Midwinter Picnic

A young family soaks up some January sun at Teddy Bear Cove.

Skywatch Friday: Teddy Bear Cove

Teddy Bear Cove

I discovered a new beach near town when a friend and I hiked down to get some sunset photos. Instead of sand, the beach is covered with crushed white shells giving it a rather Hawaiian feel. Once [notorious/popular] as a clothing optional beach, Teddy Bear cove was [cleaned up/ruined] by the long arm of the law several years back and is now a popular family destination.

Chuckanut Sandstone

The only area where the Cascade mountain range meets the sea are the Chuckanut Mountains. The mountains that comprise these are a geologist's dream, with everything from the sandstone pictured here to shale, conglomerate, phyllite, and stilpnomelane chunks unusual for their size. Probably the most interesting geologic items in the Chuckanut area are the number of leaf fossils from the Tertiary Period. Just take a drive down Chuckanut Road and look out your window; if you look carefully, you will see fossils of large, tropical fern-like leaves from a time when the Pacific Northwest was much warmer than it is today.

Someday I will get pictures of those. But for today, I present a picture of chuckanut sandstone-- a familiar sight to anyone who frequents Larrabee, Clayton Beach, or Teddy Bear Cove, where this was taken. Even though I've grown up around this rock, it never fails to delight me with its patterns of holes and waves. Through exposure to wind, rain, and salt water, the sandstone is carved into intricate designs. Like with clouds, it's easy to find pictures within the abstract designs.