Polum Chill

Campsites need to be moved even closer in.

Clear lines of sight from the light if possible.

I butt in, telling him that that defeats the point of going camping.

If you're just going on a short walk through the grass, then setting up so close you can see the parking lot.

It tells me to shut up, and that's just the start.

The park now closes at sundown, sharp.

Also, we're not required to have a long gun on our person at all times.

Now, it isn't uncommon for rangers to carry an AR-15 or a Remington 870 shotgun going out in the deep woods.

There are wild and rabid animals out there.

The real concern are massive pot growers.

These aren't your chill neighbor who hides a few plants behind the tomatoes.

They run the spectrum from large-scale suppliers who like their privacy and dislike law enforcement to anti-government crazies who think we have no right over them.

The true patriots.

Both groups have a few common points.

They tend to be well-armed, they do not like lawmen, and they won't shy away from taking a potshot at some dumb poor ranger who finds himself in their fields.

Keep in mind Elliot Ness, Mr. I-Fought-Al Capone-in-One, got scared off busting up Appalachian moonshiners because they constantly sniped at him in the foothills.

They shoot to kill.

Those are the reasons we keep the big guns around, not routine patrols.

I drew the short straw and got the overnight shift.

Manager tells me more changes to protocol will be listed when I return.