Seeing Stars

After a lazy morning, Marcelle and I drove up toward Tofino to again have lunch at one of our all-time favorite eateries, the TacoFino Cantina.

Stuffed full with an elegant sufficiency, (or, as I used to say when I was young, 'elephants and fishes'), we drove back south to the Incinerator Rock parking lot of Long Beach, and set off walking north to one of our favorite beach areas, past the Esowista area of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations peoples, toward Schooner Cove. This part of the beach has several rocky islands that are accessible during low tide, and are remarkably picturesque.

Walking up the beach, we saw a profusion of marine life that we hadn't come across before, from sponges washed up on the sands:

To scads of what appear to be something perhaps related to jellyfish. (Edit: I learned that they are Kite Jellyfish.)

These small organisms look like little blue boats set with a translucent diagonal fin, looking for all the world like a sail rigged for tacking.

Close to one of the tide-stranded islands, in a small pool encircling a rock, I came upon what I think is a Sunflower Star. With 21 arms, it was about 18 inches across. Apparently, they have more than 15,000 tube feet that have to be coordinated in its stepping movements. Quite beautiful!

Further along, there was an Anenome that was busy digesting a small Dungeoness Crab.

And a few metres away, a larger Anenome was in the last stages of choking down one of the ubiquitous Ochre Sea Stars. BTW, word has it that it is not a good idea to stick your tongue into an Anenome. Apparently, your tongue will swell up from the poison they use to subdue their prey, and can easily choke you. So glad I read this, as it had been a burning desire for years!
The Tofino airport is just beyond the tree line at the back of the beach, so there's often aircraft overhead taking off and landing. At one point, a large Sikorsky rescue chopper clattered in for a landing there. I've always had a fascination for helicopters, actually logging a few hours in my youth before I realized that the economics prohibited me from getting my license. There's nothing that comes as close to just flying with your body as a helicopter. I used to have the most vivid dreams of flying with just my body... sadly, I no longer have them, as they were always very enjoyable.

Although it was an overcast morning, the afternoon was spectacular, with the most beautiful billowing clouds on the horizon. Now I'm a sucker for good clouds, so naturally, I just had to capture some for you, Dear Reader.

If you look closely, you'll see another helicopter headed toward the clouds here.
Well, another day comes to a close here in Ucluelet. What will tomorrow bring, I wonder?