A True Washingtonian Knows A Geoduck When He Sees One

Saw that which you see here, on Facebook, this morning. With text saying, "You know you're a true Washingtonian if you can pronounce 'geoduck' properly."

Well. I am a true former Washingtonian and I know how to pronounce the name of this giant clam.

Gooey Duck.

In my old home zone of the Skagit Valley there is a location called Samish Island, which has not been an actual island since early in the previous century, due to Dutch dike builders blocking off the saltwater, so as to create more farmland.

Samish Island is a clam diggers paradise. 

On an extremely low tide, a sandbar appears. You have to wade through semi-deep water to reach this sandbar. And, once you do you, are at a location known for growing a lot of geoducks.

When you start digging for a clam, after spotting the telltale sign in the sand, you don't know if it is gonna be a horse clam or hit the jackpot with it being a giant geoduck.

Horse clams greatly outnumber the geoduck population.

I can not remember when last I had homemade clam chowder made from freshly dug clams...

Seeing Grandpa Jake's Giant Geoduck Before Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade

I woke up my phone this morning to find that which you see here.

Spencer Jack and Hank Frank's Grandpa Jake holding a giant clam whilst standing on gravel with Hood Canal in the background.

This type giant clam is found in the salt water zones of the Pacific Northwest.

This giant clam is known as a Geoduck.

A paragraph from the Wikipedia Geoduck article gives a good indication of how unique this giant clam is...

The geoduck is native to the coastal waters of western Canada and the northwest United States. The shell of the clam ranges from 6 inches to over 8 inches in length, but the extremely long siphons make the clam itself much longer than this: the "neck" or siphons alone can be 3.3 feet in length. The geoduck is the largest burrowing clam in the world. It is also one of the longest-living animals of any type, with a lifespan of up to 140 years; the oldest has been recorded at 168 years old.

I did not know Geoducks were available for digging in the Hood Canal tidal flats. Those tidal flats are of a different sort than the tidal flats where I have seen Geoducks living, such as a sand bar, the name of which I no longer remember, which appears off Samish Island only during extremely low tides.

Yesterday Grandpa Jake confirmed via a text message that he is still up north enjoying the relatively cool Pacific Northwest. I thought he might be back south, enjoying the relatively hot Arizona.

I had no idea Geoducks, or any clam, had such a long life expectancy. I wonder how old this victim of Grandpa Jake's shovel was before it was murdered.

Changing the subject from giant clams to the 4th of July.

I will be heading north in a few minutes to downtown Wichita Falls in order to watch the 2019 version of this town's Independence Day Parade. This will be my 4th time viewing this town's 4th parade.

Clearly this indicates this town's 4th of July Parade is entertaining...

UPDATE: Back from the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade with an update from Grandpa Jake regarding the estimated age of the Geoduck who lost its independence on Independence Day, with the update including photo documentation, along with explanatory text...

"Each ring or line equals one year of life. I need a magnifying glass to count accurately. My guess with my glasses on is around 35 to 40 years old."