Grant kids - Junior Rangers

13th September 

The first badge earned.

From:Amazing Logan
Today we went to North Cascades National Park. It is a beautiful place that has lots of lovely sites and very fun walks as well as having very tall mountains and over 300 glaciers. While we were there we picked up our second junior ranger badge. One of my activities in my booklet was to explore a home one of the 1st nations people's home. Their lifestyle is very different to what happens now. It is different because they didn't have electricity and usually they went without food. The main reason they went without food is because they have to hunt the food, you just can't buy it from a supermarket.   

The house the first nations people lived in

Eliza by the bridge next to the shelter

  Another activity I did was I had to identify different species of trees. Some of the trees we had to find were Douglas Fir and Western Red cedar. You could identify the trees because at the visitors center you could look and touch different types of trees.

From Awesome David

The last couple of days have been wonderful times out in the forest again. We enjoyed the splendour of Olympic National Park yesterday; with amazing snow-capped mountains and large grassy meadows where we had the opportunity to spot black-tailed deer and marmots going about their business. Today's experience was in the Cascades National Park, and it was so beautifully isolated and peaceful. There was greater variety in the forests and the chance to watch squirrels, ravens and woodpeckers along the trails.

The Grant kids atop Hurricane Ridge (Mt Olympia in the background)

Stunning Olympic National Park

a stunning walk, we wish we had more time for

Doing landscape sketches on the Wolf Creek trail (Olympic National Park)

Marmot in a meadow on Wolf Creek trail

Driftwood sculpture at Dungeness Spit (late afternoon)

Driftwood sculpture from a different angle 

Afternoon sun behind Eliza at Dungeness Spit

A banana slug in Dungeness Reserve

The kids have been getting excited about the Junior Ranger programme that is offered by the National Parks Service. It is well organised, and gives the children a good introduction to environmental and cultural stewardship. This is a great continuation of their studies, because often they are required to write poetry or stories, in addition to interviewing the Park Rangers.

Thunder Creek in North Cascades National Park

Logan looking up Thunder Creek (from the first bridge)

A Downey Woodpecker on Thunder Creek trail

A well-deserved rest before returning

Dipping fingers in the glacial waters of Thunder Creek

From Splendid Eliza                           

Today we went to Olympic National Park. Olympic National Park has an amazing view (a lot of nice things in the gift shop), and awesome animals to see on the way up and while you at at the top. 

we thought the new phone made panoramic shots.....it doesn't

but, it sure is pretty

The elevation of Olympic National Park was amazing, a beacon above the clouds.