Wrapping Up Our Tour of Michigan in Ann Arbor

We finished our five-week exploration of Michigan with a stay in southeast Michigan near Ann Arbor, where we rode out the always-busy Labor Day weekend. Southeast Michigan, which includes both Detroit and Ann Arbor, is the most populous area of the state and has both the amenities and the traffic to prove it. University of … Read more

Citizen Science: A Less Than Stellar Turtle Season

Our turtle patrol duties are at an end, and the results are not great. But before I share the depressing news, let’s review what we were up to during turtle season, which runs from May 1 though October 31. In my earlier post about turtle patrol, I mentioned that our main activity in the early … Read more

Citizen Science: Searching for Microplastics

While our 6-month commitment to daily turtle patrolling is the most significant volunteer activity of our summer, we are also involved in another interesting citizen science project through ANERR (the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve). In our second gig, we are sampling Gulf of Mexico water and beach sand and analyzing it to determine the … Read more

Citizen Science: Losing Sleep Over Turtle Patrol

Since we are not traveling this summer, we decided to volunteer with sea turtle patrol during nesting season, which runs from May 1 through October 31. Five species of sea turtles nest on Florida beaches, all of which are endangered or threatened. The most common are loggerheads, greens, and leatherbacks, while Kemp’s Ridley and hawsbill … Read more