He moved to New Jersey for a short time but did not like it, and moved back to the Southwest. He took a job as a park ranger in Utah. He wrote about his job as a park ranger in his fourth book, "Desert Solitaire". "Desert Solitaire" became a bestseller and made him a popular nature writer. He also took other jobs in the Southwest. He worked as a fire lookout at the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and as a park ranger in other National Parks.