Seaside Nap

I came across this photo as I was browsing an old partition on my computer, and I don't think I've ever published it. Last Summer I took a day-hike on Dungeness Spit, near Sequium, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. This little guy was snoring a few feet above the surf, and I stopped at a distance to take a few pictures. As the tide came in, the water began to tickle his side. He would shift uncomfortably up the beach, keeping his eyes closed so as to postpone waking at all costs. After a few minutes of this, realizing that the water wasn't going to leave him alone, he opened his eyes and started calling out faintly. As I stood and watched, he began to shuffle up the beach toward me, stopping two feet in front of me! At that point I'd abandoned taking pictures and stood there simply awed by the experience of being so close to this beautiful creature. Later in the afternoon I watched from afar as he tried to swim out into the Strait, thwarted by the prevailing waves which washed him right back to where he started.