Paddlers riding the tides up or down the west coast of San Juan Island will pass the Lime Kiln State Park Lighthouse. Photo courtesy of Crystal Seas Kayaking Tours.

Sunset Sea Kayaking tours are run daily from Snug Harbor on San Juan Island. Photo courtesy of Crystal Seas Kayaking Tours.

A sea kayaking guide escorts his guests back into Snug Harbor Resort on San Juan Island. Photo courtesy of Crystal Seas Kayaking Tours.

Photo courtesy of Crystal Seas Kayaking Tours.

Kayaks were created by the Inuit, Yup'ik, and Aleut hunters in the subarctic regions of the world. Originally constructed of stitched animal skin stretched over a wooden frame. In treeless areas whale bone was used as a frame. Skin-on-frame kayaks are still in use today for hunting by the Inuit people in Greenland. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Kayak technology is thought to be over 4,000 years old. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Harbor seals are the most common marine mammal in Puget Sound. They share a common ancestor with dogs and bears and have upper and lower arms and legs concealed under their skin. Only their hands and feet extend outside the body envelope. Photo courtesy of Crystal Seas Kayaking Tours.

Did you know? Herons rake their special patches of powder down feathers with their feet to sprinkle the powder on caught fish. This causes the fish slime and oil to clump up so that it can be brushed away with their feet. Photo courtesy of Crystal Seas Kayaking Tours.