August 26, 2006
Well, it doesn't always turn out the way we plan. Our destination was Salt Creek Recreation Area County Park, on the Strait of Juan De Fuca, just west of Port Angeles, WA, on the recommendation of a colleague of Tim's. I was anticipating Orcas and Bald Eagles, and couldn't wait to get started
.

We were up early, and watched the sky become light from the deck of the ferry Puyallup, as we travelled from Edmonds to Kingston.
 
Finding Salt Creek was no problem, either for us or for the bazillion other campers and hikers who were busy cooking bacon and egg breakfasts as we arrived. During World War II, this area was a harbor defense military base called Fort Hayden. We parked near one of the bunkers and clambered down the bluffs to Tongue Point (alt. spelling on some of the signs - Tounge Point, hah!).
 
Gosh it was pretty here. The rocks in the lower right of the picture are part of Tongue Point which is a Marine Life Sanctuary. Notices warned us not to remove or touch any of the marine life. I am afraid I crushed a number of the shells attached to the rocks as I stumbled along. :\
 
The tide was out when we arrived, so we were able to clamber around the rocks and look for crabs and other forms of sealife. My shoes got soaked, and when they dried, phew, what a stench!
 
Tim found a lovely anemone, waving its fronds beneath the water of the tidal pool.
 

Me, I found it a bit frustrating. The little crabs were just too fast for my camera (err, me) and the bright sunlight made shooting underwater life very difficult.


A little live crab

A jellyfish thing
There were lots of interesting things to see, like many kinds of seaweed, and lots of barnacles and shells, such as this Sea Urchin shell. Alas, the Orcas and Bald Eagles seemed to have taken off for points unknown.
 
Eventually we left the throngs of humanity behind and drove further west to Shipwreck Point, another great place to find tidal pools. Luckily the tide was still out when we arrived.
 
Tim caught me looking across the Strait at the mountains of British Columbia, off in the distance. I am mentally humming Oh Canada.
 
It was tons of fun flipping rocks here, and watching many small crabs scuttle briskly towards new hiding places. I got some great pictures...of dead crabs like this one. The rest were too darn fast for me.
 

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