Mike in the Wild

Tides are as familiar to experienced beach-goers as all the items they pack for a day at the shore: blanket, beach chair, beach umbrella, sunblock, ice chest.  The sea level's rising and falling play a critical role on exactly where we pitch this camp for our fun in the sun and surf.  Everyone of us has a story of the time an especially large wave washed over our encampment as the tide stealthily creeped higher up the shore, stealing a sneaker or a shirt on its return to the ocean. On rocky coastlines tides cover and reveal a world teaming with life that's especially adapted to these regular periods in and out of water.  Last weekend shortly after sunrise I investigated exposed tidal pools in La Jolla, California during the first low tide of the day.   Tides are the result of the gravitational effect of the moon and the sun along with the Earth's rotation on our seas.  They're mostly on a predictable schedule, ebbing and flowing twice a day, resulting i...