Summer Spit

Summer evenings on the ocean are even better when they happen in the spring. Rachelle and I went back to Iona Spit a few days ago. This time it was in much nicer weather than the last time which was pretty severe.

Its an nice blend of working river, west coast beach, and wildlife sanctuary all wrapped up in one long sandbar. Tugboats shuttle log booms and chip barges up and down the Fraser. The windows are open and between the breezes you can pick up the crackley voices on the tug's VHF radio.

Glacial till make up the expansive low tide mudflats and a fine grey sand lines the spit. I walked the 3 or 4 km out to the end in my bare feet. Half in the ocean and half in the warm sand.

Sandpipers, eagles, herons, and countless gulls chirp, squawk, or just observe as we walk by. An airplane takes off from the runway, then silence returns. We talk about cycling, building a house on Hornby, our upcoming kayak trip, and nothing at all.

The sun is a strip of red on the horizon when we rinse off our feet and get into the car.