Bear River at Low Tide

The other day we went for a walk with Pat and Peter and their enthusiastic doggie, Reggie. Like so many others here, they have worked out lots of different walks in and around Bear River and they are happy to share their discoveries and insights with us.

As a city girl, I didn’t learn to really think outside the box in terms of exploring the natural environment. For one thing, most of the real estate in a city is private and the existing parks are fairly tame and well marked with well travelled paths.

Bear River doesn’t have any official, marked walking trails, which is a pity, because there are so many walks and ways that the collective consciousness seems to know about.

We had checked out the marsh flats on the Annapolis side of Bear River, but we hadn’t walked along the shoreline at low tide.

It was quite interesting because the sights were beautiful. The low tide exposed the seaweed and funnily enough, it didn’t really smell seaweedy. I suppose because it is usually underwater, or maybe because of the type of plant?

There is also a lot of shale, flipped sideways by mother nature during the iceage, I suppose. It has eroded and crumbled and surprisingly, walking on the small, broken pieces is extremely slippery, especially if your soles are at all wet…….this even with the designer walking boots that I bought at REI in LA!!

Pat showed me that the water currents create whirlpools that shape the fallen shale pieces.

It is so peaceful and beautiful on the flats, that it all feels quite ancient, like you’ve just stepped into a time machine and been transported back thousands of years.

Reggie, who is adored by his owners and their friends, had fun catching a frisbee and he always provides lots of enthusiasm and entertainment for all.

Ahh, another perfect afternoon in Bear River.