August, 2020
I love saltwater tide pools and all the tiny creatures that live there. Tide pools make for great exploration. I was looking forward to exploring the tide pools at Rosario Beach that I had heard about, near the southwest corner of Fidalgo Island. But I didn’t realize until this second-to-the-last day here that I had mis-read my tide tables. The best time to explore tide pools are at the lowest of the low tides. But, the LOW low-tides here these last two days were at 3am! At that time of the night, I was going to be sound asleep, snuggled up in my comfortable, warm bed inside Towhee the Trailer. The other two low tides of these last two days were at about 4pm, perfect timing for a visit but they weren’t very low tides … the tide wasn’t going to be very far out … there would still be lots of water covering up the rocks and creatures, making it impossible to see everything that would have been visible at a LOW low tide.
But, I wanted to go anyway, so off I went in the afternoon right about 2pm so I would be at the tide pools around 4pm. A little salt water covering up things wasn’t going to stop me!
Here’s where I went …
First off, just to remind you, here’s Fidalgo Island above (circled in red). The RED star in the upper left was where I was camped. Fidalgo is a good-sized island! Where I went to see the tide pools was in the lower left corner of Fidalgo … just south of the word “Rosario” on the map above. [Note: on the map above, just off the northern tip of Whidbey, the map says “Simlik Bay”. The name of the bay is actually Similk Bay. I copied this map off of Microsoft Maps. Just because something is on the internet, doesn’t make it true! Also, do not pronounce Similk like it is spelled … the locals will laugh. 🙂 ]
The map above is for you Readers who might like to go here one day, or who just might like to see a bit more detail of where I went. Pass Island (in between Fidalgo to the north, and Whidbey to the south) is right in the middle of Deception Pass, that whirlwind of a waterway that can tear your boat apart with waves taller/larger/stronger than your boat, or it can be as flat as a pancake, just depends on the tide/current and the wind.
It was a lovely calm day here today. Most of the time that I was here today, I was scrambling among the rocks in the tide pools off the southern shore of Rosario Beach … or I was on the beach itself … or I was on a low cliff overlooking Sharpe Cove … or I was exploring the small campground on the north shore of Bowman Bay (a small campground but excellent!). All of this land is part of the State of Washington’s Deception Pass State Park.
So, let’s go see this place! It was really pretty here.
I parked the big white truck and walked into the park. The walkway through the park and then down to the beach and the tide pools was gravel, but well maintained and of gentle incline. It led eventually down to the beach and also out onto the peninsula that separates the two bays (Rosario and Sharpe) from each other. There were lots of trails. I explored a few, but not many.
Still up in the park, every view westward out over the water towards the San Juan Islands and out the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards the Pacific Ocean was gorgeous.
Above, Sharpe Cove with its long pier and boat dock was somewhat sheltered from storms that would come in from the ocean, mostly in winter. Today (in August), everything was so beautiful and peaceful, as it usually is here.
I walked past a delightfully designed and constructed picnic/gathering shelter (above).
The shelter had wooden picnic tables and benches, a fireplace, electrical outlets, and water faucets (and sinks) inside.
And inside, it had a view of the tide pool rocks … and then even further the view continued out the Strait of Juan de Fuca, out to the ocean, and (but for the curvature of the earth) all the way to Japan. How enchanting.
But I’m here for a reason … let’s get down to the beach!
One of the reasons I like camping during the week, Sunday through Friday, is that most public gathering places are empty, or close to it, during the week. I like people, don’t get me wrong, but I also like space and quiet. This beach, Rosario Beach, can be packed on weekends. Today was perfect.
From the map above, you can see that this bay, this beach, faces directly west, and (except for a bit of protection from the San Juan Islands) it is wide open to the west, to the Pacific Ocean.
From my spot on the beach in the photo above, I turned to the left, to the west …
There are the San Juan Islands in the distance, the southern end of them, and here are the beginnings of the tide pool rocks!
Turning a little further to the left, more tide pool rocks. Gosh I wish that tide was further out! But when I looked into the distance, I knew I was looking out through the Strait and directly at the Pacific Ocean … ok, maybe it was 100 miles or so from where I was standing and then out the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the ocean, but I was looking right at it. And yet, look how calm the water was, not hardly a ripple.
The next thing I noticed was this long yellow line in the water, seemingly attached in places. Hmmm, what’s with that?
Well, it sure was attached on purpose … every few yards. So I looked around and that’s when I noticed there was a State Park Ranger/Naturalist talking with a small group of folks on the beach. I walked back and listened. She talked about the plants and animals in the tide pools of course, but she also asked us to follow the line, stay close to it, and not disturb the rest of the area. She said the tide pools were so very delicate and in danger of being destroyed. She asked us to help preserve them by staying off of them except for the narrow area along this long thin line. That was ok with me.
And then she turned us loose to explore the tide “pools”. I put that word in quotes because the tide was still in/up pretty far, and there weren’t really any “pools” we could access. But I walked and crawled along that line and in through the water as far as I dared.
Nearby signs above. A few of my own photos below.
Acorn Barnacles.
I didn’t know what anything in these photos are, except the barnacles … barnacles of all sorts and sizes are everywhere in the Pacific Northwest! When I turned to seek the knowledge of the Ranger/Naturalist and ask her, she was way down the beach, walking towards another group of people a long way away.
Readers … what are these plants/animals in these photos?
The protuberances, the poke-out thingies, were also on the “leaves” from which these pods grew. What are these plants? Who eats them? What do they eat? What part do they play in the cycle of life? The pods/sacks appeared to be filled with air or gas … why? what? how? etc.
Ahhhh, sigh … eventually I got my head (and my camera) out of the tide pools and looked up around me. At exactly that moment, three people in kayaks paddled by. What a wonderful world.
The tide was now rising, covering up what little I had seen of the tide pools. So I started walking back up the path to my truck.
I wish I could share the sounds (the lapping water against the rocks and the beach, the seagulls’ calls). But more than that, I wish I could share the smell of fresh salt water, of fresh tidal rocks and basins … how rich it all smells … how alive, how sweet.
As I walked away from Rosario Beach, I again detoured over to Sharpe Cove for one last look.
The sun was about to set in the west, way off to the right in the photo above. You can see the western, setting sun shining on a couple of the tree trunks.
How perfect this day was, how perfect this world is. I have one more full day here on Fidalgo after this one, then I’ll head home. One more full day after this one! Tonight, I’ll dream of tide pools and the creatures that live there. But then, tomorrow … one more adventure I’m sure. 🙂