Be It Ever So Humble : For Now, Ranger Calls Metal Shipping Box Home

They call him the “ranger-in-a-box,” because when Mike Maki goes to work 50 miles off the California coast, he lives in a metal shipping container the National Park Service calls home.

Maki, 31, has been a ranger for five years, two of them as chief protector of San Miguel Island, a 14-square-mile chunk of rock 50 miles west of Ventura, Calif., and part of Channel Islands National Park.

During his 10-day shifts, the newly married Maki leaves his wife on the mainland to live in a cargo box 20 feet long and 8 feet wide. Classified as excess federal property, the park service got the box from the Navy as “temporary housing” five years ago.

Sometimes, when work crews come to the island, Maki must share his cramped, uninsulated quarters with up to five other park service employees.

“It’s a real unique place,” said Maki, laughing. “It looks like you took a big domino, put two cupboards in it, and made it home. I look at it as a place to get out of the wind, which is usually blowing at least 15 knots. Basically, it’s 160 square feet of cubicle. We cut three windows in it, put in two beds, and I’ve jury-rigged a dresser out of milk cartons.”

A water tank supplies a small kitchen sink and a patio shower. There is a pit toilet with a great view.

When he isn’t on patrol or doing research, Maki entertains himself with a laptop computer and a tiny television, which run off a generator.

“I love my job, and we’re getting by with what we’ve got, but it doesn’t have to be this way,” said Maki, who spends his four off days between shifts getting reacquainted with his wife, Mary Valentine. She is a ranger at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a two-hour drive from Channel Islands headquarters at Ventura.

Maki, who earns $28,000 a year, was required to pay $1.60 per day, 365 days a year, to live in the “conex box” until June 1, when the government waived the requirement because the facility was deemed “substandard housing.”

“The experience on the island has been more positive than negative, but next fall I’ll start looking for another job within the park service,” Maki said. “Hopefully, Mary and I will be able to live together in a nice house.”