Dungeness Spit

On my second day off last weekend, I set off for Sequim, which is about 30 some miles to the west of here. I think it is the town on the peninsula which receives the least rain and because of that there are many retirees from California who live there. Also there is something called the Dungeness Spit. Many of you have probably heard of the word dungeness after having watched The Deadliest Catch and know that it's a big yummy (or so i'm told) crab. A spit is a land form that is mostly sand and sediment that juts out from the mainland. The Dungeness Spit is the longest natural sand spit in the United States. You can get to it by boat, kayak, or by foot. People that work at the lighthouse get to ride on some kind of all terrain vehicle. There is a marsh on the side that faces the inland however it is often closed off to the public because of nesting birds. You can walk as much of it as you'd like but I decided to do the whole darn thing which is 5.5 miles one way, which meant 11 miles. I set out pretty early and it was an overcast day but it only took me an hour and 50min to do the first half and at the end is a lighthouse that i was able to tour and have my picture taken at. The lightkeepers were really nice and it was funny how patches of green green grass surrounded the light and the keepers house in a world full of sand. The spit is growing around 15feet/year and so now the end of the spit is around 200 yards past the lighthouse instead of right next to it. It's not really needed anymore because of gps and what not but a organization keeps it staffed throughout the year. I was one of only less than 10 who was there and a handful of them had kayaked. When I did my walk I saw only a few people and unfortunately, not too much wildlife. I thought I may be able to see orca from the beach since I knew someone who had walked it and had this lucky experience...but no shabang. Next time. The photo of me at the lighthouse shows the spit that i just hiked down and the closeup photo is of a dead decayed chiton which is a marine mollusc that has plates like a shell almost to protect it but the body is soft. We have live ones in them marine science center. I took two videos too, one was on the way there and one on the way back...nothing too exhilarating :)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOXnKu7dAg8 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElFkzc_hll4