Is it low tide or high sand levels?

At a low tide and very low sand levels, this always-amazing road shows a new side: what could be described as its underside. All of a sudden, the small, once-paved road is taller, revealing that it's about ten feet off the sand, with a grouping of boulders huddled at its base - as if they had gathered in reverence to it.

However, as seen below, high sand levels can paradoxically create the same low tide-like event. Here, in 2012, sands were so high they kept the tide out much farther, making it look like the water had receded. You can see the marked, dramatic difference between sand levels between the shot below and the one above, which was taken in winter of 2005 or so.