Exploring Maho Bay with my son, Dylan. We like to visit places where animals are welcome too. Here, we stayed in tent cabins in the trees and enjoyed being visited by all kinds of clever creatures. There were three-foot iguanas lounging on tree branches, smiling tree frogs, quick-footed mongoose, and songbirds. We learned how to tie-dye using recycled cotton fabric and organic dyes, we made sculptures from recycled glass, and we used a potter's wheel to make clay bowls and dishes. We snorkled the waters near shore and quietly followed two hawksbill sea turtles grazing on sea grass. As most of St. John is a U.S. National Park, large-scale development is limited. However, several important efforts to protect Maho Bay and the coral reefs that surround the island are still underway. Friends of Virgin Islands National Park is an organisation working to protect this amazing ecosystem.