Botanical Beach: Zero Stars

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Botanical Beach, B.C
Day 2

The day dawned beautiful, and after a delightful breakfast at nearby The Ruby on Douglas, we began our two-hour drive to Port Renfrow with high expectations of low-tide delights at Botanical Beach.  
Diane at Ruby's


 It was a scenic drive, mostly on BC 14, a two-lane shoulderless highway that follows the coastline of the northern shore of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca.  Traffic was relatively light (at least in the direction we were headed), and even though we were constantly winding back and forth, climbing, and descending, with several short single-lane bridges, we made it to the trail head in less than two hours.  The one-kilometer trail down to the beach was in great condition and with no difficultly we arrived at the beach.  

We were wowed by the sight!  Indeed, it looked amazing – just like the photographs we had seen!  But alas – our high expectations turned to disappointment after carefully traversing the rocky  each from one tide pool to another.  We found no sea stars!  Moreover, we found only three small green anemones.  Instead, we were greeted with thousands of mussels and barnacles.  Also purple spiny sea urchins were abundant.  We found one small crab, a few armored chitons (mollusks sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells), a few sculpin, and one small crab.  Even sadder, there were very few birds and no sea otters to be seen. After about 90 minutes of exploring, we gave up and headed back up the trail. 

It was a surprisingly good workout going up the one kilometer, so that was the bonus for trip to the beach.  On the way back, we stopped in Sooke for a totally satisfying very late lunch/very early dinner at Route 14, and continued into Victoria for the night.

Tomorrow, we will return to The Ruby on Douglas for breakfast, then ride the Lochside Trail out and back.  Based on what we’ve read, the 18-mile trail is picturesque – passing beaches, farmland, and wetlands.  It is mostly off-road, but in some places we will be on paved and gravel public roads.  We might have some rain, but it will be good to be back on the bikes, no matter the weather! 

Resting for the rest of the night,
Diane and Rob

Well the Botanical Beach Tide Pools were a bust, but below are a few creatures we captured on film :)
Sea Anemone and Purple Spiny Urchins.

















Chiton (bottom center)




















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