Inky Marina!

Happy August! It's Monday and I just got back from another trip to Cape Cod. We went just for the weekend, so that I could figure out what kinds of things I want to do with Violence when she gets here next week. That's right! My best friend, Violence, is coming to visit! I'm so excited! I haven't seen her in a few months. Cape Cod was so much fun!



The last time I was on the Cape, in July, I got a Junior Ranger workbook. Violence and I became Junior Rangers at Canyonlands in Utah, and I really wanted to work on being a Jr. Ranger on Cape Cod as well. The Salt Pond Visitor Center had a bunch of cool exhibits just for kids- here I am holding a mussel! You could touch almost any kind of shell they have on the Cape.



On Saturday morning, I hung out on the terrace at Salt Pond to work on some activities, like learning about lighthouse signals and what the different types of buoys mean. I told the rangers that Violence is coming and they told me they are also excited to meet her! I decided it would be fun to go on a ranger hike that afternoon.



I went on a hike with Ranger Ross at Nauset Marsh. He had never met a doll Junior Ranger before! We explored the marsh and I learned all about the animals that live in it. I even saw a River Otter run!



Here I am eating a sea pickle! It was like a salty piece of celery. Don't confuse sea pickles with sea cucumbers, which are animals.



I also found a crab shell! It only had one leg left. Ranger Ross said that a seagull probably ate the rest of it.



Our hike ended up on an overlook above Coast Guard Beach. Did you know that Salt Pond used to be a famous golf course before it was a National Seashore? It was!



When we got back to the Visitor Center, Ranger Ross told me I was ready to become a Junior Ranger! I was planning on waiting until Violence came, but Ranger Ross said that I could still help Violence earn her badge. He let me pick if I wanted a badge or a patch. I chose a patch. I wonder what Violence will choose?



Here's Ranger Ross!



After I got my badge,my moms and I rode our bikes along a trail to Coast Guard Beach. I was really excited, because I remembered my boogie board this time! When we got there, it started to thunder and lightning, so I didn't get to play in the ocean after all. Stinkbugs!

So that was my Cape Cod Saturday. I can't believe I'm officially a double Junior Ranger!