The Saturday after my five-week PRNSA California Naturalist Course at Point Reyes ended, I couldn’t keep away from the park, so I took a solo trip to Kehoe Beach, where I had not been for years.

A young elephant seal lying on a sandy beach looking at the camera, with rocks and the ocean in the background. Text reads "Support conservation, education, and community-building!" A button reads "Click here to make a gift today" and "All gifts made by Dec. 31, up to $100,000, will be doubled!"