After a delicious dinner of sauteed veggies and Korean short ribs (great suggestion by Christina), a group of us embarked on a sunset paddle. We promised Christina and Brian that we'd be back in an hour and headed north. It was a cool evening, but the breeze had calmed down (Tomales Bay tends to be very windy in the afternoons). We set our sights on Hog Island, about 1.8 miles north of Tomales Beach. Along the way, Eddie (fellow hydrologist) and I noticed a drop in the water surface and a narrow band of turbulence spanning the Bay. We decided that this was caused by a slight narrowing of the Bay and the outgoing tide. This USGS map shows that this spot, known as Pelican Point, is about 30 meters deeper than the surrounding areas. 30 minutes later we were still quite far from Hog Island, and dusk was setting in. After a long discussion we decided to continue on, magnetized by the eerie island in the distance. Upon closer inspection, the trees were densely populated by a colony of cormorants and painted white with a thick layer of bird poop. With darkness setting in, the rustling birds and sparse vegetation made the island feel quite spooky. |
Water Nerding! Bioluminescence in Tomales Bay
On trip to Point Reyes two weeks later, many of us saw the bioluminescence in another form. As we stood on the beach at Coast Camp (on the west side of the peninsula), flashes of green light lit up the shoreline with each crashing wave.
Time: 2 days!
Distance ~ 11 miles (very rough)