http://paddletoswinomish.com/
Thursday, July 21, 2011
War Canoes at Alki and Swinomish
Native American and First Nations tribes visited the Muckleshoot Tribe of Washington and landed at Alki Beach in Seattle on 7-21 and departed the beach with the permission of the Muckleshoot Tribe on the Paddle to Swinomish voyage which will see a celebration at the Swinomish Tribal lands beginning Monday and ending on the 31st. The departure from Alki Beach was something to see......
http://paddletoswinomish.com/
http://paddletoswinomish.com/
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Botanical Beach and the Minnesota Seaside Station
In 1900 the University of Minnesota opened the Minnesota Seaside Station on the west coast of Vancouver Island near the town of Port Renfrew. Check the link for some history.
http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/2006/UR_111719_REGION1.html
In addition you can read Postelsia, the annual journal of the Minnesota Seaside Station on line at:
http://www.archive.org/details/postelsiayearboo1906minn
Botanical Beach just south of Port Renferw is renowned for the variety of seaweed, and its amazing geology.
Gretchen, my very cool phychologist wife, and I spent three days exploring the beach last weekend with two good friends. It was an outstanding trip.
The outer coast is very different from my usual haunts of Puget Sound and always is demanding a visit....usually I end up on the fabulous Washington Coast but it was finally time to do the border crossing and ferry rides to Vancouver Island just to revisit the beach of my school days....1975 that would be. The beach is unchanged but the roads into Port Renfrew, 60 miles of gravel in 1975, are now paved in two directions....yippee.
While 1975 was a little depressing in that most of that side of the island had been recently clear-cut...today there are at least 30 year old trees in place of the ugly slashes....90% of Vancouver Island's old growth has been cut.
I have attached some images of the beach....now a protected park....yippee again. Two trails begin at Port Renfrew....the Juan de Fuca and the West Coast trails. The West Coast Trail is considered one of the premiere wilderness trails in the world and in places very challenging...to the point of dangerous.
So if you like hitting the low tide at a mind blowing beach, and even want to add a 50 mile challenging hike you need look no further.
http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/2006/UR_111719_REGION1.html
In addition you can read Postelsia, the annual journal of the Minnesota Seaside Station on line at:
http://www.archive.org/details/postelsiayearboo1906minn
Botanical Beach just south of Port Renferw is renowned for the variety of seaweed, and its amazing geology.
Gretchen, my very cool phychologist wife, and I spent three days exploring the beach last weekend with two good friends. It was an outstanding trip.
The outer coast is very different from my usual haunts of Puget Sound and always is demanding a visit....usually I end up on the fabulous Washington Coast but it was finally time to do the border crossing and ferry rides to Vancouver Island just to revisit the beach of my school days....1975 that would be. The beach is unchanged but the roads into Port Renfrew, 60 miles of gravel in 1975, are now paved in two directions....yippee.
While 1975 was a little depressing in that most of that side of the island had been recently clear-cut...today there are at least 30 year old trees in place of the ugly slashes....90% of Vancouver Island's old growth has been cut.
I have attached some images of the beach....now a protected park....yippee again. Two trails begin at Port Renfrew....the Juan de Fuca and the West Coast trails. The West Coast Trail is considered one of the premiere wilderness trails in the world and in places very challenging...to the point of dangerous.
So if you like hitting the low tide at a mind blowing beach, and even want to add a 50 mile challenging hike you need look no further.
 |
| Sea Palm brown seaweed |
 |
| Gretchen and friends |
 |
| Tide Pool |
 |
| Botanical Beach |
 |
| Red and Yellow sponges |
 |
| Tide Pool |
 |
| Green Anemone |
 |
| Tide Pools |
 |
| Sea Sacs |
 |
| Botanical Beach |
 |
| Lined Chiton |
 |
| Mixed Seaweed |
 |
| Woody Chiton and anemones |
 |
| Shield Limpets on Sea Palm |
 |
| Mussel Bed Botanical Beach |
 |
| Gumboot Chiton |
 |
| Red Sea Slug and Six-rayed Stars |
 |
| Black Bear |
 |
| Graceful Coral Seaweed |
 |
| Black Katy Chiton |
 |
| Weird Beach Bum |
 |
| Black Turbans with Hooked Slipper Snail |
 |
| Tide Pool |
 |
| Spotted Dorid eating sponge |
 |
| Tide Pool |
 |
| Botanical Beach |
 |
| First Nations War Canoe |
 |
| Big Cedar and tree huggers |
 |
| Botanical Beach |
 |
| Coraline Algae |
 |
| Eaten Purple Sea Urchin with Aristotle's lantern Gretchen F. image |
 |
| Fragile Star |
 |
| Gretchen F. image |
 |
| Soule Creek B&B |
 |
| Wrinkled Amphissa |
 |
| Large black slug |
 |
| Limpets on Sea Palm |
 |
| Blood Star |
 |
| Dire Whelk |
 |
| Chalky Coral Seaweed |
 |
| Mixed Seaweed |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)