Hawai`i Island National Parks – Hawai`i

Black-necked Stilt

Hawai`i Island National Parks Junior Ranger Adventure Book

Completed: November 2017

This is a unique Junior Ranger program, and one I thoroughly enjoyed completing while visiting the Big Island of Hawai`i. I was on the island for a week so I had time to work on the activities for the five units; one national park, two national historical parks, a national historic site and a national historic trail.

As you complete all of the activities for each park, you receive their junior ranger badge. Additionally, the more park badges you earn, the higher the level of rewards you receive. In place of describing the activities for the different sites I hope the pictures will show how much fun this program was to complete.

The booklet lists the ages for this program as 7 to 12, however every site was very welcoming to this Senior Ranger.

Pu’ukoholā Heiau NHS
11/3/2017
A small site that was a place for the royal family, where a battle was fought and today, a refuge for sharks.
This site also has a Senior Ranger, or as it is called in Hawai`i, Kapuna Ranger. I only had to complete a couple of pages in the Kapuna Ranger booklet, in addition to the four pages in the main booklet.

Ala Kahakai NHT
11/4/2017
The trail traverses the Hawaiian coast for 175 miles. While visiting Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park I hiked a section of the trail, along the “1871 Trail”.

Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau NHP
11/4/2017
This is the site of another place for the royals, as well as a place of refuge, pu’uhonau. I joined a group of junior rangers and a ranger to weave a fish from coconut leaves.

Kaloko-Honokōhau NHP
11/5/2017
Fish are an important resource to the people of Hawai`i, at this site the historical fishponds can be explored.

Hawai’i Volcanoes NP
11/6/2017
Last, but not least was time spent at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Our visit was six months before the Kīlauea crater became very active, causing local damage and restricting access to the park, at times. Besides seeing the crater near the Jaggar Museum, I really enjoyed hiking out to the petroglyphs. They are unique, mostly on rocks lying on the ground, not up on rock walls as I have typically seen.

I loved working on this program, the activities for each site were unique and interesting. As usual, I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed exploring these sites.

Hawai`i Island National Parks Junior Ranger – Adventure Book & Patch

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument – New Mexico

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
New Mexico

http://www.nps.gov/sapu/index.htm

Completed: May 6, 2017

Senior Ranger

Booklet: https://www.nps.gov/sapu/planyourvisit/upload/Senior-Ranger-Program-1.doc

During our Spring trip through central New Mexico I wanted to visit all three of the pueblos of Salinas Pueblo Missions NM to earn their Junior Ranger badge. I had printed a copy of their booklet before leaving home to make sure I had it when I started my visit, in case one of the visitor centers was closed. Our first stop was at Gran Quivira where I completed the Junior Ranger portion for that site. After visiting there we stopped at the park headquarters in Mountainair for their passport stamps. While talking to the staff and explaining that I was working on the Junior Ranger booklet I was handed their Senior Ranger Program booklet!

The three missions are miles apart and each site is distinct, well worth visiting each site. Salinas means salt and the missions are part of the Salt Missions Trail Scenic Byway. The sites promote the history of the prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan and Jumano groups, to the 17th century Spanish Franciscan missionaries, and the returning settlers of the 1800s.

The booklet is easy to complete, whether visiting one of the three sites, or all of them. As we had planned to visit all three on this trip, and I was also working on the Junior Ranger booklet, it was easy to complete both programs.

The activities are; Compare Historical Photos of Abo, Quarai and Gran Quivira, Plant & Tree Identification, Wildlife Found at Salinas Pueblo Missions, Pictographs & Petroglyphs, Four Churches at Salinas Pueblo Missions, National Park Service Word Search, and Salinas Pueblo Missions Word Search.

Completing this program is very easy, the booklet states that you only need to complete one exercise at one of the three sites to earn their attractive park pin. While at Quivira we sat outside the visitor center and completed five of the activities. The wildlife page had photos take by game cameras of an owl, jackrabbit, rattlesnake, elk and coyotes. A series of questions were asked about which animal you would like to see while visiting and how you should deal with wildlife, if seen.

For Pictographs and Petroglyphs you draw an event in your life which can be represented by symbols. I had fun creating a series of symbols depicting my retirement from teaching and traveling.

Once we finished a ranger reviewed our booklets, and we had some good discussion about the activities. I always appreciated when park staff can spend extra time looking over my completed booklets. For their Senior Rangers they award their attractive park pin. I always try to leave a donation when completing either Junior or Senior Ranger programs, but I especially make sure I remember when they provide an extra special award.

Saguaro National Park – Arizona; Not-So-Junior Ranger

Saguaro National Park
Tucson, AZ

http://www.nps.gov/sagu

Senior
Not-So-Junior Ranger – Desert Explorations For All Ages

Completed: November 6, 2014

This new Senior Friendly program was developed over the summer of 2014. It is designed to be completed by individual adults, groups or families. The activities can be completed at one of the two units of the park or both units. Saguaro National Park has two units, Tucson Mountain Unit on the west side and Rincon Mountain Unit on the east side of Tucson.

To complete this program seven of the ten activities are to be done. In addition points are assigned to the individual activities. No minimum number of points are required, however when you finish, the park staff total the points and write them in their records and on your certificate.

The booklet is well designed with great pictures and on durable paper to hold up as you complete the program. Activities include ; Safety First, Take the Pledge. . ., Saguaros By The Numbers, In One Saguaro’s Lifetime. . ., Your Day, Your Park, Your Adventure (optional), Scout Out A Visitor Center, Travel an Accessible Trail, Healthy Parks, Healthy People: Pick-A-Trail (optional), File Your Hike Report and Be A Citizen Scientist (optional).

Saguaro By The Numbers is a numbers challenge, 12 fill-in-the-blank statements about saguaros, numerical answers are printed randomly all over the page for you to use. You will need to use the park brochure and handouts available at each visitor center. A few answers are obvious, but for most of them you’ll need to use the resources.

Scout Out A Visitor Center has questions about either of the centers, points are given for correct answers. You only need to complete questions for one center, however if you answer for both your total points will add to the overall score. Answers to questions are not necessarily readily available from printed resources or in the visitor centers. A ranger told us you are expected to ask staff, rangers or volunteers, for answers to some of these questions. In other words, don’t look all over, as we did, it is OK to ask.

Two activities, one required and one optional, involve a hike. The required hike for Travel an Accessible Trail is a paved trail, one at either unit, or both. The trails are 1/2 mile and 1/4 mile, so even doable on a hot day – carry water and wear a hat. The optional page lists several hikes at each unit, points are given for distance and calories expended. The trail distance range from 0.5 mile to 18 miles, round trip. Any of the hikes from these two pages can be used for File Your Hike Report. The report involves writing up your Observations and Impressions.

To complete this program, with a minimum of activities and points, it can be done in a couple of hours and by visiting only one of the units. To maximize the experience and points, a full day or more of exploring Saguaro National Park would provide enough time.
When you complete the booklet park staff will review and total your points. When we did it time was spent reviewing incorrect answers, which helped to learn more about the park. A certificate, separate from the booklet, is completed and presented. The badge is similar to a Junior Ranger badge, but slightly larger. I included both in the photograph below for comparison.

However much time you spend or how detailed you complete the program, spending any time in the desert among the Saguaros is treasured time – Enjoy!