During the government shutdown that has lasted longer than a month, furloughed employees struggled to pay rent and make ends meet. Many employees were trying to figure out how to spend their days. It seems some turned to self-pleasure, but others picked up new hobbies.
One National Park ranger decided to take his knowledge from the job he isn’t able to perform and share it with the masses on YouTube. Zack Frank decided to use his love for National Parks to start a YouTube channel called “Zack Frank’s guide to visiting our national parks.” He is using his 15-year backlog of photos and videos he’s shot to create guides for visiting all 418 National Parks. Over the last week, he’s already uploaded 10 videos.
“I LOVE MY JOB,” he wrote on Reddit. “My passion is indeed the National Parks, so much so I can’t stop making things about them even when I’m not being paid for it!”
Frank told The Daily Dot he will be doing as many videos as he can while the government is shut down. Once the government opens back up, he’ll cut down to one video a week.
This is always a project he wanted to undertake but never found the time while working Monday through Friday. But with the government shut down, “I’ve had more time than I know what to do with,” he said.
Frank set up a Patreon page after he started posting his videos in an effort to make some money on his project.
The shut down is “a problem for income and for the stability of your life,” he said. If the government doesn’t re-open by the end of the month, Frank says he will be out of an apartment.
President Donald Trump announced early on Friday afternoon that the government will reopen—for at least three weeks. Hopefully Frank and the thousands of other furloughed employees can finally get back to work.