#3: Park Postcards Podcast | Episode 3 - Mori Point

Tune in to hear more about Mori Point, your park that's closer than you'd think on our special spanish episode of our Park Postcards Podcast. Let's celebrate Hispanic Heritage month with our community voices. Hear our rangers Mariajose and Fatima with special guest Tomasa Bulux's audio postcard remembering their Mori Point moments.

Tune in to hear more about Mori Point, your park that's closer than you'd think on our special spanish episode of our Park Postcards Podcast. Let's celebrate Hispanic Heritage month with our community voices. Hear our rangers Mariajose and Fatima with special guest Tomasa Bulux's audio postcard remembering their Mori Point moments.

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TRANSCRIPT:

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[Background music fades in: “Calm Optimistic Ambient” by Hooksounds.com] RANGER FATIMA COLINDRES: Welcome to a new podcast from Golden Gate National Recreation Area called “Park Postcards.” Each episode will introduce you to what makes each park site unique, through the voice of community members who have visited, and our park rangers who work there. We aim to highlight the work we do to connect our local community groups to the special places in our park, and what these places and experiences mean to them. We hope that through listening to these “audio postcards”, you get excited to visit Golden Gate National Recreation Area in a healthy and safe future! RANGER FATIMA COLINDRES: Welcome to Episode Three, a special Spanish language Park Postcards Podcast in celebration of Hispanic Heritage month. My names is Fatima Colindres and I am a proud Latinx ranger with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s Community Outreach team. As part of our outreach work, we collaborate with community group leaders from Bay Area community based organizations who help us bring diverse non-traditional visitors, to their National Parks. On this episode we welcome Maria Tomasa Bulux, the health promotion program manager at CARECEN, San Francisco’s Central American Resource Center. Tomasa will share her memories of visiting Mori Point in the past with her family program. VOICE IN SPANISH LANGUAGE OF TOMASA BULUX: Hola mi nombre es Tomasa Bulux. Trabajo para el programa de promoción de la salud de CARECEN San Francisco y fui al parque Mori Point por primera vez, con varias de las familias participantes de nuestro programa que también por primera vez visitaban el parque. Fue una excelente experiencia, fue bonito ver a las familias aprender y escuchar de la historia del parque de la ranger Jasmine y Rafael. Después de un almuerzo saludable en la playa, algunas familias caminaron a la cima de la colina y otras en la playa. Esperamos regresar pronto para disfrutar de una caminata mas y de otro día agradable acompañados de nuestros queridos rangers. Gracias Golden Gate National Parks, a Fátima, a Mariajosé y a Takeo por las excelentes oportunidades que nos han dado. VOICE OF RANGER FATIMA COLINDRES INTERPRETING TOMASA BULUX’S SHARED MEMORY INTO ENGLISH: Hello, my name is Tomasa Bulux. I work for CARECEN’s San Francisco’s health promotion program and I went to Mori Point for the first time with several of the families participating in our program who were also visiting the park for the very first time. It was an excellent experience; it was nice to see the families learn and hear about the history of the park from Rangers: Jasmine and Rafael. After a healthy lunch on the beach, some families walked to the top of the hill and others walked by the beach. We hope to return soon to enjoy one more hike and another pleasant day accompanied by our beloved rangers. Thank you, Golden Gate National Parks, Fátima, Mariajosé and Takeo for the excellent opportunities you have given us. RANGER FATIMA COLINDRES: Mori Point is a hidden gem in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area located in the southern stretch our national parks. Up next is Ranger Mariajose Alcantara, my fellow teammate and Latina park ranger who will share her most memorable Mori Point moments. RANGER MARIAJOSE ALCANTARA: Hello my name is Mariajose Alcantara, one of your community program rangers, I am also the editor and co-producer of this podcast! I am Salvadorian, born in San Francisco, California and proud to be a Latinx leader in the National Park Service. Although my office is traditionally located in the Presidio of San Francisco, during this quarantine at home, I have reflected on moments when I enjoyed my job the most: taking families to natural areas for the first time. One of our magical Golden Gate National Recreation Area sites that is lesser known but we love to share is Mori Point in Pacifica, CA. Hidden behind cypress trees, houses, and a golf course just off Highway 1, there are beautiful hills that kiss the fog and a marsh. My favorite Mori Point memory is a magical day I shared with my co-workers in preparation for a community trip. We climbed the trail to the top of the mountain as the wind blew my face and ruffled my hair. [Mariajose takes a breath in] I was already gasping for air from the steep path, but also the view of the sea shining with the rays of the sun took my breath away. But those were not the only rays that I saw that day, but also the glowing rays of a mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which someone had painted on an old cement slab on the side of the trail. Though painting, tagging, and defacing our protected park resources is not permitted, the graffiti of ‘la virgen’ was a beautiful surprise that filled me with peace, reflection and joy to leave my worries to the wind. Descending to the marsh, I ran into a mentor and friend from my childhood who was also my fourth-grade teacher. Sheila lives in Pacifica and frequents Mori Point as her personal backyard, and when we saw each other we excitedly hugged and shared our favorite reasons for visiting this area, especially exploring the ecological features. The Mori marsh is a haven for wildlife, especially for the most delicate creatures, the red-legged frog and the San Francisco Garter Snake. One cannot live without the other! Imagine a skinny snake that is no longer than three feet. Its head is orange with its bright turquoise body outlined in black and red stripes. For snake lovers, seeing a San Francisco Garter Snake would be the most fascinating thing in their entire life, because this snake is considered the most beautiful snakes in all of California. But if you are like me, afraid of snakes, if you were to see one, maybe you’d scream with fear yet at the same time, appreciate its radiant colors. Until today, I haven’t seen one, except in photos, because they are an endangered species. In the time of the indigenous Ohlone people, hundreds of years ago, these snakes lived throughout the San Francisco Peninsula along with their favorite food, red-legged frogs. Over time populations of these colorful creatures declined rapidly as their environment grew smaller too. They lost their habitat due to the increase in agriculture, development of homes, ranches, towns, and eventually a golf course. Unfortunately, the red legged frogs began to disappear quickly too because of people who captured them for fun, sport or gastronomy. That’s right, not only did the snakes savor those delicious little frogs, but so did the newly arrived American people who ate them. Nowadays, thanks to restoration done by thousands of park volunteers, the National Park Service along with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, have restored small marshes or ponds where red-legged frogs can now lay their eggs, and their tadpoles can develop into adults and provide nutrition to our beautiful San Francisco Garter Snake. But if you don't like snakes or frogs, I invite you to come and see this beautiful landscape full of wildflowers, especially in the spring. The hills of Mori Point are covered in wildflowers like a blanket of green, yellow, orange and purple. The flowers you might see include: Lupines and the famous California Poppies. Mori Point is a perfect place to see a variety of whales pass by during most of the year. If you can walk, climb the wooden staircase or the Mori Point Loop trail. For y’all who explore on wheelchairs or strollers, continue your exploration on the flat path boardwalk towards the beach-side trail, or ascend the Lishumsha Trail to the top of the Mori Headlands. There you can observe the horizon - if there is not much fog - listen to the waves and the birds, [Mariajose breathes in to smell] smell the aroma of the sea, enjoy a lunch outdoors [Mariajose expresses a “Mmm!” sound to insinuate the taste of a yummy meal] , and feel the wind on your skin. I invite you to enjoy Mori Point, a part of the Golden Gate National Parks in Pacifica. If you manage to explore this hidden gem, remember to bring and wear your face masks, practice social distancing, and bring a sweater, even if it's sunny. See you soon RANGER FATIMA COLINDRES: Special thanks to Tomasa Bulux from CARECEN and Ranger Mariajose for sharing their favorite memories of Mori Point and thank you for tuning into this special third episode of Park Postcards Podcast! I hope you will join us again on future episodes that will feature other park sites around the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Up next in our forecast for episode four, we’ll have another Spanish language Podcast to continue the celebration of Hispanic Heritage month. Until then, recreate responsibly in your National Parks! [Background music fades out: “Calm Optimistic Ambient” by Hooksounds.com]