russell Cahill has been a ranger at multiple state and national parks including posts in Washington DC. The stories are educational, eye opening and sometimes funny.
I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I felt the book was slightly over-edited. I read the book in 24 hours so it’s relatively short to begin with. Sometimes the change of story was a little quick and disjointed and could have used more “flow” but it didn’t take away from the content. Go to a public campground, grab a lawn chair and sit in front of the fire reading this book. (I read it while a camphost at Idaho Panhandle National Forest!)

[Kaylee · Rating 2 out of 5]

The editing errors for this book are horrendous if you’re reading on kindle. Numerous random underlined words, spacing typos, etc. Not sure what that was about. This honestly felt like the writer’s resume more than stories about the parks. I felt like he often bragged about his accomplishments more than actually told us interesting stories from the parks. I think you can skip this one and try other ranger memoirs instead.

[Kelly Champion-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you were a true national park, lover, you will enjoy this book. The authors journey through various states and various parks is absolutely incredible and remarkable. I am quite jealous of the Ranger lead life that he was able to pursue.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a great read for all types of people: lovers of the outdoor, national and state park enthusiasts, survivalists, environmentalist crusaders, those who remember the 60s and 70s fondly (or foggily), folks who want to see how a government bureaucracy really works . . . it's actually hard to think of someone who would *not enjoy this book.

I laughed out loud heartily and often as I read - which, since often I was reading it on the bike at the gym, drew more than a few raised eyebrows! I even teared up a few times, which tells you that either the book is wonderful, I'm a wimp, or both. Pick it up - you'll thank me later!

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book full of enjoyable stories from the author's career as a park ranger.

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about the author's career! Great stories!