My First Experiences in Nature Led Me to My Career With State Parks

An “About Me” story

Photo of the author, taken by J. Thomas.

Hello, friends. My name is Kim. I grew up in a small town in Northeastern Utah that is surrounded by mountains, lakes, and rivers. My dad loved fishing, camping, hunting, and hiking, in that order. My sister and I weren’t really interested in fishing or hunting, but we learned anyway. Most of the time though, we would go exploring while he was fishing.

When I was in Junior High School, around the age of 13, I joined an outdoor club called the Escape Club. The club’s extracurricular activities included hiking, after-hours tours of museums and parks, and service projects where we planted trees and improved natural areas. (I still have a scar on my left thumb where I cut myself with a hand saw while we were transplanting willows.) At the end of the year, if we’d participated in enough activities and service projects, we got to go on the “Moab trip,” which was a three-day camping trip in Southeastern Utah.

I loved the hikes and other activities, but the Moab trip had a major impact on my life. We spent a day hiking in Arches National Park, a day hiking to a waterfall, and a day rafting the Colorado River. I fell in love with the desert and the red rocks.

The lead photo was taken during the summer of 2022. I was on a road trip in Northern California with two of my best friends. Louise was the leader of the Escape Club (which sadly did not continue once she retired), and Jenny, who really became one of my best friends during our time in the Escape Club. We’ve all stayed in touch for the last 20+ years.

The view from Dead Horse Point State Park. Photo by Kim Zuch.

I was determined to get back to Moab. I had to get back there.

After I graduated high school and started college, I took a seasonal job at a small state park in the Moab area. I had no idea at the time, but I’d spend the next ten years living in and around Moab, working as the Park Naturalist at Dead Horse Point State Park. I worked at that park for more than seven years full time.

My first experiences in nature led to a career with state parks, where I get to…