Just before reaching Tyee, we came upon a large slide in the area surrounding a plastic drainage pipe. It left a large muddy mass covering a large portion of an otherwise beautiful beach.

From 10:30 to 11:00 we listed many bulkheads and outfalls. Then we came upon a huge outfall coming through the side of a bulkhead. It measured 26" in diameter, with poly walls that were 1 3/4" thick. Never seen one that large. Made a great echo, and each of us took turns shouting or tapping on the sides. Couldn't see what it would have drained from, unless it was a county pipe from the street above.

At 11:05, we came upon a group of about 5 beach shanties that looked almost abandoned. This was followed by a long stretch of great "walking beach", consisting of sand and cobble.

11:30 we came upon many large "boulders" of conglomerate (Mixed rocks, clay, and glacial till) that broke off from above and were strewn about the beach. Many over 6' tall. Quite impressive.

11:45 we were going around the south end, and saw a number of people digging clams. Signs warned us that this was Tulalip Tribe property, and that there was NO clam digging and NO trespassing allowed. Counted over 60 people total, and John told us that if we were asked, his name was now Carter, not Custer. We halted a moment, then spotted a Tulalip police officer sitting with some folks, so we walked up to him and identified ourselves and told him what we were doing. Handed out a brochure to him, and to a couple of other people, and explained that the scientific data collected may one day provide information that could, among other things, improve fisheries. He was very friendly and wished us good luck. We asked him if this was a daily thing during the low tides, and he said no, that it was just an outing for the pre-schoolers. (There appeared to be more adults than kids, but everyone was clearly having a good time.) It appears that they all arrived on the beach via boat.

Noon - Took lunch break, and resumed at 12:25, at which time Don found that the battery on the GPS was inexplicably low. He conserved power after that. We encounted no other features to measure until about 1:40, when we came upon a bit of a stream. There was a large amount of slide material on the beach, with the stream puddling up behind a couple of logs.

At 2 pm we saw a small boat pulled up onto the beach in the middle of nowhere, and made a lot of noise (talking, crunching rocks under our feet as we walked) to alert whoever was there. Just a couple enjoying the beach; the woman showed us shells she had collected, and Don gave her some shells we found that had been partially "drilled", but not enough to pierce the shell. (We had found many of these.) We also handed them a brochure.

By 2:40 we came upon bulkheads again, and found ourselves at Tyee, where we found the car safe and waiting for us. A good day was had by all; check out the photos Don has posted on the Calendar.