It’s impossible to ignore the sound of the waves so quickly approaching the shore. This white noise is so soothing. It seems to me that every beach has something to say, and they’re all unique in their message. The waves are intense here. It’s almost a mystery because the waves seem more powerful on Rialto but the sediment for the most part is bigger compared to 2nd Beach. This all makes me think of how the beach is always changing. Every time you visit a certain beach there is bound to be something that is completely different. Something that has eroded away a bit more, been repeatedly bashed by waves. Or rocks pushed up on the beach and pulled back into the whirling water. Imagine how many people’s footprints have once existed in the sand, only to be washed away when the tide comes in only hours later. It reminds me of cherry blossoms in the spring, so ephemeral. Is there really anything about the beach that is permanent? Can you really visit the same beach every time you go, or is it a different beach?
Two thing I really enjoyed about this day were seeing sea stacks and the various animals I observed. Many of the sea stacks are pyramid like, wide at the bottom and thin/pointed at the top. Some of them have almost flat tops. No matter the gradient at the top many of them have trees growing off them, all the same species but I’m not sure what.
I saw many animals on this beach including a blue bird perched on some driftwood, being harassed by a pair of crows. A seagull hopping around down by the water, he underestimated how high up the wave was going to go and got splashed. One of my favorite sights of the day was seeing a sea otter run from the forest to the water. His body was contorting up and down as he was running, also as he jumped into the water, I felt his relief.
Group Representation of the Quinault Coast-
“When exploring the Olympic coast, we took the approach of embracing the environment, keeping our senses open and taking in everything we could. We later reflected on what we had observed to make connections and focus in on what we all had naturally paid attention to. Something we really focused on in our representation of the places we visited was the effect of wave action on the coastal features. Mother earth is a powerful force of nature, we explored how her processes that occur at these beaches affect what happens to the earth overtime. We also questioned how man’s actions are impacting the constantly evolving environment.
Check out my group project with some classmates (Sequoia, Amanda, and Kaitlin) from our Coast trip!
https://sites.evergreen.edu/vcc/category/bodacious-bombastic-banana-slugs/