The stars finally aligned! Since April, the beginning of nesting season, I have been watching the announcements for public hatchling releases like a hawk. The most critically endangered turtle species, the Kemps Ridley, nests all along the Upper Texas Coast, and the various conservation groups working tirelessly for the survival of this critical species allows the public to come and witness the miracle of that first epic journey for each hatchling. This has been an experience on my bucket list for a very long time, and it would require coordinating several moving parts for me to attend. Every time a new announcement was made, I would rush to the calendar to see what day it fell on, and then check the schedule for the shop to find out if this time everything would work in my favor to go. Finally, a release was scheduled for a Monday morning. Since the shop is closed on Sundays and I’m normally off on Mondays, I was going to get my chance. I spoke with my parents to make sure nothing conflicted on their end so they could watch my pups for me, and then I booked a hotel for one night.

Each release takes place at sunrise at Malaquite Beach in the Padre Island National Seashore. South Padre Island is 5 hours away, so driving in that morning wasn’t an option. As a Hilton Honors member, I did a quick search for hotels within driving distance, and booked a stay in Corpus Cristi with a balcony room overlooking the bay. I decided to hug the coast on the way down, and made several stops in the different little coastal towns along the way.

My hotel was within walking distance to both the USS Lexington and the Texas State Aquarium. The night I arrived, I took in the views, then walked down to enjoy the aquarium for a while before grabbing dinner and heading to bed early. There isn’t much that I set an alarm for these days, but getting to watch a sea turtle hatchling release is definitely one of them, so there was no way I was going to take the chance of not getting enough sleep and missing my alarm!

The next morning, I grabbed all my things, loaded up the car, checked out of my hotel via the app, and hit the road south. I am glad that I gave myself more time than the GPS suggested so that I could navigate the current construction mess, but also because the traffic getting into the park was completely insane! Vehicles were lined up literally as far as I could see, both in front of me and out my rear view mirror, and we were barely moving at a snails pace. There is a $10.00 entry fee to get into the park, or its free for annual pass holders. As I drew closer, I noticed they were splitting traffic into two separate lanes, one of which was moving much faster. Thankfully, I am an annual parks pass holder for the National Parks System, so I was able to move into the faster lane and scoot ahead to the parking lot.

The release was scheduled for 6:45, and due to the traffic, I was still trying to get to the sand 3 minutes before show time. I didn’t even bother taking off my sandals, and raced through the thick sand with my experience of growing up on the beach to help push me through quickly, even with flip flops still attached to my feet. I apologize to the people who ended up behind me as I probably through sand all over them! The crowd was HUGE!!! I managed to find a spot close to the water, right behind a couple kids who were down in the sand, so I planted my feet and didn’t budge as I knew that it probably wouldn’t get any better than this and I was going to have a perfect view!

There were three different roped off sections, and one of the rangers mentioned to someone in the crowd that 300 hatchlings would be released that day! Volunteers were set up in each area. Some were out in the water with a pole that had an orange flag attached to it while others were grouped together and ready to spread out a net with colored flags all over it. Their task? Help get the baby turtles safely to the water by blocking and scaring any hungry seagulls that came circling overhead!

The moment had finally arrived, and the rangers began carefully placing the hatchings out onto the sand. Slowly, the babies began the long trek across the sand under the safety of the netted tunnel. We all held our breath and watched, waiting for that first baby to finally reach the waters edge. Cheering broke out across the crowd and my eyes welled up with tears of joy. I didn’t lift my phone, or camera, but rather took time to just be present and let what was happening right in front of me sink in. A baby turtle has many obstacles to overcome in their first moments of life, and it can be very dangerous. It is a reminder to me that I can take on anything and overcome any obstacle that life throws at me.

After watching several little guys take off in the tides, it was time to break out all the gear and capture this bucket list moment! I loved their sandy little bodies, and the way they naturally ran towards the sea. When the surf would hit them, the turtles would get pushed back a couple feet, losing quite a bit of the ground that they had gained. Many were tossed, turned, and sent rolling. Some of the babies that were pushed back and rolled over in the surge were left struggling on their backs. Each of the volunteers were very diligent in keeping an eye on the hatchlings and only stepped in to flip the babies over so they wouldn’t get too tired as they still had a long journey ahead.

Every now and then, the volunteers would hold on to one of the hatchlings that needed to be redirected from heading straight for the crowd instead of the water, and walked around with them allowing visitors to quickly get pictures with the babies. I will never forget taking a pic with these two little guys, their flippers gently grazing my cheek. I got turtle baby kisses!!! For a moment, I wondered if either of these came from nests found my home beach, and if one day I would get the chance to see them again?

The crowd started to thin as each section witnessed their last baby find the water and swim off. I’m sure some even made the decision to try and get ahead of the rush to leave. There were a handful of us that held out until the very end. As the sun continued its climb, we sent the last Kemps Ridley hatchling off into the tides with cheers of joy. Even though I can officially check this bucket list experience off, I will continue to watch for opportunities to attend again as this is something that I would never grow tired of watching.

Facts about Kemps Ridley Sea Turtles:

• Kemps Ridley are the rarest species of sea turtles and the most endangered in the world
• This is the smallest species of all the sea turtles. They range in size from 24 to 27 inches long and weigh around 100 pounds
• Kemps Ridley turtles have a triangular shaped head with a slightly hooked beak
• This species will nest more often than other sea turtles, nesting 2-3 times each season laying an average of 110 eggs which incubate in 40-55 days
• It is believed that the hatchlings imprint on the sand they hatch in and will return to their “home” beach to nest as adults
• Greatest threats to Kemps Ridleys: Human activities (egg collection, killing adults, vehicular accidents with adult nesting turtles coming to and from the beach), net entanglement, mistaking plastic waste in the ocean for food sources

Tips for attending a hatchling release:

• Make sure you are following Padre National Seashore on both facebook & instagram. This is where they announce the schedule for public releases
• There is a $10 entry fee. If you don’t have an Annual National Parks Pass, purchase your day pass in advance. The day pass is only good for 24hrs, so make sure to purchase it on the actual day of the release. Grabbing a Day Pass online will allow you to go through the faster lane at the entrance gate with the Annual Pass holders
• Bring a towel. Some of the viewers were in the water the entire time up to their knees. As the tide came in, and with some of the waves being a little stronger, they were definitely getting wet!
• Give yourself plenty of time to get to the site! Literally hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people attend these events. Traffic gets backed up leading into the park, and the release site is a 15 minute drive in the park from the entrance gate.
• No flash photography! It is important that we are just there to witness and that we make sure we are never a hindrance to the turtles trying to get to the water.
• If you have the time to hang out and explore the park, be sure to bring water, sunscreen, and beach chairs. Some people had arrived early enough to grab a spot right on the rope off and brought their chairs to relax during the release!

Thank you for sticking around. This post was a long one! Tell me in the comments if this is something you have ever been a part of or would like to experience one day!