One hundred years ago this coming Saturday, a child was born who would become a beautiful, loving and giving human – my mother. Deception Pass State Park had been born just a year earlier, though as we all know, the land and its life have been here since time immemorial. Individual trees, flowers, critters, and others have come and gone, some here for just a few days, some a few centuries. Each leaves their legacy, their lives a foundation for the future. “We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends, and living our lives.” -- Maya Angelou I chose to spend some morning hours at the Dunes Trail. This hike is oh so familiar to me, yet it is different each day, each hour. This is also a fragile area, where one off-trail footstep can disrupt dozens of lives. Today was as new as the dawn of eternity. The air was still, the lake still, the sea still. The islands around me stood quiet in their green fir coats. The distant Olympics poked their peaks above rolling clouds. It didn’t take long for my heart to join into that stillness, as I absorbed their peace, their acceptance every day of the life they have been given. The parking lot was nearly empty. A man sat alone in his car, taking in the view out over the straits to the San Juans, the Olympics, and even Japan were it not for the curve in the earth. Walking toward the dunes on the west trail, I found a couple familiar faces heading my way. We hadn’t seen each other since I retired, and we greeted with the comfort of old friends. They said they missed me, as I did them; here they were, still walking the trails nearly every day just like they have for decades. I then met up with an even older friend, one about 800 years old or so, give or take a century. This tree must have danced in delight as it grew; it never fails to make me smile and lighten my step as I look at its waving arms. Flowers bloomed nearby, rooted in grains of sand, soil as ephemeral as the next windstorm. Their beauty held nothing back, explosions of color displayed in their short-lived joy. At the south end of the trail, a boardwalk leads to the beach, which I had to take, of course. The only sounds were the surf and the seagulls, a seductive symphony that never grows old. I turned inland, walking among the forested groves, the waves quieter here, songbirds taking the lead. Salal and roses were in full bloom, light green growth on the yews and firs brightening the woods. Back at the lake, sunlight glowed through billows of clouds. “To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, … every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson The beach called again so I wandered north to the tidepools at West Point. Life is fragile here too, delicately balanced between the tides. Looking back through the parking lot, I saw once again the scene of so many of my work-life memories, and childhood memories as well. Looking back in time, it was my father who gave me my work and service ethic, and my mother who gave me my love ethic. She passed too soon from this life at the age of 68, leaving a hole in my adult life and the lives of her grandchildren and others. But she also left the legacy of her love, a blooming flower that never fades. “We are fragile creatures, and it is from this weakness, not despite it, that we discover the possibility of true joy.” -- Desmond Tutu Directions: From Highway 20 one mile south of the Deception Pass bridge, turn west into Deception Pass State Park. Follow signs to West Beach. Walk south. Or north.
by Bus: Take bus 411W from Oak Harbor or March's Point to the park entrance one mile south of the Deception Pass bridge. By Bike: Highway 20 in this area is hilly, very busy much of the day, and with narrow shoulders throughout much of route. Mobility: The Dunes Trail is paved and flat.
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Maribeth Crandell has been a hiking guide in the Pacific NW for over 20 years. She's lived on Whidbey and Fidalgo Island for decades. As a frequent bus rider she easily makes connections between trails and transit. Archives by date
May 2024
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