Rangers and Jr. Rangers...

If you are not in the habit of doing ranger-led hikes I highly recommend them. Usually the groups are quite small and the ranger can tell you so much about the ecology and history of the area. I consider myself a fairly knowledgeable amateur naturalist and I find I pick up lots of cool tidbits. Ranger Steve, Ranger Liz, and Ranger Kathy were all great!

I was amazed by how much Ben picked up on the Junior Ranger hike with Ranger Liz. The next day when Ranger Kathy took us all out Ben knew the answer to almost every questions she asked...

My four new favorite facts:

1. Venemous snakes have pupils that are slits (like a cat). I am not sure this is a useful distinguishing feature. I hope to not get close enough to a snake to be able to make that distinction.
2. The prettiest flowers in the meadow are Beardstongue and Fly Poison. Who makes up these names?!
3. Sedges have edges and reeds are round. You can tell them apart by feeling their stems.
4. A bald eagle can carry away a grizzly bear cub.

Junior Rangers
The Junior Ranger program at the national parks if fantastic. For $2.50 you buy a book that has 15 activities. Each activity involves studying and observing a different aspect of the park’s ecosystem. So there were pages about vultures, monarch butterflies, streams, lichens, etc. If you complete 7 activities you get a sticker. If you complete 12 and attend 2 ranger-led programs you get a badge.
Ben worked REALLY hard to get his badge. Every afternoon, while Nik was napping, Ben and I would sit and work on the workbook. Ranger Steve (a kinderd shark-loving spirit for Ben) introduced Ben to the program and was also there to swear him in. After swearing him in they announced on the loudspeaker that Ben was a new Jr. Ranger and the whole visitor center clapped for him. He can’t wait to get to Acadia to work on his next badge.
Actually… you might want to pick up the booklet even if you don’t have kids. The little summaries are great. Now every time Ian sees vultures (he worked on the vulture page with Ben) he points out whether it is a Black or Turkey vulture and how you tell them apart.