OK, gang. What's the biggest issue in Cruz Bay and the beaches?
All together, now .... it's PARKING!
Well, the National Park Service has used some of that stimulus money or the Trunk Bay admission fees to provide 'reserved' parking spaces for folks staying at Cinnamon Bay.
The spots were set to be available late last month but, according to one source, signs designating them were just uncovered and visible.
Tropical Focus photographer Bob Schlesinger (www.vibeachwedding.com) sent this photo.
A new parking lot 'come soon' for Maho Bay beach on the north shore, just past Cinnamon Bay.
A National Park Ranger told the St. Source space for 15 to 20 vehicles will be completed in the next couple of months.
Safety is one big reason for the lot.
If you've gone to Maho (Perhaps to watch the pelicans!), you've parked along the left side of the road, or nosed your vehicle into the trees along the right side.
Either way, it's a traffic obstacle.
Furthermore, some drivers don't show much caution (i.e. slow down) on the straight stretch of road, creating a danger for beachgoers crossing the road or unpacking their beach chairs from the back of their cars.
Parking on the inland side of the road will still be permitted. However, all the vehicle's tires must be off the road surface or Rangers can issue a $50 ticket. Parking on the water side of the road will not be allowed at all.
Re-discovery of long forgotten petroglyphs along the Reef Bay Trail has given rise to speculation the island was inhabited as far back as 1 AD.
The 'new' old rock carvings were found by volunteers on a Friends of the Park trek with Ken Wild, the Park's archeologist. He distributed copies of photographs taken years ago, and told them that if the Taino carvings were found, their style would suggest Native Americans were on the island as much as 500 years earlier than had been assumed.
Sue Borger, one of the volunteers, spotted was looking for the rocks she saw in the photograph. "I could hardly believe it, but those rocks were right in front of me," she later wrote. Her husband, Darrell, pulled away plant growth on the rocks and shouted, "Here it is. We've got it."
In an e-mail to the National Parks Traveler, Wild said, 'Evidence that the petroglyphs were carved by the Taino Indians has been strongly supported through the designs found on pottery at the Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay archaeology excavation along with correlating radiocarbon dates. It also has significant implications regarding Reef Bay and the history of St. John."
Teens4Oceans.org, as they're known, use their own funds and donations to do go works to learn about oceans, conservation, and public service. Although, honestly, to read the blog they wrote about their week on St. John, they also learned a lot about snorkeling, hiking, and enjoying beaches.
During their week, they installed a high definition camera inside a glass dome and lights underneath the dock at the Virgin Islands Environmental Research Station.
It can turn 360 degrees and is 10 times more sensitive than a human eye, said one of the Colorado teachers. Helping to document the project was world class photographer Steve Simonsen of St. John. He passed along a short video.
Friends of the Virgin islands National Park, the Park itself, and Sadie Sea's Capt. Tom and Gracie helped support the project with donations.
The link to the Webcam's Internet address is http://teens4oceans.org/cam-saint-john.htm. The picture is supposed to be sent to the Web using the VIERS satellite uplink. Completing that project, to judge from the blog, took longer than expected and may still not be done. Folks using Macs and Firefox or Safari browsers have had little luck seeing the Webcam, according to a post on Virgin-Islands-On-Line. Some using Internet Explorer 8 say they've had success.A new component to this years’ swim is the “Race for a Reason” fund raising challenge. Donations will be used to support the “Learn to Swim” program in the Park along with other projects and programs.
All participants raising $100 or more for Friends get receive a Power Swim hat and the top three fundraisers will receive special gifts following the race at the Beach Party/Awards Celebration at Oppenheimer Beach.