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| My first hiking adventure in Sequoia National Park |
National Park Week runs from April 20-28, with all kinds of fun and educational programs in our parks. It’s the perfect time to #FindYourPark and go exploring! I’m really excited because it all starts with Junior Ranger Day on Saturday, April 20, and to celebrate, ALL units within the National Park Service are FREE to enter! What a bonus for families!
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| Park Ranger Dana Dierkes took me on a walk on Big Trees Trail in Sequoia National Park |
When I visit parks, even state parks, the first thing I like to do is check out the visitor center to get a basic idea of what I need to see in the park, and to find out if they have a Junior Ranger Program! I found out about this program from my good friend Park Ranger Dana Dierkes who I met on my first visit to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. She gave me a cool activity book that had fun projects and games, and taught me neat things about the plants and animals in the park. Once I finished the booklet and pledged to “Explore, Learn and Protect the Park,” I was given a badge and sworn in as a Junior Ranger! Talk about some sweet park bling, I love my badge collection!
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| My Junior Ranger Activity Book....how do you like my hat? |
I was so lucky to meet Park Ranger Dana - only did she teach me about the Junior Ranger Program, she also took me on a walk along the beautiful Big Trees Trail in the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park. Those trees made me feel so tiny. There’s no way I was going to be able to swing on them, let alone be able to even wrap my arms all the way around their trunk. These Sequoia Trees are the largest trees (by volume in the world) but they have tiny little pine cones, especially compared to the big long sugar pine cones. It’s mind boggling!
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| Look how small these Giant Sequoia Tree pine cones are! |
You can find out more about the Junior Ranger Day activities (and see the neat new Junior Ranger Button) here on NPS.gov.
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| Park Ranger Suzanne Moody takes us on a walk through the rock formations in Chiricahua National Monument. |
In closing, I want to wish Chiricahua National Monument in southeast Arizona a very Happy Birthday! Established on April 18, 1924, this park was nicknamed ‘The Land of Standing-up Rocks’ by the Apache, because it protects these really interesting looking rock formations that were made from a volcanic eruption over 27 million years ago. Talk about ancient! I really had fun hanging out with Park Ranger Suzanne Moody who took my friend Flying Fabio and I on a hike up to the Echo Canyon Grottoes.
Happy Park Adventures,
Miss. P.
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