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Beach Time

By Merrill Ogden - | Oct 22, 2020

In the world, there are roughly 372,000 miles of coastline. That number is somewhat controversial as there are varying definitions and other factors for what is included in the number. For perspective, the circumference of the earth at the equator is 24,901 miles.

Of that coastline, about 115,320 miles are sandy beaches. Some of my research at earthobservatory.nasa.gov shows that many beaches are in trouble due to erosion and rising sea levels. Australia and Canada seem to be in line to be facing the worst problems first. But the USA isn’t far behind.

Oceanside, California in San Diego County has 3 miles of beach. I inspected most of it a couple of weeks ago. We had a family vacation for a few days at a beach house, literally fronting the ocean, in the middle of the beach shore line. We walked North to the Pier. We walked South nearly to Carlsbad. I’m thinking that I should submit a report to the NASA Earth Observatory of my findings.

So far, the sand seems to be holding steady. The wave action of the ocean continues to have significant power. It can roll and toss me like a matchstick in Milky Falls up Manti Canyon.

There was aquatic life and wild life to be seen. My granddaughter found a large living clam and put it in a toy beach bucket with water and sand. Our scientific observations concluded that he (or she) was in excellent health.

Clams and oysters don’t have a specific gender. According to reefsanctuary.com they change their gender regularly. They produce eggs and sperm at different times. Therefore, we assigned a gender-neutral name to the clam we studied: “Chowder.”

We were interested to see our new clammy friend extend a “foot” and dig into the wet sand and hang on as ripples of water came in. Soon Chowder disappeared under the sand. I was glad to see the decision made that allowed Chowder to return to the ocean. Hopefully Chowder will be happy as a… as a… well… happy as a clam and live a long and comfortable life with a large posterity. (I order clam chowder quite often when out at restaurants.)

Typing that word “posterity” reminded me of the word “posterior.” That reminded me of perhaps the largest category of “wild life” we observed at the beach. That would be the “Bare Bottomed Homo Sapiens.” In this observation area, it was almost exclusively the female of the species who were easily viewed in significant numbers. Both the wider and narrower variety were on display.

Over one-third of the world’s population lives within 60 miles of an ocean. That’s about 2.4 billion people. From Sanpete to Oceanside the distance is over 600 miles. Our moving time in the car coming home was close to nine hours.

On top of that, we spent a half hour in Peggy Sue’s Diner in Yermo, California (just this side of Victorville). The ’50s gift shop there alone is worth the stop. And, of course, there were a couple of fuel/potty stops. Having left early, we were back in Sanpete by 5 p.m.

It’s really not a bad ride to one of the world’s natural wonders for a beach vacation. My dad used to differentiate between a vacation and a trip. Usually, when asked if he enjoyed his vacation, he’d respond, “That wasn’t a vacation. That was a trip.”

The meaning was that trips are “go, go, go” and not a time free of stress, versus experiencing the goal of the purported no pressure relaxation of a vacation. My parents traveled quite a bit.

As dad got older though, his declining health changed his life. When people asked where he was going on his next trip, he would answer, “I’m afraid all my trips nowadays are to the bathroom.”

Sanpete’s “beaches” aren’t too popular right now. Temperatures have dropped and so have the water levels at Palisade State Park and Gunnison Reservoir. Palisade was great for a long time during the summer. The crowds on weekends looked kind of like mobs of people at Waikiki. (without the ocean and sand and palm trees)

I’ve had the opinion for a long time that Utah State Parks should truck some sand from the Little Sahara State Park to Palisade to make the beach experience immensely better. It seems like a no-brainer to me. But, there are many who think that’s what I am — a no-brainer.

Well dear reader, I hope there’s a visit to a beach coming up sometime before too long in your life. It’s grand and majestic. It’s good for the soul and getting perspective of our place on the planet. And, besides that, getting tumbled in the waves clears your sinuses. — Merrill

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