Camping on an Island

Headed off to Cape Cod for another season of the Coastal Interpretive Training. We started off our training with a trip to a nearby osprey nest. It's hard to see in this picture, but there's the nest with an adult sitting on it.

We also took a field trip to South Cape Beach where we sein netted up some creatures and learned about horseshoe crabs.

Here's the group - mostly state park Interpreters and staff from the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History.

Alison gave a great talk about horseshoe crabs and the situation they are in today (too much bait harvesting and medical harvesting).

A blue crab - displaying it's swimmer legs.

We then took a walk along the beach to see the newly exposed forest. A big storm this March exposed trees that are over 500 years old. This shows that our coast line hasn't been in the same place for very long. About 500 years ago this place was a forest. Here's the expert talking his talk.

And the trainees listening away.

Here are a few of the submerged trees (there are about 100 of these) along with some peat -showing that this place was a forest which transitioned into a salt marsh which transitioned into the coast line.

I then spent night camping on Washburn Island. There it is out in the distance. I had to take a boat ride out to the island with a few other Interpreters.

Here's a close up - the island camping is between those two points you see in the distance.

Here's my peaceful tent in the Cape Cod woods....
Steve cooked us a wonderful dinner. And then we all slept to the tune of rain and thunder! Good thing I waterproofed my tent a few days ago - I was snug and dry!