As the kids rode back and forth along the beach road, Monique began to look concerned. She was having trouble finding the actual spot where they’d found the turtle.“Monique, you said you knew where you found the turtle. Are you sure you know?” Javier asked, growing concerned. “We’ve been by here three times.”“I do know. I do. I’m just having trouble finding the things I remember,” Monique said, as her eyes searched the large sand dunes that stood between them and the beach. “Everything looks the same.”“All right, hold on,” Jayne said, stopping her bike. “Monique, tell us what you remember. Maybe we can help.” Monique closed her eyes and tried to picture the place where they had found the injured turtle.“Dad got me and we drove down toward the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Just after we passed the lighthouse, Dad turned onto one of the old beach roads. You know, the ones they don’t use anymore because the sand dunes have covered them up,” she said.“The turtle wasn’t on the beach, which is usually where they end up. She was in a creek. It was one of those small streams where water from the sound drains into the ocean. The turtle was in there, struggling to swim out. She was caught up in the seaweed and the grass, but since she couldn’t swim very well, she couldn’t get past it.”“I think I see it,” Marie said. She had been listening to her new friend, but searching the beach while the other girl spoke. “Is that the old road? It looks like a small creek runs beside it or at least the ground on the other side of it drops off pretty fast.”“That’s it. You found it!” Monique cried, hugging Marie. “Let’s go.” They rode their bikes to the small road and followed it along the creek until they found the spot, right behind a large dune.“This is it. Right where we found the turtle.” Monique showed them the tire tracks and footprints in the sand. “We had to tie ropes around the turtle to pull her up the side of the creek and get her into the truck. Dad said he’d seen bigger turtles, but this was harder because of the hill. It was like playing tug-o-war.”“I can see where everyone pulled on the ropes. I bet it was tough,” Javier said.“It was pretty dangerous, too. Sea turtles can bite,” Monique explained.“Oh, I noticed the tape around her head when you guys brought her into Mom’s office,” Jayne said.“Don’t turtles pull in their head and legs when they get scared?” Marie asked. “We had a turtle for a while, but whenever you touched it, it pulled its arms and legs in.”“Land turtles do that, but not sea turtles,” Monique said. “My dad brought along duct tape and wrapped its mouth closed so no one would get hurt.”“So, how do we find the nest, Monique?” Javier asked. “You seem to know everything about turtles.”“I never said I know everything, but Dad has taught me some things. He’s been volunteering on the turtle rescue team ever since we moved here,” she shot back.“Sorry, Monique,” Javier replied, looking down. “I didn’t mean to be mean.” He and his mom had just moved from the city and he didn’t know much about the ocean at all.“That’s okay, Javier,” Monique said, putting her arm around the younger boy’s shoulders. “I know you’re just worried about the nest and the baby turtles. I’m sure you know about lots of stuff I don’t know about.”“So, now that that’s over, how do we find the nest?” Marie reminded them, growing impatient.“If we’d gotten here first thing this morning, before people had a chance to come around, it would be easy but it’s about noon,” Monique said. “A lot of the signs are probably covered up by now.”She explained to the others that turtles make patterns in the sand as they crawl, pushing themselves forward with their flippers and sliding their bellies on the sand. The track would lead from the water up to the base of the dunes. There the turtle would push out a load of sand to dig out a hole for the nest. Sea turtle nests can be two feet deep and contain about 100 eggs the size of ping-pong balls. The four of them clambered up the sand dune at the edge of the creek, looking for tracks or any sign of a turtle nest. Maybe their turtle had crawled or slid over the hill when she had left the nest.At the top of the dune, directly in front of a beach house, they discovered a party going on. At least 40 people were having a picnic and playing on the beach, right where the turtle nest should be.“Oh no! We’ll never find the nest now,” Marie exclaimed.“It’s worse than that,” Jayne answered. “They might be walking right on top of it.”SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT1. Why is Monique having so much trouble finding the spot where they found the turtle?2. How were the kids able to help her search?3. How was Monique’s dad able to load the turtle onto the truck? Is this dangerous?4. What do the kids discover when they clamber up to the top of the dune?5. How should these four kids handle this problem? How would you handle it?NEXT WEEK: Find the Nest