Friday Early AM at Blind Pass

After some planning by phone with Tink, who wanted to go on a mid-night shelling adventure, it was decided to make another drive out to Blind Pass, arriving around 2 AM to see if anything new had come in with the high tide. The same shell piles were there as the previous night and the scene looked nearly the same, except the waves weren't as big and it wasn't as windy. The most outstanding change was how much the piles of shells had been dug through and how many footprints were in the sand. :-) It sorta looked like really big moles had been digging there.

We walked around checking to see if the high tide had left any new surprises behind and did find some shells scattered. But, most of what we found was at the edge of the shell piles near the water. There was a big drop off from the shell piles down to the water that wasn't there before.

After we were there for a while, the tide started coming back in again and was beginning to wash out the edges of the shell piles. As it ate into the wall of sand and shells that was beneath our feet, it began to uncover more. The waves would drag the sand and shells out and then bring some of them back up again. But, if you saw one you wanted, you had to jump down and chase after it. If you took a few seconds too long, you would get caught in the water and get your leggs and ankles whacked with shells. I can testify that it could be painful because I got hit several times.
Most of what I picked up were whelks and paper figs. I was really tired and ready to leave before it got light out.

I know some of you are waiting for pictures. Today I had an appointment and have been trying to rest up a little. I'll get on the shell cleaning soon and get those pictures posted. In the meantime, here are a couple photos I took on the way off island today. We now have beautiful fluffy clouds to look at and calm water. The second photo was taken at the highest point on the causeway bridge that looks like the highway to heaven. What do you think of that view?





I was asked in a previous comment about going on the beach at night; if we used flashlights, and what else might be lurking on the beach besides shells. We were using flashlights; some people including Tink, use a head lamp. But, please don't use lights on the beach during turtle nesting season without putting a red lense over it. Also don't take pictures using flashes. Either of these types of light could discourage a sea turtle from nesting or cause her to abort a nest. As for how safe it is at night and what else might be on the beach; I can only give you my opinion. While I feel that all the beaches here are safe, and I have during vacation times while staying on the beach, walked at all hours alone. But, it is always much safer to have someone else with you, of course. At night there are a lot of birds and they sometimes can startle you. I also see many crabs that seem very surprised to see me. I personally haven't seen anything scary.