Life has been busy and all that but mostly I haven’t had the inclination or had an adventure really worth talking about in super detail. I exaggerate. Most of the things I’ve done have had a pretty good story behind them but all of on the same grain as the Temmy to Emmy post I did so long ago. It’s time for a fresh switch-up of location.
Today I present to you the tide pools of the Pacific Coast. Tide pools are very unique little biomes that are alive with a plethora of different species of animals, all of which are very interesting. Tide pools are unique locations accessible during specific times of day because of high and rising tides. If you ever decide to go tide pooling, be careful! Rogue waves are dangerous. Bring a buddy and always keep an eye on the ocean. It will sneak up on you if you’re not careful and/or aren’t aware of tide times.
In any case, a little while ago my friend and I finally found a good time to head down to the bottom of the peninsula. After an hour or so of driving we arrived at the fine town of Pescadero, and a few miles away we hit the fine lighthouse and hostel at Pigeon Point. The lighthouse has surely seen better days, and it’s a shame that it has gone so long without renovation. Such is the state of our economy… but I digress. Pigeon Point for me is a bit of a nostalgic spot, where I first learned the wonders of tide pools and the majesty of the ocean. That was 7 or 8 years ago now, and more recently when I returned I noticed that it had gotten more tourist-y. The hostel is peaceful (and from what I can remember, a nice place to stay in) and on sunny days you can’t really go wrong at all. My only complaint was that the doors to the public bathrooms had no locks. (Oops!)
In any case, we arrived for the receding tide. After stretching our legs and refreshing ourselves we clambered down to the rocks and so this particular excursion began. It’s amazing how much life there is in each of these tiny pools of water left behind by the receding ocean. Why more people don’t risk their dignity on the slippery kelp covered water is a mystery to me, but the fewer people who attack these sites, the better, I suppose. I say attack pretty specifically because it's hard not to get destructive in a tide pool, even if you know what you're doing. The slippery and the fact that living things are cramming every single nook and cranny on the rocks means that making room for another clumsy human being is going to involve crushing some tide pool denizen.
When I got down to the rocks, initially I was disappointed by the relative deadness of the pools compared to what I remembered from when I was younger but I was soon to find out that we just get less imaginative and observant as we get older. As soon as I got into the mindset of knowing just what to look for the tide pools began to reveal their most vibrant colors and interesting animals to us in short order.
At one point in time I knew every detail a lot of the animals that lived in the tide pools. I was a fanatic... but that information has since escaped my older brain so I can merely delve into how fascinating these creatures are. Of course we all remember those remarkable details about sea star, the strange habits of the hermit crab and the stinging neurotoxic needles of those remarkable cnidarians...
There's a lot to these little wondrous worlds, which is probably why it took us more than an hour to traverse less than 100 yards of rocks and water. It was a bit like a scavenger hunt, but it was mostly look don't touch. As amazing as the tide pool biome is, it is also very very fragile and is suffering in many places along with the rest of the ocean. Sea stars for example are suffering the effects of ocean decalcification and along the East coast in particular are displaying unhealthy mutation related to this issue. As exposed as tide pools are, they are also fragile in the face of human interaction, as we witnessed when we found trash scattered here and there. Yet these animals regularly withstand the pounding of the ocean waves as the tide advances and recedes.
As the sun drew lower in the sky (we had gone for a low tide in the late afternoon) and the tide began to rise again, we climbed away from the rocks and returned to the safe haven of the lighthouse to admire the view. As I (not so eloquently) said, 'It's remarkable that as beautiful and majestic as the ocean is, you also know it's also capable of pounding your ass into the ground without a moment's notice.' Very deep stuff indeed. Feet soaking, we bundled back to the car and appreciated human technology once more as we headed back to the comfort of civilization.
We both noted that living in a house by the seaside was not something we could see in our futures.
Until next time,
Henry the Navigator
PS if you want to see some crappy pictures check out this flickr account...
I couldn't be bothered with the horrible image uploader this time around.
