The Amazing
Adventures of Miles, Tony and Zach:
The Adventure to Canada in an RV
By Miles Vernon
Adventures of Miles, Tony and Zach:
The Adventure to Canada in an RV
By Miles Vernon
Chapter 1
Reindeer Lake
When I wake up in my own bed for the first time in months, I am so rested. Nila is sleeping at the foot of the bed, lying on my toes. Phoenix is in a little ball in his cage, and Weddell is clinging to my arm and licking me. I have noticed that all three of my pets ignore their differences and get along great. Luckily, Nila has not tried to eat anyone yet, because I keep her very full with lots of meat. Nila is unlike other cats that act very solitary and hate company, because she is a very loving and outgoing animal who enjoys the company of people, and cuddling lots. Last night I had to say goodbye to Tony and Zach for a couple of weeks. Since our summer break to Bolivia in South America was cut short, the rest of my vacation will be spent with my family on our RV trip.
When I go downstairs, I look out the window and see the beautiful Florida sunrise. I feel happy to be home. Even though spending my childhood in California was fun, I am glad we moved to the beautiful countryside of Florida when I was eleven years old. We also spend almost all our summer in East Hampton, New York, so that is really what I call home. My parents greet me to breakfast of pancakes with butter and maple syrup.
My mom, Tamara, was born September 20, 1971 in Long Island, New York, and has black hair, hazel eyes, and the prettiest smile I have ever seen. My father, Randal, was born in Michigan, like Zach. Dad was born on August 10, 1970 and has brownish-blonde hair and blue eyes, just like me. My parents are so happy to have me home, they are both beaming. Suddenly, my sister, Ashley, runs into the room and hugs me tightly because last night when my flight landed it was too late and she was asleep. Ashley is only seven years old, and she has black hair and green eyes. She is a bubbly kid and of course she is wearing her favorite Barbie Doll pajamas and pink rabbit slippers. When I walk into the living room my little brother, who is 1 year old, has Sesame Street blasting on the TV and that little red guy, who I think is named Elmo, is talking about the ABC’s. His name is Andrew and he was born August 12, 2007. Andrew has a little bowl of apple sauce in front of him and is eating it with his hands. Andrew has a patch of blonde hair, light green eyes and has just learned to walk. I give him a quick kiss on the head and walk into my big sister Gabby’s room. When I walk in she gives me a huge hug and asks how my trip was. Gabby is four years older than me, she is 24. She always calls me her little, little brother, even though there is only a four-year difference. Last but not least, I walk into my 11 year old brothers room. His name is Collin and he has brown hair with green eyes. Collin immediately gives me a big high five and a quick hug. Then he shows me his new skateboard and his crown jewel BB gun, the Grizzly 64, that can shoot 600 feet per second. But he’s not allowed to shoot at anyone, just the targets because my mom is super strict about it. I walk out of his room and grab my bags. When I walk outside the beautiful palm trees glisten in the sun.
As we pack our red Jeep up and get ready for the flight to Canada. My bag starts squirming and Nila’s head pops out. She must’ve squeezed in there before we left the house. When I walk inside, my mom suggests we take a ride on the Jet Ski and take a spin on dad’s new cherry red Boston Whaler boat before we leave. Since our flight is at 6:00 in the evening, we have plenty of time. I look at my watch and it is 9:47am. We run outside with our bathing suits to the harbor behind our house, without any delay. Gabby puts on some Banana Boat sunscreen and runs out. Of course, sadly, Andrew has to stay behind in the tidal pools with my mom because he is too little to ride on the Jet Ski. As we ride out, Phoenix follows me flying straight behind and we make a little race to see who can get to the dock fastest. When my dad drives by, he splashes everyone with water, but don’t worry, we get him back. In the water it is very peaceful, and the sound of the jet ski slicing through the water reminds me of home. Surprisingly the water is very warm and is full of sea creatures. After we pull back up to the docks and tie up the jet ski’s with bungee cords, we dry off with a couple of towels and pile into the new boat.
Finally, we decide Andrew can come along, must stay safely inside the other boat we own, a glass bottom boat. Since they may be going faster, mom and I decide to stay with Andrew, and follow behind in the glass bottom boat, while the rest of my family race ahead in the new Boston Whaler. I enjoy riding on the glass bottom boat because since the whole bottom of the boat is clear you can see the coral reef and all the creatures that live there. As we head out, to our amazement a little family of Manatees come to the surface to look around. The baby Sea Cow is paddling under our boat with his fin-like tail. I grab some kelp that was stuck to the propellers of our boat and feed it to the Manatees. Sadly, every year almost 50 Manatees die from boat propellers, so my mom is very careful to avoid them as we coast away. When we go out to the reef, we look through the glass and see tons of fish such as snapper, barracuda, swooping through the water at a fast pace. Up ahead in the distance I see the cherry red boat racing through the water and I hear my siblings yelling for joy. When we get back to the docks it is time to leave, but luckily Ashley, Collin and Dad caught a good sized swordfish. Mom says she’ll grill it for lunch if Dad cleans it and gets it ready to be cooked. We have these neighbors that just moved in next door, and in my opinion, they are a little annoying because they are always trying to be nosey, and they really like to brag about how great they are. In their lawn, are tall pink plastic flamingos and a couple of Tiki torches. The father is always competing with all our neighbors to see who is better, but my parents ignore it.
Before we go to the airport, we get in the car and drive to Rattlesnake Reef to surf. Since Collin is a good skateboarder and surfing is a little like skateboarding, he does really well. Ashley is just learning but she’s pretty good so far. Today the waves are awesome and I only get wiped out one time. Collin gets a hang 10 without falling off. We’re having a great time when suddenly the lifeguard starts screaming. When I’m safe from the water I see a couple of Bull Sharks surface with their fins cutting through the water. In the air seagulls fly from every direction and the water is almost empty except for one little Florida Pompano. We get back into the car and try to think of some other things to do. Gabby suggests we go on a family horse ride through the Florida countryside. As lame as it sounds, I’ve ridden a horse a couple times and it’s pretty fun. When we get to Galloping Stallions we rent six horses because Andrew has to ride with mom. We canter out to the Everglades and take a peaceful ride through the swampy pond. In the water we see two beautiful swans the color of clouds. Every couple of seconds we hear a Grand Bullfrog croak and the best bird of all, the Bald Eagle soars through the Weeping Willow Trees. My horse is white with butterscotch splotches all over its body, and it is an Apaloosa. Dad’s is a big muscular horse with one blue eye and one brown eye. Mom and Andrew’s horse is brown with a white stripe down its face. Gabby, Ashley and Collins horses are all sisters and are gray in color. In the water are some River Otters scooping down eating fish and clams. When we ride back to Galloping Stallions we put the horses in their stalls and thank the nice man who owns the stable.
When we get back home, my family grabs a couple more bags. Just when we are about to walk out the front door, dad gets a phone call from The Wildlife Animal Emergency Rescue Center where my dad volunteers. They tell him they have a problem with a dolphin that is stuck on shore. Dad immediately gets into our red Jeep and heads to the emergency location. I ride my bike and follow him to the nearby beach where the dolphin is lying in the sand. I tie up my bike on a stop sign near the road, and run over to help my father. His work buddies pick up a stretcher to carry the dolphin back into the water. I help them hoist the dolphin that is moaning some weird clicking noises. When the dolphin is safely in the water, he sinks to the bottom, and we think he is a goner. When we head back to the cars, the bottle-nose dolphin shoots out of the water and swims happily away, as if thanking us for the assistance. We get a walkie-talkie call from the Rescue Center saying they have three more rescues. The first one is a sea turtle that is trapped in a sewer near the beach, and we have to get her out. When we get to Manta Ray Marina we pry open a man-hole cover, tie a rope to the car bumper, and lower ourselves in. We bring headlamps and flash lights to find the sea turtle. It smells like garbage and there is sewage everywhere. We lower ourselves down onto a ledge and shine our flashlights into the water. Every corner I turn a couple of rats scurry away. Before the sewage tunnel empties into the water treatment pond, there is a big grate or screen that separates large trash from the sewage water. The sea turtle is a Leatherback and is six feet long and weighs probably 1,000 pounds. The force of the fast-flowing water is pushing the Leatherback against the grate, smashing her against the rusty metal. If we did not come to her aid, the sewage would eventually drown her. My dad and his work buddies tied the Leatherback with soft ropes and slowly pulled her away from the grate. My dad climbed up the rope, tied it to the bumper of our Jeep, and slowly pulled the Leatherback up onto the surface of the ground. When everyone was out we closed the manhole cover and scrubbed the Leatherback with soapy brushes and rags and let her slide off into the ocean.
Next my dad gets one more radio call for a pelican nest, with chicks that have fallen into traffic near town. We immediately rush to the traffic center and slowly assist the cute little chicks back into their nest, careful not to touch them so our “human smell” doesn’t scare the mother, and lift it back into a shady palm tree away from the dangerous area. All of a sudden, the mother pelican lands into the nest and begins to nurture her babies.
My dad picks up the walkie-talkie and receives one more call before we leave for the airport. When we get to this site, three round balls are in a wild roaring fire in a cornfield near Alligator Alley, the highway that crosses Southern Florida between Palm Beach and Naples. My dad identifies the creatures as three brown armadillos that are curled in their armor-like shells, resembling a ball. We call the fire department and they extinguish the blaze with big hoses. Finally, we safely get them out of the ashes. After 10 or 15 minutes they uncurl from their shells and curiously look around at their surroundings. My dad pulls out some weird food like substance that the armadillos like, so they rush over and eat it up. Since the armadillos have bony plates the fire did not harm them, and after they ate their food they climbed back into the tall grass. I throw my bike into the back of dad’s jeep. Dad says goodbye to his work buddies and we get back into the Jeep to drive back to the house.
My brothers and sisters have been hesitant to interact with Weddell, Phoenix, and Nila. Before we take off, Popcorn, our little Dalmatian, scampers over and jumps into the car. Popcorn was abandoned as a puppy, and we found him in a parking lot in California. After we ate dinner and came back to the parking lot, the little puppy was still there, so we figured no one was coming for him, and decided to take him home. In the car Collin and Ashley were playing Red Car, Blue Car. In this game one person has to find red cars, while the other one has to find blue cars and then when the drive ends, whoever has the most cars wins. We are also listening to Life is a Highway on the radio.
When we arrived at the airport, we board the plane and took off. Luckily since Weddell, Phoenix, Popcorn, and Nila are small they can sit with us, unlike bigger pets that have to go underneath the main cabin and have to be knocked out with medicine so they aren’t as scared. On the plane I look out and see the beautiful clouds that look like giant white pillows. Collin is reading a skateboard magazine and listening to his headphones. Ashley is watching Sponge Bob on the airplane TV. Gabby is a big equestrian (horse rider) that has rode horses all over the country and is rated 7th nationally. She is on the computer searching different horses. I ask my mom where we are going exactly. She says we are going to Reindeer Lake as she passes a mini box of Honey Nut Cheerios and a “sippy” cup of Apple Juice to Andrew.
When we land we immediately see dark green pine trees and we are not used to it. After we get our bags we go to the RV rental place. We get a huge red trimmed RV with wheels the size of a desk. It is pretty cool because it’s all-terrain. When we start driving through the trees, we start to know why this place is called Reindeer Lake. It’s because there are thousands of deer. Luckily we have a trail that takes you on an amazing tour through the Conifer Forest. On the way we see some black bears, mountain lions, and many Lynx, which is like a bobcat. In the RV there is a small bathroom, beds, and a TV. When we run outside and go through the trails, we all smell something horrible. When we look around we see a grown skunk “protecting” her babies from the metal monster (the RV), but eventually she walks away. I also hear a pecking sound and when I turn the corner, sure enough, on an old Oak tree a Woodpecker is making his home. I go inside the RV to take a nap and fall asleep to the comforting sound of my family.
Chapter 2
The Skull Hunters
When I walk outside from taking a long nap I hear someone yelling. I look around and see a man with a shotgun, green Mohawk, big black boots, a navy jean jacket, chains hanging from his pants, tattoos, and a big fat orange-tipped cigar hanging out of his mouth. It seems that he is fighting with my parents. After ten minutes or so, he walks off into the forest. After the fight I ask my parents what he was saying. My dad told me the crazy man named Bones was the leader of a group called the Skull Hunters, who hunt animals.
“But it’s not open season,” I said.
“I know,” said my dad. “Bones claims this is Skull Hunter property and we have to get off it or he’ll wreck our RV. Even though this is an RV trail, not hunting grounds.”
“If it’s not open season and he’s still hunting its against the law! And we should call the police”, I say.
My father says we shouldn’t call the police because then we’re just making problems and we should just stay away from them. So I listen and set up camp with Ashley, Collin, and Gabby.
The sun is setting, and the stars come out. We are all sharing some family news and my dad brings out the BarBeQue with hotdogs, hamburgers and ribs. Ashley tells us about how she is trying to get to her black belt in karate at Tiger Shulmann’s. Gabby tells me about how she wants to lease her dream horse named Oaks, who is a black stallion and comes from Europe. Collin tells us about the new rip stick, which is a skateboard that has only two wheels on either end and it moves by quickly rocking your feet back and forth. When suddenly a shooting star flies by and we make our wishes.
In the morning, I’m woken up by Popcorn licking my nose and hopping up and down on me. So I take him outside for a walk. In the forest it’s very foggy and I see a Cross Bill eating a pinecone, which is a little red bird with a hooked beak that picks and eats the seeds out of pine cones with their sharp beak. When BOOM a giant shotgun blasts into the air and wakes up my parents.
“It’s Bones!” I scream
“I told ya’ll to stay off my huntin’ grounds or I’ll bust your fancy car!” screams Bones.
BOOM! Another blast of his shotgun. My dad comes out with Collin’s Grizzly 64 and points it at Bones.
“Don’t bother us Bones, we don’t mean any harm,” my dad says.
“Come out guys!” Screams Bones.
When 6 other men drive out on quads, which are 4 wheeled motorcycles. We run into the RV and lock the doors. My dad opens the window and shoots a BB at the wheel of Bones’ quad and pops the tire. Bones gets off and fires at the “fancy car.” My mom sits in the drivers seat and puts the pedal to the metal. We drive down the bumpy road, almost crashing into trees, and my dad dials 911 on his Blackberry. When we find a safe place to hide, we hear the sirens of the police cars ahead and we all sigh in relief. When the police pull up a big man steps out of the car with a full dark brown beard. He walks over to the RV and my dad comes out.
“What’s the problem sir?” asks the policeman.
And from there, my dad explains the story about the Skull Hunters. So the policeman drives to the top of the hill to find the Skull Hunters. But he’s too late and they’re long gone. All that’s left is a black leather jacket with a picture of a skull on it. So he gets into his car and tells my dad that they probably wont be coming back and there’s nothing he can do.
After the fog clears, I promised Ashley and Collin I’d show them how I dig for dinosaur bones, and they seem very interested. So we go down into the mud and start digging. After all the trips I’ve been on, I have a small collection of dino bones and I would like to add on. So far I have the full skeleton of the Coelophysis, which is probably my best find, and the Ichthyostega, which is pretty good too. When I start digging I find the biggest surprise in the world, a saber tooth tiger skull, and I didn’t even think I would find anything. Right away I clean the mud and saw the two 8 inch teeth I cover it with fabric and plaster and put it with the others in big cooler. When we head back into the town and get out of the forest, my dad has a little surprise for me. When we drive back to the RV place a big trailer is waiting for me and it is just for my animals. My dad tells me the trailer could fit more than 15 animals and could lock onto the back of our RV. I name it the “Animal Mobile.” After we install it, Nila, Weddell, Popcorn, and Phoenix pile in and I set up a little place for each of them. When we start our trip, I stay in the trailer and custom make each of my animals habitats. For Phoenix, I give him lots of room to fly, brass rings that hang from the ceiling that he can fly through, dried beetles to eat, lots of places to perch, and a little bird bath. For Weddell, I put a mini hammock, plastic and rubber polls that connect to the ceiling for him to climb on, ants, termites, and some nectar for him to eat, and some plants to make him feel like he is back in the rainforest. For Popcorn, I put a doggy bed, a bowl of Kibbles n’ bits and a bowl of water, dog bones and a couple of chew toys. Last but not least for Nila, I give her a cat scratching post, a ball of yarn, meat and water, and a carpeted little playground. This whole setup costs me only about 50 bucks and an hour of my time, but it’s worth it to see them so happy. Even though they seem happy and I think they love me, I feel bad for taking them out of their original habitats. But I don’t feel badly for saving Weddell when he was a baby, and Nila for her hurt leg. When we’re driving I check on them in the trailer, and Nila is purring and looking out the window. Weddell is hanging by his tail, and slurping the nectar. Phoenix is flying through the rings happily and Popcorn is playing with his chew toys.
Suddenly, my dad hits his brakes. I walk to the front to see what is happening and I wonder if it is Bones. But luckily it is only a baby moose that had lost his mother and standing in the middle of the road. I run outside with a carrot and a blanket and he slowly approaches me. Even though I’ve already helped some amazing creatures before, when the baby moose approaches me I feel something magical. He collapses into the blanket and it looks like he is very tired. He munches on the carrot and I slowly pick him off the ground and put him in Weddell’s area. This little moose is so cute. He has little antlers, a mini beard, and hooves the color of charcoal. I look outside and the sky is the color of smoke and I knew a storm is coming. So I pack everything up and my dad drives on slowly. I decide to name the little guy Timber. In ten minutes or so it starts pouring with a hint of lightning. The yellow flashes of thunder scare Timber, but I comfort him quickly.
Chapter 3
Officer Denton
The thunderstorm is horrible and it almost turning into a monsoon. When we go on the highway, we see Bones in the passenger seat of his pickup truck with two Rottweilers, wearing silver-spiked collars. When my dad stops into Starbucks, he gets a steaming Cappuccino and starts chatting with an officer named, Peter Denton. Officer Denton is a carrot-top with a big mustache and is a little on the chunky side. Dad tells him how he has trouble with this Bones fellow. Immediately Officer Denton cocks his head, and says “Bones”, is my brother? I run inside and tell him how Bones has been harassing us but Officer Denton just looks at us like we’re crazy. He tells us that Bones is a good guy, and has been a hunter for the last fifteen years, but would never hurt a person. The officer takes his coffee and starts to walk away, shaking his head in disgust.
When I walk back into the RV, Collin starts complaining that he is hungry. I make him macaroni and cheese on the little stove we have in the back of the RV. He eats the macaroni like he has never eaten before and finishes it in less than forty seconds. I go in the back and give a pail of water to Timber. When dad comes in the RV he sits in the driver seat and slowly drives down the wet, slippery road. We drive over to Logger’s Café. I order corn on the cob, with melted butter, mashed potatoes with gravy, and fried ham steak. It is an okay meal but I still think the Gamble’s Quail in New Mexico was better. In about an hour, the rain stops and all the water creates a small, but beautiful waterfall in the forest. We make it there just in time to look at it. A couple of miles down the river, we see a Beaver dam with some baby Beaver’s climbing in their log house, and the mother gnawing down a small Oak tree nearby.
When we walk to the top of the hill, there is a place called Rapid River Canoes. Me, Collin and Dad rent some canoes and go out on the river, while Gabby, Ashley, Andrew, and Mom go shopping for supplies. As we ride down the river, paddling our way, my dad opens his backpack and pulls out my fishing rod. Collin gets his and so does Dad. We take some worms, stick them on the hooks, and cast our lines. After ten minutes into our fishing, Collin has already caught three Blue Gill, while I have caught nothing. That’s why my dad always says, “that’s why they call it fishing, not catching”. When we go home, we de-bone the fish, and grill them to perfection. All of a sudden we hear a BOOM! Dad looks out the window and says, “Bones.” I sigh because we just want a peaceful vacation. The two Rottweilers jump out of the truck and run over to me. The dogs jump over logs and any obstacles in their way to get to me and nothing seems to be able to stand in their way. Just when they are about to bite me, I hear “Hiyyah” coming from behind me. Ashley uses her dragon claw karate kick to strike the dogs away from harming me. She had been practicing this move in her karate sessions with Mr. Chin, but this was the first time she got the move right. I am lucky. Finally, we drive away in our RV and away from the crazy guy. “Where y’all goin” says Bones sarcastically in our direction. They get in the Quads and follow behind, chasing our RV. “Come on back here with your fancy car,” says Bones and his crew. Devils’ driver, a red mullet-headed tattooed guy, pulls up to the RV and throws nails under our wheel, but they miraculously do not pop. Weddell jumps out the window and wraps around “devil drivers” head causing him to spin out of control and crash. Weddell jumps off his head and climbs back in through the window. Without anymore delays, Mom gets in the driver’s seat and hits the gas pedal. When we finally get onto the highway, Bones is gone because if he attacks us out here there will be plenty of witnesses and maybe even the police. We drive to an entirely different part of town and get out of our car and walk into the forest to finally enjoy our vacation. In the woods, there is a big Grizzly Bear standing over a waterfall, snatching trout that have come to the surface. I cannot believe my eyes that an actual Grizzly Bear is in plain site just off the highway in the beginning of the forest. I run down to the riverbank, away from the direction of the bear, sit on the ground, and pull out my paleontologists digging tools, such as a pick, chisels, and a brush to dust off the ancient dust from the bones. I dig at the spot because it looks like, by the way the rocks are placed, over a thousand years ago there was a mudslide in this area, and it must have covered many prehistoric creatures.
After hours of chipping through the rock, I find the best collection of prehistoric mammal bones I have ever seen in one place. There in the dirt in front of my face is five full-grown Hyracortherium. This creature was one of the first horse-like prehistoric creatures to roam the earth. Hyracortherium was a 2 to 3 foot tall animal with toes instead of hooves, but otherwise looks just like a horse. It was a chestnut colored creature with a peach colored underbelly, and blackish brown horizontal stripes up its body. In the books these creatures look very cute, but the bones look a little scary. After three more hours of digging, I have 2 out of the 5 Hyracortherium out of the ground. Collin and my dad are throwing the football to each other. Gabby and mom are taking pictures of my digging and the creatures around us, and Andrew and Ashley are trying to help dig out the dinosaur bones, but turns out they are making the dig a little bit harder with their wrestling. When the sun starts to set, I am covered in mud and finally after about 7 hours of work, all 5 Hyracortherium are out of the ground in wrapped in fabric and plaster to keep them safe from breaking.
Later that night, as I tuck Ashley into her bed, I thank her for saving my butt earlier with the Rottweilers that wanted to eat me. If Ashley hadn’t used her dragon claw karate kick, I could have been their chew toy. Finally, I am falling asleep, when suddenly I hear some ruckus in the kitchen. I grab Collins Grizzly 64 and slowly open the door heading into the kitchen. They’re standing on two legs, and looking into the cabinet, is the cutest little raccoon scavenging our RV for food. Usually, a raccoon runs away, but this one seems very friendly and comes over and starts to lick my arm. It seems I have a special way with animals. It is very cold outside this night and I assume the raccoon came in to get warm and find something to eat. Raccoons have special hands, like people and they have an opposing thumb, unlike other mammal’s paws. This opposing thumb allows them to open doors, cabinets, eat like a person and grab and manipulate anything he likes. I make him a warm cup of milk in the microwave and a bowl of blueberries and oatmeal and he eats it up quickly. The raccoon is quiet now, and rocking in my arms and seems ready to fall asleep. This only happens once in a lifetime, and it looks like I may have a new pet to add to my family. I will name him Rocky.
Chapter 4
The Final Battle
This morning I introduce Rocky and Timber to where they will now live. Rocky the Raccoon will be living with Weddell in his climbing habitat. For Timber I will be making a new habitat. I pull up to PETCO and our whole family piled out. Since Timber is a moose he is one of our biggest pets and needs a bigger habitat. When we’re not moving, I let them roam outside and have fun. Weddell climbs on Timber, Rocky wrestles with Nila, and Phoenix swoops down and plays with everyone. Popcorn, our Dalmatian, immediately run inside and snatch a dog treat that is resting under a sign that says free. For Timber I get an oval shaped moose bed for him to rest on. For him to eat I go outside and pick some wild red raspberries, wheat, and lots of grass. When I get Timber’s area ready, he immediately starts eating. When I first got Timber, he was a little timid and hesitant with me. But after a while, he’s learned to trust me and I think we’re going to get along great! In East Hampton I have a country house with 30 acres and when we get there, I’ll let the pets run around and have fun. When we drive back into the forest and out of the town, I start digging where that mudslide was to see if there are any other prehistoric mammals. When I start digging, I immediately see a hoof sticking out of the ground. My dad gets down on his hands and knees and I teach him a little bit about paleontology and how to dig the dinosaurs up without snapping their bones. After an hour or so the whole family is helping and we see a little bit of the creatures head. Immediately I know it is a Litopterns. Litopterns were a widespread group of early herbivores. In my opinion it kind of looks like a camel without the hump. Litopterns fur was light brown and the underbelly was white. This creature had a 10-inch trunk that hung down from the front of its face and a long neck. The Litoptern is hard to get out of the ground because it’s the size of a full-grown deer and its bones are very fragile. Collin and Ashley go to the river to get buckets of water. When you pour water on the bones, the ground around them turns to mud and it’s much easier to pull them out. After I wrap him in plaster and put him with the other bones, we run down to the river to take a swim. Since we live in Florida, and we live on the beach, by the age of five, I was practically an Olympic swimmer. Our whole family loves swimming together and having fun. At the edge of the riverbank we see a family of muskrats. A little ways down, we see some chipmunks climbing through the trees, flying squirrels gliding above the water, and a porcupine eating some bark near a pond. There are cattails and lots of weeds around us so we have to be careful not to be snuck up on by a mountain lion or a bobcat. A couple miles up the river, it sounds like someone is drowning, and I immediately rush to see what is happening. There in the pond is a badger drowning. I grab him out of the water and pull him up to the bank. There all the way in the deep woods is a hungry pack of wolves lurking for meat. I’m guessing the badger tried to run away and fell in the pond. Before I could react, my dad jumps out of the water and scares the wolves off. We head back to the RV and set the badger on a table and inspect him for any injuries. Sure enough a big wolf bite is on his back thigh and it is very bloody. My dad gets some bandages and I grab some peroxide and wrap his leg up. In the woods there are lots of hurt animals and I believe it is my responsibility to watch over them and protect them from harm. My love for animals has made me a better person and help the environment from global warming. We drive off and get jerked from behind. My mom goes outside to check what it is and we find a fox trap stuck to our wheel. My mom gets the wrench and my dad gets the hammer and we slowly chip away the chain that’s connected to our wheel. After we get on the road, and go get some lunch I take some binoculars and look out the window. My father bought me these binoculars for my birthday- they are so amazing. They can zoom in from a mile away. Over the hill where it’s a little colder, I see a wolverine pouncing through the forest, a black-footed ferret running in its hole, a mink standing on a rock in river with a trout under its claws, and a red fox searching for its burrow. When we get to Fisher Feast, I eat some Summer Flounder with clam chowder. After lunch we go to a place called Moose Jaw Explorer, where we go on a tour through the town and the woods. A man Billy Gordon enters our RV and drives off. He takes his mega phone and explains how he’s going to do this. If you look to your left you’ll see Lake Winnipeg, said Billy, which was the first lake to be found in Canada. When we get out of town, we drive out into a huge field where there is a herd of Bison running 10 feet away from the RV. We also see some Elk grazing, an Eastern Cottontail, and a family of skunks running just in front of the RV. When we get more into the forest, we see some Opossums in a tree, a Martin catching birds, and an Osprey catching trout. When suddenly we hear Bones. Billy asks who Bones is, and we tell him without any fuss. They ride by on their motorcycles, shooting at our wheels. Billy gets out with my dad and chase the motorcycles to where Bones’ hideout is. After I catch up with them, there in the tree is the biggest tree house I have ever seen. It must’ve been the size of five school buses connected. When we climb up the ladder, there is Tiki torches lit with skulls painted on them. And there at the end of the room are cages with tons of animals inside. I take the pliers and cut the locks, helping the animals to be free. In the tree house are pinecones, leaves, acorns, cigarettes and broken beer bottles all over the floor. Hanging up on the wall in a rack are a Remington 30.06 deer rifle, a Mossberg 12-gauge double barrel shotgun and two Berretta 9 mm pistols. On the other side of the room is a large box marked “CAUTION: EXPLOSIVES”. When I open the box, there are eight Molotov cocktails, which are bottles of gasoline with a rag fuse stuffed in the top. When you want them to blow, you light the rag and throw it at the target. It explodes with a mighty boom. There are also several bundles of dynamite. Above the box on the wall are a mounted deer head with a large rack of antlers, a moose head and a buffalo head. Near the heads mounted on the wall is a gold hunting trophy.
We try to tiptoe out without the Skull Hunters hearing us, but just when we are about to escape, Bones spots us and gets into a tussle with my father. Devil driver tries to take Collin and Ashley down but Ashley uses a karate punch in the stomach and Collin shoots him with a BB in the leg. They immediately chase us out of the tree house almost falling off the ladder as we climb down. When we’re outside they get on their quads and chase us down. Collin gets on his skateboard and catches up to them, shooting BB’s at Bones. Bones’ troops hold my parents and Billy down and Bones slugs me in the stomach. Just when they capture us, and we think we’re goners, I hear a familiar voice and the skull hunters fall to the ground. I look up and I see what looks like Tony and Zach with their families holding down Bones’ group. Billy calls 911 and the cops arrive without delay and Officer Denton sees Bones get handcuffed and thrown into the police car. Officer Denton and the police fix our tires and apologize for not believing us before. I give Tony and Zach a big hug and our families have a party. The sun is going down and we’re making s’mores, with marshmallows, Hershey bars, and graham crackers. The taste of s’mores remind me of summer and the police officers say we can keep Bones’ quads and motorcycles. We huddle in a circle singing campfire songs until all of us fall asleep.
Chapter 5
This morning when I walk outside all the animals that I saved from the Skull Hunter’s tree house are waiting by the front door: one possum, a black-footed ferret, a baby bobcat, a fox, a spotted skunk, a baby beaver, a river otter, little grizzly bear, flying squirrel, porcupine, snowshoe hare, wolverine, chipmunk, a fawn mule deer, a baby wolf, a ring-necked pheasant and a blue jay. If Bones was going to eat these animals I probably would have not gotten into his way, because hunting for meat is understandable, but Bones was planning on hanging them up on his wall simply as trophies. Besides, these animals are all young and you’re only supposed to eat full-grown creatures. Last night my dad got a phone call from Bones from the jail saying he was sorry.
Me, Zach and Tony are finally back together again and ready to start a new adventure. I ask Zach why he came to Canada. He told me there was no way he was letting me go on this adventure without him, and he will always have my back. Tony said he was nearby and decided to drop in, so it was a coincidence. Gabby finally got that horse she has always wanted; the one named Oaks, and is going to the National Finals in Pennsylvania next month. Collin got the new Rip Stick and is also going to the skateboard competitions and may even be on television. Since Ashley learned the Dragon Claw kick she finally got her Black Belt in karate. Finally, I got some new pets to take care of. We get in the RV, all three families, and about a dozen animals, drive down the Pacific Coast of Canada to see the Killer Whales migrate south for the winter. It is an amazing site and I’ll never forget it. In the morning, the sun is glistening off of our shiny legs sprayed with bug repellent and a rainbow appears in the distance. It’s a new day, and I’m ready for the next adventure.
The End
Reindeer Lake
When I wake up in my own bed for the first time in months, I am so rested. Nila is sleeping at the foot of the bed, lying on my toes. Phoenix is in a little ball in his cage, and Weddell is clinging to my arm and licking me. I have noticed that all three of my pets ignore their differences and get along great. Luckily, Nila has not tried to eat anyone yet, because I keep her very full with lots of meat. Nila is unlike other cats that act very solitary and hate company, because she is a very loving and outgoing animal who enjoys the company of people, and cuddling lots. Last night I had to say goodbye to Tony and Zach for a couple of weeks. Since our summer break to Bolivia in South America was cut short, the rest of my vacation will be spent with my family on our RV trip.
When I go downstairs, I look out the window and see the beautiful Florida sunrise. I feel happy to be home. Even though spending my childhood in California was fun, I am glad we moved to the beautiful countryside of Florida when I was eleven years old. We also spend almost all our summer in East Hampton, New York, so that is really what I call home. My parents greet me to breakfast of pancakes with butter and maple syrup.
My mom, Tamara, was born September 20, 1971 in Long Island, New York, and has black hair, hazel eyes, and the prettiest smile I have ever seen. My father, Randal, was born in Michigan, like Zach. Dad was born on August 10, 1970 and has brownish-blonde hair and blue eyes, just like me. My parents are so happy to have me home, they are both beaming. Suddenly, my sister, Ashley, runs into the room and hugs me tightly because last night when my flight landed it was too late and she was asleep. Ashley is only seven years old, and she has black hair and green eyes. She is a bubbly kid and of course she is wearing her favorite Barbie Doll pajamas and pink rabbit slippers. When I walk into the living room my little brother, who is 1 year old, has Sesame Street blasting on the TV and that little red guy, who I think is named Elmo, is talking about the ABC’s. His name is Andrew and he was born August 12, 2007. Andrew has a little bowl of apple sauce in front of him and is eating it with his hands. Andrew has a patch of blonde hair, light green eyes and has just learned to walk. I give him a quick kiss on the head and walk into my big sister Gabby’s room. When I walk in she gives me a huge hug and asks how my trip was. Gabby is four years older than me, she is 24. She always calls me her little, little brother, even though there is only a four-year difference. Last but not least, I walk into my 11 year old brothers room. His name is Collin and he has brown hair with green eyes. Collin immediately gives me a big high five and a quick hug. Then he shows me his new skateboard and his crown jewel BB gun, the Grizzly 64, that can shoot 600 feet per second. But he’s not allowed to shoot at anyone, just the targets because my mom is super strict about it. I walk out of his room and grab my bags. When I walk outside the beautiful palm trees glisten in the sun.
As we pack our red Jeep up and get ready for the flight to Canada. My bag starts squirming and Nila’s head pops out. She must’ve squeezed in there before we left the house. When I walk inside, my mom suggests we take a ride on the Jet Ski and take a spin on dad’s new cherry red Boston Whaler boat before we leave. Since our flight is at 6:00 in the evening, we have plenty of time. I look at my watch and it is 9:47am. We run outside with our bathing suits to the harbor behind our house, without any delay. Gabby puts on some Banana Boat sunscreen and runs out. Of course, sadly, Andrew has to stay behind in the tidal pools with my mom because he is too little to ride on the Jet Ski. As we ride out, Phoenix follows me flying straight behind and we make a little race to see who can get to the dock fastest. When my dad drives by, he splashes everyone with water, but don’t worry, we get him back. In the water it is very peaceful, and the sound of the jet ski slicing through the water reminds me of home. Surprisingly the water is very warm and is full of sea creatures. After we pull back up to the docks and tie up the jet ski’s with bungee cords, we dry off with a couple of towels and pile into the new boat.
Finally, we decide Andrew can come along, must stay safely inside the other boat we own, a glass bottom boat. Since they may be going faster, mom and I decide to stay with Andrew, and follow behind in the glass bottom boat, while the rest of my family race ahead in the new Boston Whaler. I enjoy riding on the glass bottom boat because since the whole bottom of the boat is clear you can see the coral reef and all the creatures that live there. As we head out, to our amazement a little family of Manatees come to the surface to look around. The baby Sea Cow is paddling under our boat with his fin-like tail. I grab some kelp that was stuck to the propellers of our boat and feed it to the Manatees. Sadly, every year almost 50 Manatees die from boat propellers, so my mom is very careful to avoid them as we coast away. When we go out to the reef, we look through the glass and see tons of fish such as snapper, barracuda, swooping through the water at a fast pace. Up ahead in the distance I see the cherry red boat racing through the water and I hear my siblings yelling for joy. When we get back to the docks it is time to leave, but luckily Ashley, Collin and Dad caught a good sized swordfish. Mom says she’ll grill it for lunch if Dad cleans it and gets it ready to be cooked. We have these neighbors that just moved in next door, and in my opinion, they are a little annoying because they are always trying to be nosey, and they really like to brag about how great they are. In their lawn, are tall pink plastic flamingos and a couple of Tiki torches. The father is always competing with all our neighbors to see who is better, but my parents ignore it.
Before we go to the airport, we get in the car and drive to Rattlesnake Reef to surf. Since Collin is a good skateboarder and surfing is a little like skateboarding, he does really well. Ashley is just learning but she’s pretty good so far. Today the waves are awesome and I only get wiped out one time. Collin gets a hang 10 without falling off. We’re having a great time when suddenly the lifeguard starts screaming. When I’m safe from the water I see a couple of Bull Sharks surface with their fins cutting through the water. In the air seagulls fly from every direction and the water is almost empty except for one little Florida Pompano. We get back into the car and try to think of some other things to do. Gabby suggests we go on a family horse ride through the Florida countryside. As lame as it sounds, I’ve ridden a horse a couple times and it’s pretty fun. When we get to Galloping Stallions we rent six horses because Andrew has to ride with mom. We canter out to the Everglades and take a peaceful ride through the swampy pond. In the water we see two beautiful swans the color of clouds. Every couple of seconds we hear a Grand Bullfrog croak and the best bird of all, the Bald Eagle soars through the Weeping Willow Trees. My horse is white with butterscotch splotches all over its body, and it is an Apaloosa. Dad’s is a big muscular horse with one blue eye and one brown eye. Mom and Andrew’s horse is brown with a white stripe down its face. Gabby, Ashley and Collins horses are all sisters and are gray in color. In the water are some River Otters scooping down eating fish and clams. When we ride back to Galloping Stallions we put the horses in their stalls and thank the nice man who owns the stable.
When we get back home, my family grabs a couple more bags. Just when we are about to walk out the front door, dad gets a phone call from The Wildlife Animal Emergency Rescue Center where my dad volunteers. They tell him they have a problem with a dolphin that is stuck on shore. Dad immediately gets into our red Jeep and heads to the emergency location. I ride my bike and follow him to the nearby beach where the dolphin is lying in the sand. I tie up my bike on a stop sign near the road, and run over to help my father. His work buddies pick up a stretcher to carry the dolphin back into the water. I help them hoist the dolphin that is moaning some weird clicking noises. When the dolphin is safely in the water, he sinks to the bottom, and we think he is a goner. When we head back to the cars, the bottle-nose dolphin shoots out of the water and swims happily away, as if thanking us for the assistance. We get a walkie-talkie call from the Rescue Center saying they have three more rescues. The first one is a sea turtle that is trapped in a sewer near the beach, and we have to get her out. When we get to Manta Ray Marina we pry open a man-hole cover, tie a rope to the car bumper, and lower ourselves in. We bring headlamps and flash lights to find the sea turtle. It smells like garbage and there is sewage everywhere. We lower ourselves down onto a ledge and shine our flashlights into the water. Every corner I turn a couple of rats scurry away. Before the sewage tunnel empties into the water treatment pond, there is a big grate or screen that separates large trash from the sewage water. The sea turtle is a Leatherback and is six feet long and weighs probably 1,000 pounds. The force of the fast-flowing water is pushing the Leatherback against the grate, smashing her against the rusty metal. If we did not come to her aid, the sewage would eventually drown her. My dad and his work buddies tied the Leatherback with soft ropes and slowly pulled her away from the grate. My dad climbed up the rope, tied it to the bumper of our Jeep, and slowly pulled the Leatherback up onto the surface of the ground. When everyone was out we closed the manhole cover and scrubbed the Leatherback with soapy brushes and rags and let her slide off into the ocean.
Next my dad gets one more radio call for a pelican nest, with chicks that have fallen into traffic near town. We immediately rush to the traffic center and slowly assist the cute little chicks back into their nest, careful not to touch them so our “human smell” doesn’t scare the mother, and lift it back into a shady palm tree away from the dangerous area. All of a sudden, the mother pelican lands into the nest and begins to nurture her babies.
My dad picks up the walkie-talkie and receives one more call before we leave for the airport. When we get to this site, three round balls are in a wild roaring fire in a cornfield near Alligator Alley, the highway that crosses Southern Florida between Palm Beach and Naples. My dad identifies the creatures as three brown armadillos that are curled in their armor-like shells, resembling a ball. We call the fire department and they extinguish the blaze with big hoses. Finally, we safely get them out of the ashes. After 10 or 15 minutes they uncurl from their shells and curiously look around at their surroundings. My dad pulls out some weird food like substance that the armadillos like, so they rush over and eat it up. Since the armadillos have bony plates the fire did not harm them, and after they ate their food they climbed back into the tall grass. I throw my bike into the back of dad’s jeep. Dad says goodbye to his work buddies and we get back into the Jeep to drive back to the house.
My brothers and sisters have been hesitant to interact with Weddell, Phoenix, and Nila. Before we take off, Popcorn, our little Dalmatian, scampers over and jumps into the car. Popcorn was abandoned as a puppy, and we found him in a parking lot in California. After we ate dinner and came back to the parking lot, the little puppy was still there, so we figured no one was coming for him, and decided to take him home. In the car Collin and Ashley were playing Red Car, Blue Car. In this game one person has to find red cars, while the other one has to find blue cars and then when the drive ends, whoever has the most cars wins. We are also listening to Life is a Highway on the radio.
When we arrived at the airport, we board the plane and took off. Luckily since Weddell, Phoenix, Popcorn, and Nila are small they can sit with us, unlike bigger pets that have to go underneath the main cabin and have to be knocked out with medicine so they aren’t as scared. On the plane I look out and see the beautiful clouds that look like giant white pillows. Collin is reading a skateboard magazine and listening to his headphones. Ashley is watching Sponge Bob on the airplane TV. Gabby is a big equestrian (horse rider) that has rode horses all over the country and is rated 7th nationally. She is on the computer searching different horses. I ask my mom where we are going exactly. She says we are going to Reindeer Lake as she passes a mini box of Honey Nut Cheerios and a “sippy” cup of Apple Juice to Andrew.
When we land we immediately see dark green pine trees and we are not used to it. After we get our bags we go to the RV rental place. We get a huge red trimmed RV with wheels the size of a desk. It is pretty cool because it’s all-terrain. When we start driving through the trees, we start to know why this place is called Reindeer Lake. It’s because there are thousands of deer. Luckily we have a trail that takes you on an amazing tour through the Conifer Forest. On the way we see some black bears, mountain lions, and many Lynx, which is like a bobcat. In the RV there is a small bathroom, beds, and a TV. When we run outside and go through the trails, we all smell something horrible. When we look around we see a grown skunk “protecting” her babies from the metal monster (the RV), but eventually she walks away. I also hear a pecking sound and when I turn the corner, sure enough, on an old Oak tree a Woodpecker is making his home. I go inside the RV to take a nap and fall asleep to the comforting sound of my family.
Chapter 2
The Skull Hunters
When I walk outside from taking a long nap I hear someone yelling. I look around and see a man with a shotgun, green Mohawk, big black boots, a navy jean jacket, chains hanging from his pants, tattoos, and a big fat orange-tipped cigar hanging out of his mouth. It seems that he is fighting with my parents. After ten minutes or so, he walks off into the forest. After the fight I ask my parents what he was saying. My dad told me the crazy man named Bones was the leader of a group called the Skull Hunters, who hunt animals.
“But it’s not open season,” I said.
“I know,” said my dad. “Bones claims this is Skull Hunter property and we have to get off it or he’ll wreck our RV. Even though this is an RV trail, not hunting grounds.”
“If it’s not open season and he’s still hunting its against the law! And we should call the police”, I say.
My father says we shouldn’t call the police because then we’re just making problems and we should just stay away from them. So I listen and set up camp with Ashley, Collin, and Gabby.
The sun is setting, and the stars come out. We are all sharing some family news and my dad brings out the BarBeQue with hotdogs, hamburgers and ribs. Ashley tells us about how she is trying to get to her black belt in karate at Tiger Shulmann’s. Gabby tells me about how she wants to lease her dream horse named Oaks, who is a black stallion and comes from Europe. Collin tells us about the new rip stick, which is a skateboard that has only two wheels on either end and it moves by quickly rocking your feet back and forth. When suddenly a shooting star flies by and we make our wishes.
In the morning, I’m woken up by Popcorn licking my nose and hopping up and down on me. So I take him outside for a walk. In the forest it’s very foggy and I see a Cross Bill eating a pinecone, which is a little red bird with a hooked beak that picks and eats the seeds out of pine cones with their sharp beak. When BOOM a giant shotgun blasts into the air and wakes up my parents.
“It’s Bones!” I scream
“I told ya’ll to stay off my huntin’ grounds or I’ll bust your fancy car!” screams Bones.
BOOM! Another blast of his shotgun. My dad comes out with Collin’s Grizzly 64 and points it at Bones.
“Don’t bother us Bones, we don’t mean any harm,” my dad says.
“Come out guys!” Screams Bones.
When 6 other men drive out on quads, which are 4 wheeled motorcycles. We run into the RV and lock the doors. My dad opens the window and shoots a BB at the wheel of Bones’ quad and pops the tire. Bones gets off and fires at the “fancy car.” My mom sits in the drivers seat and puts the pedal to the metal. We drive down the bumpy road, almost crashing into trees, and my dad dials 911 on his Blackberry. When we find a safe place to hide, we hear the sirens of the police cars ahead and we all sigh in relief. When the police pull up a big man steps out of the car with a full dark brown beard. He walks over to the RV and my dad comes out.
“What’s the problem sir?” asks the policeman.
And from there, my dad explains the story about the Skull Hunters. So the policeman drives to the top of the hill to find the Skull Hunters. But he’s too late and they’re long gone. All that’s left is a black leather jacket with a picture of a skull on it. So he gets into his car and tells my dad that they probably wont be coming back and there’s nothing he can do.
After the fog clears, I promised Ashley and Collin I’d show them how I dig for dinosaur bones, and they seem very interested. So we go down into the mud and start digging. After all the trips I’ve been on, I have a small collection of dino bones and I would like to add on. So far I have the full skeleton of the Coelophysis, which is probably my best find, and the Ichthyostega, which is pretty good too. When I start digging I find the biggest surprise in the world, a saber tooth tiger skull, and I didn’t even think I would find anything. Right away I clean the mud and saw the two 8 inch teeth I cover it with fabric and plaster and put it with the others in big cooler. When we head back into the town and get out of the forest, my dad has a little surprise for me. When we drive back to the RV place a big trailer is waiting for me and it is just for my animals. My dad tells me the trailer could fit more than 15 animals and could lock onto the back of our RV. I name it the “Animal Mobile.” After we install it, Nila, Weddell, Popcorn, and Phoenix pile in and I set up a little place for each of them. When we start our trip, I stay in the trailer and custom make each of my animals habitats. For Phoenix, I give him lots of room to fly, brass rings that hang from the ceiling that he can fly through, dried beetles to eat, lots of places to perch, and a little bird bath. For Weddell, I put a mini hammock, plastic and rubber polls that connect to the ceiling for him to climb on, ants, termites, and some nectar for him to eat, and some plants to make him feel like he is back in the rainforest. For Popcorn, I put a doggy bed, a bowl of Kibbles n’ bits and a bowl of water, dog bones and a couple of chew toys. Last but not least for Nila, I give her a cat scratching post, a ball of yarn, meat and water, and a carpeted little playground. This whole setup costs me only about 50 bucks and an hour of my time, but it’s worth it to see them so happy. Even though they seem happy and I think they love me, I feel bad for taking them out of their original habitats. But I don’t feel badly for saving Weddell when he was a baby, and Nila for her hurt leg. When we’re driving I check on them in the trailer, and Nila is purring and looking out the window. Weddell is hanging by his tail, and slurping the nectar. Phoenix is flying through the rings happily and Popcorn is playing with his chew toys.
Suddenly, my dad hits his brakes. I walk to the front to see what is happening and I wonder if it is Bones. But luckily it is only a baby moose that had lost his mother and standing in the middle of the road. I run outside with a carrot and a blanket and he slowly approaches me. Even though I’ve already helped some amazing creatures before, when the baby moose approaches me I feel something magical. He collapses into the blanket and it looks like he is very tired. He munches on the carrot and I slowly pick him off the ground and put him in Weddell’s area. This little moose is so cute. He has little antlers, a mini beard, and hooves the color of charcoal. I look outside and the sky is the color of smoke and I knew a storm is coming. So I pack everything up and my dad drives on slowly. I decide to name the little guy Timber. In ten minutes or so it starts pouring with a hint of lightning. The yellow flashes of thunder scare Timber, but I comfort him quickly.
Chapter 3
Officer Denton
The thunderstorm is horrible and it almost turning into a monsoon. When we go on the highway, we see Bones in the passenger seat of his pickup truck with two Rottweilers, wearing silver-spiked collars. When my dad stops into Starbucks, he gets a steaming Cappuccino and starts chatting with an officer named, Peter Denton. Officer Denton is a carrot-top with a big mustache and is a little on the chunky side. Dad tells him how he has trouble with this Bones fellow. Immediately Officer Denton cocks his head, and says “Bones”, is my brother? I run inside and tell him how Bones has been harassing us but Officer Denton just looks at us like we’re crazy. He tells us that Bones is a good guy, and has been a hunter for the last fifteen years, but would never hurt a person. The officer takes his coffee and starts to walk away, shaking his head in disgust.
When I walk back into the RV, Collin starts complaining that he is hungry. I make him macaroni and cheese on the little stove we have in the back of the RV. He eats the macaroni like he has never eaten before and finishes it in less than forty seconds. I go in the back and give a pail of water to Timber. When dad comes in the RV he sits in the driver seat and slowly drives down the wet, slippery road. We drive over to Logger’s Café. I order corn on the cob, with melted butter, mashed potatoes with gravy, and fried ham steak. It is an okay meal but I still think the Gamble’s Quail in New Mexico was better. In about an hour, the rain stops and all the water creates a small, but beautiful waterfall in the forest. We make it there just in time to look at it. A couple of miles down the river, we see a Beaver dam with some baby Beaver’s climbing in their log house, and the mother gnawing down a small Oak tree nearby.
When we walk to the top of the hill, there is a place called Rapid River Canoes. Me, Collin and Dad rent some canoes and go out on the river, while Gabby, Ashley, Andrew, and Mom go shopping for supplies. As we ride down the river, paddling our way, my dad opens his backpack and pulls out my fishing rod. Collin gets his and so does Dad. We take some worms, stick them on the hooks, and cast our lines. After ten minutes into our fishing, Collin has already caught three Blue Gill, while I have caught nothing. That’s why my dad always says, “that’s why they call it fishing, not catching”. When we go home, we de-bone the fish, and grill them to perfection. All of a sudden we hear a BOOM! Dad looks out the window and says, “Bones.” I sigh because we just want a peaceful vacation. The two Rottweilers jump out of the truck and run over to me. The dogs jump over logs and any obstacles in their way to get to me and nothing seems to be able to stand in their way. Just when they are about to bite me, I hear “Hiyyah” coming from behind me. Ashley uses her dragon claw karate kick to strike the dogs away from harming me. She had been practicing this move in her karate sessions with Mr. Chin, but this was the first time she got the move right. I am lucky. Finally, we drive away in our RV and away from the crazy guy. “Where y’all goin” says Bones sarcastically in our direction. They get in the Quads and follow behind, chasing our RV. “Come on back here with your fancy car,” says Bones and his crew. Devils’ driver, a red mullet-headed tattooed guy, pulls up to the RV and throws nails under our wheel, but they miraculously do not pop. Weddell jumps out the window and wraps around “devil drivers” head causing him to spin out of control and crash. Weddell jumps off his head and climbs back in through the window. Without anymore delays, Mom gets in the driver’s seat and hits the gas pedal. When we finally get onto the highway, Bones is gone because if he attacks us out here there will be plenty of witnesses and maybe even the police. We drive to an entirely different part of town and get out of our car and walk into the forest to finally enjoy our vacation. In the woods, there is a big Grizzly Bear standing over a waterfall, snatching trout that have come to the surface. I cannot believe my eyes that an actual Grizzly Bear is in plain site just off the highway in the beginning of the forest. I run down to the riverbank, away from the direction of the bear, sit on the ground, and pull out my paleontologists digging tools, such as a pick, chisels, and a brush to dust off the ancient dust from the bones. I dig at the spot because it looks like, by the way the rocks are placed, over a thousand years ago there was a mudslide in this area, and it must have covered many prehistoric creatures.
After hours of chipping through the rock, I find the best collection of prehistoric mammal bones I have ever seen in one place. There in the dirt in front of my face is five full-grown Hyracortherium. This creature was one of the first horse-like prehistoric creatures to roam the earth. Hyracortherium was a 2 to 3 foot tall animal with toes instead of hooves, but otherwise looks just like a horse. It was a chestnut colored creature with a peach colored underbelly, and blackish brown horizontal stripes up its body. In the books these creatures look very cute, but the bones look a little scary. After three more hours of digging, I have 2 out of the 5 Hyracortherium out of the ground. Collin and my dad are throwing the football to each other. Gabby and mom are taking pictures of my digging and the creatures around us, and Andrew and Ashley are trying to help dig out the dinosaur bones, but turns out they are making the dig a little bit harder with their wrestling. When the sun starts to set, I am covered in mud and finally after about 7 hours of work, all 5 Hyracortherium are out of the ground in wrapped in fabric and plaster to keep them safe from breaking.
Later that night, as I tuck Ashley into her bed, I thank her for saving my butt earlier with the Rottweilers that wanted to eat me. If Ashley hadn’t used her dragon claw karate kick, I could have been their chew toy. Finally, I am falling asleep, when suddenly I hear some ruckus in the kitchen. I grab Collins Grizzly 64 and slowly open the door heading into the kitchen. They’re standing on two legs, and looking into the cabinet, is the cutest little raccoon scavenging our RV for food. Usually, a raccoon runs away, but this one seems very friendly and comes over and starts to lick my arm. It seems I have a special way with animals. It is very cold outside this night and I assume the raccoon came in to get warm and find something to eat. Raccoons have special hands, like people and they have an opposing thumb, unlike other mammal’s paws. This opposing thumb allows them to open doors, cabinets, eat like a person and grab and manipulate anything he likes. I make him a warm cup of milk in the microwave and a bowl of blueberries and oatmeal and he eats it up quickly. The raccoon is quiet now, and rocking in my arms and seems ready to fall asleep. This only happens once in a lifetime, and it looks like I may have a new pet to add to my family. I will name him Rocky.
Chapter 4
The Final Battle
This morning I introduce Rocky and Timber to where they will now live. Rocky the Raccoon will be living with Weddell in his climbing habitat. For Timber I will be making a new habitat. I pull up to PETCO and our whole family piled out. Since Timber is a moose he is one of our biggest pets and needs a bigger habitat. When we’re not moving, I let them roam outside and have fun. Weddell climbs on Timber, Rocky wrestles with Nila, and Phoenix swoops down and plays with everyone. Popcorn, our Dalmatian, immediately run inside and snatch a dog treat that is resting under a sign that says free. For Timber I get an oval shaped moose bed for him to rest on. For him to eat I go outside and pick some wild red raspberries, wheat, and lots of grass. When I get Timber’s area ready, he immediately starts eating. When I first got Timber, he was a little timid and hesitant with me. But after a while, he’s learned to trust me and I think we’re going to get along great! In East Hampton I have a country house with 30 acres and when we get there, I’ll let the pets run around and have fun. When we drive back into the forest and out of the town, I start digging where that mudslide was to see if there are any other prehistoric mammals. When I start digging, I immediately see a hoof sticking out of the ground. My dad gets down on his hands and knees and I teach him a little bit about paleontology and how to dig the dinosaurs up without snapping their bones. After an hour or so the whole family is helping and we see a little bit of the creatures head. Immediately I know it is a Litopterns. Litopterns were a widespread group of early herbivores. In my opinion it kind of looks like a camel without the hump. Litopterns fur was light brown and the underbelly was white. This creature had a 10-inch trunk that hung down from the front of its face and a long neck. The Litoptern is hard to get out of the ground because it’s the size of a full-grown deer and its bones are very fragile. Collin and Ashley go to the river to get buckets of water. When you pour water on the bones, the ground around them turns to mud and it’s much easier to pull them out. After I wrap him in plaster and put him with the other bones, we run down to the river to take a swim. Since we live in Florida, and we live on the beach, by the age of five, I was practically an Olympic swimmer. Our whole family loves swimming together and having fun. At the edge of the riverbank we see a family of muskrats. A little ways down, we see some chipmunks climbing through the trees, flying squirrels gliding above the water, and a porcupine eating some bark near a pond. There are cattails and lots of weeds around us so we have to be careful not to be snuck up on by a mountain lion or a bobcat. A couple miles up the river, it sounds like someone is drowning, and I immediately rush to see what is happening. There in the pond is a badger drowning. I grab him out of the water and pull him up to the bank. There all the way in the deep woods is a hungry pack of wolves lurking for meat. I’m guessing the badger tried to run away and fell in the pond. Before I could react, my dad jumps out of the water and scares the wolves off. We head back to the RV and set the badger on a table and inspect him for any injuries. Sure enough a big wolf bite is on his back thigh and it is very bloody. My dad gets some bandages and I grab some peroxide and wrap his leg up. In the woods there are lots of hurt animals and I believe it is my responsibility to watch over them and protect them from harm. My love for animals has made me a better person and help the environment from global warming. We drive off and get jerked from behind. My mom goes outside to check what it is and we find a fox trap stuck to our wheel. My mom gets the wrench and my dad gets the hammer and we slowly chip away the chain that’s connected to our wheel. After we get on the road, and go get some lunch I take some binoculars and look out the window. My father bought me these binoculars for my birthday- they are so amazing. They can zoom in from a mile away. Over the hill where it’s a little colder, I see a wolverine pouncing through the forest, a black-footed ferret running in its hole, a mink standing on a rock in river with a trout under its claws, and a red fox searching for its burrow. When we get to Fisher Feast, I eat some Summer Flounder with clam chowder. After lunch we go to a place called Moose Jaw Explorer, where we go on a tour through the town and the woods. A man Billy Gordon enters our RV and drives off. He takes his mega phone and explains how he’s going to do this. If you look to your left you’ll see Lake Winnipeg, said Billy, which was the first lake to be found in Canada. When we get out of town, we drive out into a huge field where there is a herd of Bison running 10 feet away from the RV. We also see some Elk grazing, an Eastern Cottontail, and a family of skunks running just in front of the RV. When we get more into the forest, we see some Opossums in a tree, a Martin catching birds, and an Osprey catching trout. When suddenly we hear Bones. Billy asks who Bones is, and we tell him without any fuss. They ride by on their motorcycles, shooting at our wheels. Billy gets out with my dad and chase the motorcycles to where Bones’ hideout is. After I catch up with them, there in the tree is the biggest tree house I have ever seen. It must’ve been the size of five school buses connected. When we climb up the ladder, there is Tiki torches lit with skulls painted on them. And there at the end of the room are cages with tons of animals inside. I take the pliers and cut the locks, helping the animals to be free. In the tree house are pinecones, leaves, acorns, cigarettes and broken beer bottles all over the floor. Hanging up on the wall in a rack are a Remington 30.06 deer rifle, a Mossberg 12-gauge double barrel shotgun and two Berretta 9 mm pistols. On the other side of the room is a large box marked “CAUTION: EXPLOSIVES”. When I open the box, there are eight Molotov cocktails, which are bottles of gasoline with a rag fuse stuffed in the top. When you want them to blow, you light the rag and throw it at the target. It explodes with a mighty boom. There are also several bundles of dynamite. Above the box on the wall are a mounted deer head with a large rack of antlers, a moose head and a buffalo head. Near the heads mounted on the wall is a gold hunting trophy.
We try to tiptoe out without the Skull Hunters hearing us, but just when we are about to escape, Bones spots us and gets into a tussle with my father. Devil driver tries to take Collin and Ashley down but Ashley uses a karate punch in the stomach and Collin shoots him with a BB in the leg. They immediately chase us out of the tree house almost falling off the ladder as we climb down. When we’re outside they get on their quads and chase us down. Collin gets on his skateboard and catches up to them, shooting BB’s at Bones. Bones’ troops hold my parents and Billy down and Bones slugs me in the stomach. Just when they capture us, and we think we’re goners, I hear a familiar voice and the skull hunters fall to the ground. I look up and I see what looks like Tony and Zach with their families holding down Bones’ group. Billy calls 911 and the cops arrive without delay and Officer Denton sees Bones get handcuffed and thrown into the police car. Officer Denton and the police fix our tires and apologize for not believing us before. I give Tony and Zach a big hug and our families have a party. The sun is going down and we’re making s’mores, with marshmallows, Hershey bars, and graham crackers. The taste of s’mores remind me of summer and the police officers say we can keep Bones’ quads and motorcycles. We huddle in a circle singing campfire songs until all of us fall asleep.
Chapter 5
This morning when I walk outside all the animals that I saved from the Skull Hunter’s tree house are waiting by the front door: one possum, a black-footed ferret, a baby bobcat, a fox, a spotted skunk, a baby beaver, a river otter, little grizzly bear, flying squirrel, porcupine, snowshoe hare, wolverine, chipmunk, a fawn mule deer, a baby wolf, a ring-necked pheasant and a blue jay. If Bones was going to eat these animals I probably would have not gotten into his way, because hunting for meat is understandable, but Bones was planning on hanging them up on his wall simply as trophies. Besides, these animals are all young and you’re only supposed to eat full-grown creatures. Last night my dad got a phone call from Bones from the jail saying he was sorry.
Me, Zach and Tony are finally back together again and ready to start a new adventure. I ask Zach why he came to Canada. He told me there was no way he was letting me go on this adventure without him, and he will always have my back. Tony said he was nearby and decided to drop in, so it was a coincidence. Gabby finally got that horse she has always wanted; the one named Oaks, and is going to the National Finals in Pennsylvania next month. Collin got the new Rip Stick and is also going to the skateboard competitions and may even be on television. Since Ashley learned the Dragon Claw kick she finally got her Black Belt in karate. Finally, I got some new pets to take care of. We get in the RV, all three families, and about a dozen animals, drive down the Pacific Coast of Canada to see the Killer Whales migrate south for the winter. It is an amazing site and I’ll never forget it. In the morning, the sun is glistening off of our shiny legs sprayed with bug repellent and a rainbow appears in the distance. It’s a new day, and I’m ready for the next adventure.
The End
Great job Miles! Keep up the great stories....
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