Sandpiper Point
A made-up place on a real coast. Tap a place to see which series lives there, its stories and one true thing about the nature around it.
The cove
A sheltered bay of kelp and calm water, where the day starts with a bath and ends with a held paw.
Real nature
Sea otters rest floating together in a group called a raft. When resting, sea otters sometimes tie themselves in kelp fronds so they don't drift.Sources: Monterey Bay Aquarium; Aquarium of the Pacific
Stories from here: Pim's Bath, Pim Holds On
The tidepools
A shelf of rock that the tide leaves full of small, quiet worlds. Things here are always getting a little too small.
Real nature
Hermit crabs outgrow their shells, "like a growing child needs new clothes," and need an upgrade. When a new empty shell becomes available, hermit crabs gather around it and queue up in a line from largest to smallest.Sources: National Park Service (Gulf Islands); ScienceDaily (University of Exeter study)
Stories from here: Tully and the New Baby
The lighthouse
The tall light at the end of the point. When it turns on, it is nearly bedtime.
Real nature
Fog and low clouds often hid the light of one high California lighthouse, so a new lighthouse was built lower down to replace it in March 1891.Sources: National Park Service (Cabrillo)
The harbor
A pier, a few boats and a lot of low tide. A good place for a plan, and a better place to change it.
Real nature
The brown pelican is the only pelican that plunge-dives.Sources: National Park Service (Channel Islands)
Stories from here: Plan First!, Snip Gets Stuck
Workshop lane
A short lane with a workshop at the end of it, a stack of planks by the door and no job that cannot wait for the glue to dry.
Real nature
The marine layer is cool air near the surface under warmer air, and it can make low clouds or fog. It is seen especially along the Central and Southern California coasts, and its early-summer version is nicknamed May Gray or June Gloom.Sources: NOAA JetStream
Stories from here: The Crooked Shelf, The Hammer That Waited
The preschool
A small building near the lane, with a snack table, a song at the end of the morning and a door that is easier on the second day.
Real nature
The US West Coast tends to have two high tides and two low tides each lunar day (a little under 25 hours), and the two highs and lows are different sizes.Sources: NOAA Ocean Service
Stories from here: Tully's First Day
The canyon
Dry hills, sage and one very good sycamore. The best games here start with someone saying the rules out loud.
Real nature
California quail live in coastal sage scrub, chaparral and open woodlands. California sagebrush and black sage are typical coastal sage scrub plants near San Diego. Western sycamore and coast live oak grow along streams, stream banks and seeps, including in Southern California.Sources: National Park Service (Cabrillo); National Park Service (Cabrillo); California Native Plant Society
Stories from here: Quill Line, The Great Canyon Picnic