Happy trails: Athens native returns home after working at National Parks

Christy Bailey, The News Courier, Athens, Ala.
·2 min read

Oct. 25—When Athens resident James Howard stopped by the unemployment office back in 2002, an ad on a bulletin board caught his attention. He replied and it led to several years of adventures in some of the country's most popular national parks.

After attending Clements and West Limestone, Howard spent eight years in the 1980s serving in the United States Army as a filed artilleryman. While in the Army, he spent time in Germany and Korea and earned his GED.

After the military, Howard returned to Athens and took care of his ailing mother.

"My mother passed away in 2002. I lived with her for several years to help her out. When she passed away in early 2002, I decided I would apply for a job out there in Yellowstone," Howard said.

He had never visited Wyoming or Montana prior to taking the job. He worked in Yellowstone during the summer of 2002-2003. He also worked the winter seasons at Mammoth Hot Springs. He returned to Athens for thirteen years but decided to go back to work with his old company, Xanterra Parks and Resorts. This time he worked security at Grand Canyon National Park.

"It's a pretty busy place. In the summertime, it is real, real busy. In the winter, we get a lot of snow out there," Howard said.

While most people visiting the Grand Canyon are on their best behavior, Howard said there was definitely some mischief.

"Most all of them were good, but every now and then, there were a few troublemakers that come there to steal, but very, very few. Most of the time, if we had trouble, it was the employees. Just every now and then, they would get into it," Howard said.

Park security worked four 10-hour shifts, giving Howard three days off each week to enjoy the park and the surrounding areas. Another employee perk was access to the activities for a discount. Howard enjoyed biking and hiking the different trails in the Grand Canyon.

"The company provided us housing, and we didn't have to pay any utility or cable bill. It was a great opportunity to save money," Howard said. "I like working out there, but I am 62 this month and I decided I wanted to come back home, live in my house and sort of semi-retire."

Howard is now living back in Athens and still enjoys riding his bike around town, and although he decided to retire from working at the National Parks, don't expect him to slow down any time soon.

"I guess one day I will be too old to get out of my house, but I think that is going to be another 10-20 years, I hope, for me. I might get the itch to go back in a year or so. You can never tell. There's nothing like going somewhere you've never been," he said.