One of the perks of living near Bellingham Bay is enjoying the great beach combing opportunities that the lowest minus tides provide during the summer months. We took advantage of one of these days to explore the Taylor Shellfish Farms at the south end of Chuckanut Drive. They were having a festival of sorts which allowed us the opportunity to learn first hand about their operation here as well as their other locations throughout WA. Because of the extreme low tide we were able to walk out to the oyster beds to learn how they seed and harvest the oysters and clams that they are famous for. Hot dogs, grilled oysters, steamed clams and other such fare were available for lunch. So we took advantage and had a great meal.
This sign met us at the entrance, how could one resist, we had to check it out!
The staff had gathered natural materials and kids could pick out whatever they wanted and create their own fairy house
Some creative Taylor family member created this "lighthouse" made of clam and oyster shells
These are oyster "grow bags" which help keep predators away and reduce the amount of silt that affects the oysters as they grow
The view looking south to Anacortes...the tide is out so far you can barely see the waterline!
Oysters are harvested and packed in bundles like this...these bundles are made of empty shells which will be used for new oyster beds and for other uses such as chicken feed
There is a crew harvesting oysters out there...in the winter, they have to do it at night, when the minus tides occur
Looking back at the farm store--we're way out in the bay!
Time for lunch!
The day is still young and the tide is still low so we head on over to Larrabee State Park to hike down to Clayton Beach. We hiked down to this beach a lot when Jessi was little, although she doesn't remember it. It was known for it's huge sand dune that rolled all the way to the sea. The sand dune is a thing of the past, it's now a huge "garden" of blackberries and sand peas. But the beach is still wonderful for walking when the tide allows.
I love shape, pattern, light and shadow, so it's a field day for me with all these sandstone rocks full of holes and pockets and hidey places
And then I can get all artsy craftsy and start putting crab shells in nooks and pretending like they "landed" there!
There's someone else who likes the hidey places!
The window to the sea
The tide's starting to come back in...that's Lummi Island out there in the distance
The beach has its own art forms
This is a very special flat rock--when Wally and I were MUCH younger, we used to hike down a steep rock cliff to get to this rock where we had the sea to ourselves. We'd picnic and sunbathe here...but alas, someone has built a house at the top of the cliff where we used to start our climb down...no matter, there's no way we could do it now anyway!
The flat rock is waaaay out there to the right, so you can see the height of the cliff we had to navigate--it's about midway down the hillside.
Then it was time to hike back up to the road and head home for a hot shower and some ibuprofen...just kidding!
