Beach find of Red and Yellow Glass, Three Marbles, and More
by David and Lin
(Odyssey Sea Glass, Bow, WA)
- Lin and I found this catch between Moran Beach and West Beach on Whidbey Island, WA, last Tuesday.
Lin found the best pieces, including the very tumbled green marble, the bright yellow piece, and the large perfectly tumbled red piece of beach glass.
We also found some perfect more common colors as well as some nice beach shards and agates.
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Here's a comment and our reply (see original below):
Jul 07, 2009
you SCORED!
by: Wendy
Wow! That is an amazing collection for one day...just curious...do you specifically go beach combing at low tide? First thing in the morning? Whenever the urge strikes you?
I love that red piece...
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Hi Wendy,
Thanks for the comment. The interesting thing is that this beach is a middle-of-the-road beach like you would find many places. We don't find great pieces every time. A red like that is totally unexpected. We have been looking and hoping for a yellow for a long time, and, WOW, Lin found one. But 99.9% of what we find are the normal colors.
BUT, it just goes to show you what's out there on just a "normal" family-type beach. You never know!
West Beach/Moran beach where we found these pieces on is the second-closest beach to where we live, 40 minutes away. From the parking lot at West Beach, Deception Pass State Park, you can walk south about 2-1/2 miles past Moran Beach before you get to an Air Force base. Or you can park at Moran Beach. So there is a lot of beach to cover.
We have found on this beach that there is just as much glass anywhere from between the high tide line to the low tide line.
The limiting factor with high tide is that there is a smaller width of beach to search. In the case of this beach, though, it is so long that we never could cover all of it anyway.
The very low tide line is not nearly as good as the mid part, as there are more hours of wave action higher up the beach plus the waves seem to keep the small rocks and sand piled higher up on the beach.
We like to go best when the tide is dropping. That way, the rocks, sand, and sea glass haven't dried out completely and it is prettier to look at.
We do look at the tide chart online before we go, but it really doesn't stop us. We go when we have some time and need to get out of the house...about a couple of times a week.
So, on the beaches in this area, beach glass hunting is good anytime except during the highest tides.
Where a higher tide definitely inhibits finding sea glass is when the beach is narrow, especially if it is backed by bluffs or cliffs. Add good sized waves to the picture and you have a beach that is impossible at high tide as well as dangerous.
On a beach like that, the lower the tide, the better! In fact, one should always check locally before hiking a beach that is backed by cliffs or bluffs because things can change quickly when the tide comes in, perhaps cutting a person's retreat off.
HERE'S THE MAIN POINT:
The real factor to a good beach glass day, really, is not what time you go or what you find...it's being able to enjoy being out there. The unexpected treasures are just the icing on the cake!
David
