Story on Stories Beach

Another of the Campbell River series.

One of my favourite beaches along the Campbell River coastline is Stories Beach. (Variably spelled; I've seen Storey's Beach, Storie's Beach. It's at the foot of Storrie Road.)

The beach has everything we could want; at the north end, children splash on sandy flats, adults walk dogs or head out on paddleboards; towards the south, where we like to wander, there are flat sandstone fields, fenced (by Ma Nature) with rows of rocks, covered with sea lettuce and crawling with critters of all descriptions. This trip, because of Laurie's injured leg, our time on the beach was limited. We still managed to get some photos to share.

Looking south. Sandstone flats, with Bonaparte's gulls.

Another burrowing anemone, with its heart markings on the tentacles.

A tiny green sculpin, pretending to be a shred of sea lettuce.

Bull kelp, float and fronds.

This old wheel doesn't belong, but it's being absorbed. Meanwhile, it makes a handy tidepool.

Very small sandpiper.

Pair of sandpipers, poking around under the seaweed for lunch.

On the upper levels, the sandstone is sculpted by wind and waves.

Sandstone rock, mid-intertidal zone. Here, they're gritty, covered with barnacles and mussels, and perforated with critter tunnels. The white mark at the centre is the bottom shell of an oyster, cemented to the rock and left behind when the oyster died.

In a deepish tide pool, assorted brilliant seaweeds flourish. Yellow rockweed, green sea lettuce, red stringy stuff, unidentified.

I turned over a rock that was a bit too big for me. My feet slipped and I went down on my back in an inch of water and mud. I missed the community sheltered under the rock, though.

Wosensensky's isopods, a few stubbies, and a pink and cream anemone, possibly the pink-tipped anemone.

Stubby isopods, the large Wosnesensky's, and a good-sized flatworm.

No critters were harmed in taking these photos. Nor was I, really; just wet through, and muddy. I managed to put the rock back in place without squashing anything, too. Time to head home, stopping at a garage sale on the way. A bit of muddy water never hurt anyone.

Glittery sea down the Georgia Strait.

This was the beach where we found the fish skull. More on that, later.