20 May - Tofino

 It rained again today so we spent some time in the "business centre" of our camp -- very nice though still feeling the cold in this inside space. Mary Lou had to work for a good part of the morning and I went back to the beach to see the waves and the surfers....and whomever else found their way in front of my lens.

We decided we needed to revisit the Tofino Mudflats. We learned about them because we were looking for where to see birds in Tofino. We learned that it "...has been ranked as the most important wetland complex on the west coast of Vancouver Island and one of the top ten most critical wetlands for migratory waterfowl on the west coast of Canada." What we found is that the waterfowl were not there in abundance, though there were a few birds which were certainly entertaining for a certain photographer! 

We learned that this is an area of saturated with life including making up "...10 to 15% of the total commercial Dungeness Crab landings in BC, and it is estimated that one half of these are dependent on the mudflats." The tide was coming in so we stood just in front of the rising waters on the stones and shells, looking into the water. Wow! The life we saw was incredible!

We wrapped up the day spending time along the active shoreline of Tofino...set against the setting sun!

We found a place in a park called "Anchor Park," that is not only home to a beautiful view, but also a recently carved Totem Pole by Joe David, a "Tla-o-qui-aht artist and master carver. Joe David gifted the totem pole to Anchor Park where it was raised on September 7, 2018 as a gesture of relationship moving forward with the village of Tofino. Joe David was born and raised here in Clayoquot Sound." Clayoquot is the name of the area as well as representative of the chiefs in the Tla-o-qui-aht culture.

"The totem pole or č̓iinuł is carved in a style that is specific to the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation. At the top of the pole, a Thunderbird perches above a humpback whale. Both elements represent hereditary chiefs or Ha’wiih." Mary Lou listened to an interview with the artist where he added that the child at the bottom represents the current generation. The model for the child was Joe David's grandchild.