Where the Tide Comes Home

There is something special about Humboldt Bay that is hard to explain until you spend a little time walking through it. Breezy and I started out on the Shorebird Loop expecting a nice nature walk. What we found was wildlife, history, old ranch land, wetlands, fog rolling across the hills, and a place that is slowly being given back to nature. Years ago, much of this area was changed for farming. Dikes were built, channels were moved, and wetlands were cut off from the natural tides. You can still see pieces of that history along the trail, including the old McBride Ranch and rusted dredging equipment left behind from another time. Today, the story is changing. Crews are working to restore parts of these wetlands, opening water channels and allowing the tides to move more naturally again. Places like Long Pond are becoming better habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife. And the wildlife was everywhere. We watched egrets working the shallow water, little shorebirds feeding nearby, and Northern Harriers gliding low over the marsh looking for their next meal. One even hovered almost perfectly in place while hunting below. Along the trail, Breezy was busy taking pictures of the wildflowers, the rusty-red wetland plants, the birds and just about anything else that caught her eye. The more we walked, the more this place seemed to tell its own story. A place changed by people. A place being repaired by people. And a place where nature is slowly finding its way home again. That is what inspired the song in this video, “Where the Tide Comes Home.” Turn up the volume, come walk Humboldt Bay with us, and see why this beautiful little corner of Northern California left such an impression on us. And stay tuned. There is always another trail, another story and another adventure waiting somewhere down the road.