Thank you to Gomphus for sponsoring the cache
Ochre Sea Star - An Island Spirit Legacy.
The Pacific Marine Route is a driving tour that will take you from Duncan west to Lake Cowichan where you follow a seal coated logging road out to the west coast. Passing beautiful rivers and streams and lakes you will wind your way to Port Renfrew, a small village on the ocean. With an access point to both the West Coast Trail and Juan deFuca Marine Trail plus Botanical Beach, the population of Port Renfrew swells considerably in the summer. You can continue south east along the coastal highway making your way into Sooke, then Langford and back to the Trans Canada Highway just north of Victoria. Keep in mind logging trucks are active on this road, keep your headlights on and eyes off the gps when driving.
Ochre Sea Star
The Ochre Sea Star is the most common sea star or starfish that populates the pacific northwest. Most commonly purple, you can also find them in pink, browns and cream colours. They have a rough surface that is actually made up of little teeth to keep it free from parasites. During summer they stick to the intertidal zones where they can find their main sources of food, muscles, barnicles, limpits and other crustations. They use their tube feet on their underside to pry shells open or limpits off rocks. The Ochre Sea Star then expells it's stomach so it can digest it's prey. In winter they move into deeper waters for a period of dormancy. Ochre Sea Star matures when it's 5 years old, releasing 40 million eggs every spring, living up to 40 years.