A Long Two Days -- Rainbow Weekend and the Santa Rosa Area

Have you ever felt as if you've been running in place and getting nothing done? I spent most of this week on the same section of sand, and can honestly say all I did was spin my wheels. It was a good week, just strange and unproductive. The office was, of course, typically stunning...




The weekend is Rainbow Weekend on Pensacola Beach. It means hundreds, or thousands, of people come to camp on the beach -- illegally, but no one really enforces that particular law. It made my early mornings a challenge though! I had to try to get around this in the pre-dawn hours while looking for nesting turtles. This is actually pretty empty. It was so jam-packed that I eventually walked the last mile of my turtle patrols both days, not that I mind an early morning beach walk.



With so many people, lights and noise on the beach, there were no living turtles in this area. This was the only sea turtle I've found since the 21st.



I didn't get much else done today though. The least terns are still setting up nesting areas and moving. Some of them have actually stayed in place long enough to have chicks, but most of them seem to wait until we've closed and fenced in an area, then they move 100 yards east overnight. It's an endless cycle of musical beach, which makes for an excellent, if frustrating, daily workout.



Even when my week ends up like this, with me feeling as if I've accomplished nothing, it's still a good week at the office. What a gorgeous place to call 'work'. Even the storm clouds are ethereal and illuminating, in their own way.

Another Day in Paradise

It was a stunning day in the park, cloudy in the morning and clearing by noon. Even the clouds were happy though... It was a great day to be a ranger.



The pelicans agreed. What a great life they have, floating on the thermals and hanging out on the beach, lazily reaching for a fish when they're hungry.




Barnacles had washed up on the west point, in sight of a pod of feeding dolphin.



Tellins and other clams dotted last night's high tide line.



Too bad most tourists don't walk this far in their quest for souvenirs.

Even the ghost crabs came out to play.



The only dark spot were the numerous tire tracks over the dunes west of the Ranger Station. I don't know who was driving in such sensitive areas, or if they're aware of how destructive that is for the beach. Without healthy dunes, there is no island, no defense for the mainland, and no place to play in the gulf.



I'd rather see the beautiful sea and sky on foot than destroy it with reckless behavior. This place is a gift for all of us. Maybe you'll come share it someday soon too.

Back at the Park

My week off was rather stressful, and the drive was really long, but it was worth it to see family and friends up in the frigid north. I'm so grateful to be back at work though -- how many people can say that? It seemed as if even the trees welcomed me back with open arms.



It was great to see Gabe and the dogs -- I promised not to post any more pics since I took them before anyone was dressed for the day. Megh may pay me back for that one day!



I spent my first day back at Perdido Key, counting the birds and surveying the coasts for turtle and marine mammal strandings. All is well, at least at PK -- I'll check out the rest tomorrow and Thursday.



While there were no strandings, there were lots of fun things on the beach.



Mergansers...



Jellies...



and a bouquet -- there must have been a wedding on the beach!



I missed being here -- at times, it seems like a selfish thing, to work at a job I love so much, but I'm still here. I appreciate the peace and beauty of this place -- it is truly a wonderful gift.

Time Capsule

I spent a good portion of this morning at the Fort Pickens Ranger Station, hunting around for satellite location data for Shelly and Sandy, two loggerheads tagged at the park several years ago. It was like walking into an office that stood still while life moved on in the distance. The last day is marked on the wall by the visitor's entrace, just in case anyone forgets what flattened the park...



There's evidence that those in the offices beat a hasty retreat. Garbage bags cover old computer components, boxes and paperwork are strewn across the floor, spilled coffee mugs roll on desktops, cans of cat food, labels faded by years of intense sun, stand by an east facing window, magazines, unopened mail, random rain jackets and gum wrappers, bug repellent and family photos weave a crazy trail through recent history.



I felt as if I was disturbing a memorial, and apologized to the room as I dug through the debris in my hunt for the elusive data. Once I unearthed the priceless paperwork, I headed back to my ATV to return to our temporary office. Traveling by ATV in late December with a box of paperwork is less than ideal, but three years post-storm, there still isn't a road out here. How have we allowed this to happen to one of our national treasures? Have we sunk so low in our quest in the middle east (for what?) that we our trashing our own country? What a waste...



Thankfully though, this retreat into the recent past reminds me of how much better things are today than they were three years ago -- at least we have an office (in a garage, but hey, it's dry and has heat!). The road closure has been great for the birds, though the sea turtles continue to struggle. The lost dunes, flattened landscape, light pollution and frequent flooding make it nearly impossible for nests to survive, even when they are present. There's a lot of work to do, and not just in the box of paperwork now sitting at my feet.