Scott Cramolini eased his patrol car beside two boys riding their bikes without helmets through Emma Wood State Beach.

It was a warm, sunny day, with dolphins riding the surf and campers dotted along the coast enjoying the start of summer. Days like these don't even seem like work to the California State Parks ranger.

As Cramolini asked the boys to "do me a favor" and comply with the state's helmet law, the two boys gazed in awe at the man in the uniform.

"Do you remember us?" asked Tommy Troutner, 12.

"Were you guys the little ones?" said Cramolini, thinking back on the decades of campers he's known. Then he saw Tommy's grandparents, who have been coming to the park for years. "Of course I remember you."

Tommy and Jedidiah Coovert, 12, used to ask for Cramolini by name, and this year was no different. They've been to the ranger station three times looking for their friend.

Cramolini parked his cruiser and chatted with the family, asking how they've been over the past year and commenting on how big the two boys have become and how their hair is so long.

He had mounds of paperwork to do, five other parks to patrol and a long day ahead of him on his double shift. But Cramolini wouldn't miss this interaction for the world. This is why he became a ranger 25 years ago.

And it's also why he's been named Ranger of the Year for the entire United States by ReserveAmerica.

The company, which handles reservations for 3,500 parks around the country, said Cramolini was a clear choice for the winner. Customers nominate rangers, and one wrote a long message about how "Ranger Scotty" helped people as they were fleeing last year's Day fire.

It's a distinction that he wonders if he deserves, but this also is a man who doesn't view his job as work.

"There is no way I could call this a job," said Cramolini, whose face is deeply tanned from years on the job. "This is me."

For as long as he can remember, this is all he's wanted to do. It started when he was a young boy and saw a park ranger wearing that wide Stetson ranger hat at Banff National Park in Canada.

"That was when I fell in love with wanting to be a ranger," he said.

A job in which he wears many hats

He was hooked. As a teenager he sent away for information from colleges on what he needed to do to become a ranger. He'd ride his bike from the Ventura Keys to the McGrath State Beach ranger station just to hang out.

During his summers at CSU Chico, where he majored in parks and recreation administration, he started working as a seasonal visitor services park aide.

He started full time as a ranger in 1982 with the Channel Coast district beat, which includes six parks from Mandalay State Beach to Emma Wood State Beach.

Twenty-five years later, he's still patrolling the beaches he's known his whole life.

It's a job in which he wears many hats, each of which he loves.

"You have to be a law enforcement officer, a medic, counselor, social services individual, interpreter, naturalist and an environmental protector," he said.

Over the years, he's responded to all sorts of calls, including assaults, rapes and domestic violence complaints. The 9 mm handgun on his belt reminds people he's as much law officer as nature interpreter.

While those might seem like the nastier parts of the job, Cramolini relishes those aspects, too.

When situations start to boil over, Cramolini talks in a smooth, even voice to try to calm the situation down.

"I can mediate well," said Cramolini, a devout Christian who feels as though he was called to this life of public service.

Most of his days aren't filled with the calls of chaos but of dealing with people who are at their best.

They are in the sun, on vacation, loving life. He wants to help them do that, just as long at they keep their dogs on leashes.

One more lap around the campground

As he patrolled McGrath State Beach recently, he stopped half a dozen times to give out stickers to young campers, deputizing them "junior rangers," and asking their parents if they needed anything. He waved to everyone he passed.

At Emma Wood, after talking with Tommy and Jedidiah, he did one more lap around the campground, making sure that everyone was in the right spot and that he or she was leaving on time.

When he passed the RV with the two young boys in it, they stuck their heads out the window and waved eagerly at Cramolini.

He waved back, knowing that all those years ago, a ranger in a big hat did the same for him.