As I lie in the sun on a giant log washed ashore during one of the many winter storms that regularly rearrange the beaches here, watching puffy white clouds moving ever so slowly in the sky,
( just after katrina destroyed the southern shoreline, and a year after the Great Tsunami) I felt very much like maybe these laid back clouds were fooling me. Maybe they are on a seek and destroy mission, lazily making their way under false pretenses to connect with other pure white puffy clouds, turn dark, ominous, and go on a campagne of terrorizing lands and people. { Click on photos, scroll down to see the real impact of this beach right before your eyes.} Rialto is on the Pacific Ocean, and there is a major fault line 31 miles offshore. A Tsunami caused by an earthquake there would reach the shoreline in 9.5 minutes.

No way out!

[Artwork of recent campers...]
Under the incredibly starry night, I didn't sleep as well as I had there before. I took my bag from the tent after one night, and went to the beach, built a fire and slept there.
Just after sunset every night, the big dipper made a huge showing, Stars so big it seemed you could reach out and touch them.






Every time I awakened, a new constellation was right over head, It was amazing, like a slideshow! I saw; Orion, Pisces, Capricorn, Taurus, and a few others I sleepily forgot.

I imagined what I would do if a Tsunami came, (hang to one of the giant logs for dear life), together, after praying, the log and I would ride to safety. Everyone should have some kind of plan. (I think )
This log I am on is a baby log! (I would ride a large log! See large logs here, and other Rialto photos.. Log & me last year


Five lazy days spent eating gruel (delicious steel cut oats with blackberry honey) cooked on a small backpack stove, making stews, snacking and watching pelicans and cormorants, seals and other creatures hunt for food, people watching, and playing in the sand, mesmerized by stars at night, and to top it off, northern lights.
All these conspired to tempt me to be at a place that is just counting the hours before a Tsunami will hit. One coming from Japan would have a longer warning, but who would warn us? Hiking and climbing over logs washed silver in the moonlight of a dark night wearing headlamps, and carrrying a huge pack on takes hours, about 3 and a half to be precise. ( I have done this at night, I would never be able to do it if I could see the possible near misses) even when the tide is out, walking on stones a foot deep takes forever…OOH what a treacherous vacation!
But I lived through it, and am here to tell it. Another adventure under the belt! All is well that ends well!

...and last of all...