OK, I'm a tad calmer today. This, my Mudcat friends, is a dream come true. This has been what I have wanted and worked for since I was 18, and it took me 21 years, but I finally got it.

Bradbury Mountain is a beautiful park of a hair under 1000 acres, has about 20 miles of multi-use trails (hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding in the summer and skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling in the winter) and a small campground. The job is very physical, as Fritz pointed out several times. I believe that he pointed this out to all the applicants and interview-ees. He's been without a ranger for over a month, so he's understandably concerned with making sure he doesn't hire someone who will wimp out when the going gets tough. He's also relatively new at that park, having transferred down from Aroostook County in Northern Maine three months ago and has had very little transition time. I think we're going to mesh well, however. I also think the edge that I had over the other candidates was previous experience at that park. Granted, it was about 400 acres smaller at that time, but I am familiar with most of it and have a good rapport with the locals. It's pretty much the same distance for me to drive as Wolfe's Neck was.

I'll miss Wolfe's Neck, I think it's the crown jewel of the Maine State Park system and I worked with an awesome crew there, but this is such a great move for me and I will get to do much more maintenance, which I really enjoy.