Botanical Beach 2024

The only road to Botanical Beach is a memorable part of the journey filled with the overtures of wild roller coasters. It was mentioned a few times that any rust in the shocks would be shaken loose along the way. The rugged coast, at times, will reshape the landscape without any consideration to the roads nor the folk who use them. The repair crews do their best each year leaving more than a few bumps along the way. It is just a small part of living on the coast.

Intermittent fog drifted along the cost and was slowly lifting as we made our way to the beach at low tide. The hike down to the beach is strewn with rocks and tree roots, a couple of bridges over the creek beds. An easy meander down.

Here are just a few pictures of the beach and what can be found when you pause for a moment or two.

Always, Botanical Beach is a amazing adventure as part of the west coast of Vancouver Island.

A humpback whale enjoying the bounty of the sea blows at the center of the shot and is then gone.

the basin – day 303

looks like someplace else yet it is the basin – be kind, stay safe, be well

the basin – day 67

the basin – day 28

the basin – day 22

Bespoke: Botanical Beach 2018

I am writing this under a blood red sky. Smoke fills the air as the scorched earth burns. It disheartens my very soul.

This last June, I revisited Botanical Beach. The beauty is unshakable.

We left early so that we could be at the beach during one of the lowest tides of the year. And before the crowds.

At the entrance to one of the paths down to the beach is a fallen log with fungi. I am always interested in fluid lines of mushrooms.

The horizon of the United States is in the background. The changing tide brought the waves crashing into the rocks.

The tide pools were inexplicably bare and cloudy. Global changes are reaching even here. Gooey ducks clams and seaweed abound still yet the once plentifully urchins are gone. The wardens of the park say it is the tourist taking souvenirs of the once bountiful sea life. Really. It could also be sunscreen and other pollutants. Either way, once a plentifully waterway is now unwell and unbalanced.

We may still have time to make a difference. It is only a guess as we know more about Mars than we do our own seas.