Reservation Rock







At the south end of Stanley Park’s
Lost Lagoon, Reservation Rock
pokes out of the cool blue
providing a sun-bathing raft
for sleepy turtles. Very popular
this small rock which holds three--
just three of the thirty or so feral
red-eared sliders which have
clawed out of the lagoon’s mud
after a long winter’s nap
with a vegetarian hunger
greater than a panda. After
chewing a huge swath through
water hyacinths, cannas,
and many of the grasses,
these cold-blooded sliders,
big as dinner plates,
must warm themselves in
the afternoon sun, but with
few logs and rocks, it’s
first come, first warmed
on pedestal rock, unless
there are previous reservations.