A longtime steward of Tomales Bay State Park was honored on Tuesday in a resolution passed by the Marin County Board of Supervisors upon his retirement from 33 years of maintaining local state parks. Roberto Barajas spent the last 25 years of his career as the lone maintenance worker at Tomales Bay, where he raised his family in a park residence and was well-known by visitors and locals as a cheerful and constant face. He was responsible for six miles of trails, six beaches and over 2,000 acres of land on both sides of the bay; he cleared trails, collected garbage, pumped restrooms, placed and removed swim buoys and did whatever was needed to keep the park beautiful. “I always felt pride being able to work for a state park, to serve the public and work outside,” said Mr. Barajas, who also learned new skills on the job, like plumbing, electrical work and carpentry. Mr. Barajas grew up in Michoacán, Mexico as the sixth of nine children. He started working after second grade, and at 17 he immigrated to the United States to provide for his parents; he chose West Marin because one brother and a godfather lived in Point Reyes Station. “I came here with no English and learned the language,” he said. “It was a challenge, but it was worth it.” At first, he milked cows, but after nine years under the utter, he found a job with higher pay at Angel Island State Park. He lived there and did maintenance for nine months of the year, but the challenges of island life eventually led him to transfer to Samuel P. Taylor State Park, where he spent three years. After a stint at China Camp, he saw an opening at Tomales Bay in 1994. “I got it, and that’s when I decided, ‘I’ll stay here,’” he said. After a couple of years on the job, he began setting his own work plan: “All I wanted was to have the park look as best as I could for the public,” he said. He added, “I enjoy talking to people, and there was a lot of that. I always had a good feeling doing that.” Now that he is retired, Mr. Barajas lives in Petaluma with his wife, daughter and son. He’s excited to be able to spend more time in Mexico. At 60, he is grateful to be able to live comfortably on his retirement and still have his physical health. “After 33 years, I thought ‘I’ve had enough fun,’” he said. He’ll miss the beauty of the park, though. “I would always find real peace early in the morning,” he said. “That was my favorite time of the day. It’s nice and quiet, you see the wildlife—I already started missing all of that.” A pot luck for Mr. Barajas will be held at Heart’s Desire Beach on Saturday from 3 p.m. until sunset.