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We are greeted early with generous low tides, and I can't resist the urge to explore. At Strawberry Point, the minus tides have uncovered a quarter-mile-wide field of usually-submerged rocks and tide pools. As Jeremy continues down the beach, I shed my pack, grab my camera, and explore. The rocks close to the beach have the unfortunate trait of usually being dry. They hold little marine life, and to the impatient onlooker, it would appear that this entire rockfield is little more than a boring pile of car-sized stones. But further out, almost to the edge of the retreated surf, the rocks are almost always underwater. If you're lucky enough to witness it at the right time and curious enough to explore, you're likely to see a rainbow of life that few ever experience. Nearly every inch of the pools is covered with fantastic arrays of oranges, purples, pinks, blues, and greens. Starfish, anemones, blue mussels, limpets, black chitons, cup coral, and the ever-impressive two-foot wide and fast-moving Sunflower Star are just a few of the variety of life found on these prosperous rocks. Walking becomes difficult among the thick beds of split kelp and surf-grass, and hopping from one rock to another over the pools, a new discovery is made on every bound. I feel like a kid again. |