Back at Calvert Island

August 3rd (Sunday)
In the morning we got our domestic-water low-pressure pump plumbed in line for our water maker, and we were able to make water again. Yay!  Unfortunately it only worked for half an hour before it overheated and cut off, because it is not designed to run continuously. So, because we can only run it for half an hour or so, we made water again later in the day, and will need to make water more frequently, and try to stop the pump before it overheats. It is not ideal, but it works for the time being. 
Unfortunately we realized later, when we went to fresh-water-flush our system, that that is the one thing that we do use that domestic water pump for. I don't know how we failed to think of that, but we were just so focused on making the water maker system work again. Tomorrow we will have to figure out something so that we can flush our system with fresh water, as it is not good to leave it sitting between uses with salt water in it.
After we did some research on possible options for a new pump we put out our prawn traps, and then headed to the beach. 
Instead of heading south along West Beach towards 7th beach, we decided to head north and take the trail to North Beach. This is a part of the trail system that we did not explore last time we were here. The trail to North Beach was quite lovely. It climbed up a bit and then carried along skirting the side of a marshy lake filled with lily pads. 

There were King Fishers flying low and fast, so close to the water and then splash, and up they went. We imagined that they were getting bugs off of the surface of the water, maybe water striders, although this is never something we have seen them do before. There were some huckleberry bushes although the berries were much more tart than the ones on the island out from Stryker. There were also lots of Salal plants, and we found some of the first ripe berries of the year. We will have to keep our eyes out now as Salal berry season is almost here. 

North beach was quite a long beach, and we could only see the whole thing for a short period, as it was quite foggy. On the inside of the island, in the anchorage, the fog did clear for a bit in the afternoon, but out on the open water side it remained foggy to various degrees all day. 

Morning fog at our anchorage.

We took off our shoes and left them at the trailhead and had a nice walk along the shore. We walked along the firm sand down by the water one way, and then coming back we walked along the top of the beach. We picked up Abalone shells that we found that were not broken, and were amazed at how many we found. By half way along the beach we had a handful, and we left them on a log for on our way back. By the time we made it back to the log, we had found a total of twenty intact shells. 

The beauty of Abalone shells.

We picked through them and kept the three best ones. We will need to go through the ones we already have at the boat as well, and perhaps not keep them all. We couldn't believe how many we were finding. We found one poor guy who was washed up on shore, and the meat was still in it, and he was still alive. We took him out to some rocks and put him back in the water, but he probably won't survive. 

It was lovely to go for a walk on the big sandy beaches of Calvert Island and to scuff our feet through the squeaky sand once again.