Today was another rainy day in the San Juans, but thanks to our longboat excursion, this rain paled in comparison to the weather we experienced on the water. It was an earlier start than normal today, and this was mainly because of the low tide we wanted to catch at 11:00 am. We traveled about 20 minutes (a long drive by San Juan standards) to the western side of the island, where we arrived at Lime Kiln Point State Park.

We split our group of 18 into 5 smaller groups, where we were each assigned a scientific task involving the intertidal zone. One group was in charge of mapping the state park using an amazing 360 degree camera. We set it up at different points around the park in order to get as complete an image as possible. Another group was in charge of finding a deep tidepool where we could place a GoPro in to capture common tidepool life. Even without the underwater camera, it was easy to see the incredible amount of life living in the tidepools, from fish to plant life to crabs and sea stars.

The other groups were tasked with activities such as barnacle counts and 3D modeling of ocean life. Although the barnacle count was the least favorite activity, it was no less important than the others- all will give us important data that we will analyze and discuss further. We got back to the house at around 2 o’clock today, and it was a nice surprise to find that we had the day off until dinner started. Almost everyone gathered on the couch to watch a Zac Efron movie. Not a personal favorite of mine, but it was nice to spend a relaxing afternoon with everyone after a chilly and wet day on San Juan island.