Still Resounding.
We are driving through the Northern Cascades. There doesn’t seem to be room enough for the
clouds between mountain and sky, so they lie thick on the mountaintops like cotton in a pill
bottle. The rivers and streams swirl slate-green with glacial till, and the trees grow mossy and
tall. Granite giants gaze benignly down upon us as we wend past their furry green knees and
feet. I’m awed by this generosity of rock and sky, water and tree and flower. Cascades – of
color and space. Even the silver bones of trees seem to flow in graceful, hopeful, living lines
on the sides of the mountains; Ezekiel’s bones, waiting for the Creator to speak them alive again.
Last week we reluctantly detoured from the side of the Pacific to explore the Columbia River Gorge and see Mt. Hood. There were no whales, but the Columbia River Gorge was still a spectacular sight! We saw our first kite-boarders there – in a spot where the wind is consistently strong and steady. They hook themselves up to giant kites and “water ski” behind them at 25 miles an hour! Sometimes they are lifted right up out of the water like a bunch of Mary Poppinses.
Mount Hood looks best from a distance. Once you climb on board it’s just a pile of volcanic dirt with some snow up on top. Plus, it’s not close to the ocean. But we enjoyed knowing we were on the Oregon Trail, and Sean and Glen added some stones to the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Cairn. (Hmmm... should they have?)
We followed the Columbia through gorges and past numerous waterfalls until we came to Cape
Disappointment, the end of the Lewis and Clark trail. We had dinner there on the beach, nestled between two lighthouses. We weren’t disappointed at all, but apparently Lewis and Clark and Company were, because there was a shortage of fresh food and water at the time they arrived. We brought our own fresh food and water in the cooler.
The Olympic Peninsula welcomed us the next day with a series of rocky beaches strewn with driftwood and tide pools. If we hadn’t had a rain forest to explore, we could have spent the entire day on the beach!
Hoh National Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula was every shade of green. The water was a milky blue-green from the glaciers where it was born. (Hard to imagine glacial water running through a RAIN FOREST!) Air plants hung from the giant trees like green llama hair. Hidden like great yellow barrettes in the shaggy moss, we discovered Banana Slugs! These 6-inch creatures were really fascinating – not slimy slugs like our little gray ones back East. Banana Slugs travel on a trail of mucous, as any slug must, but I’ve known kids who do that, too, so I don’t fault them for it. Do look twice before you give any tree in the rain forest a hug!
Next morning in Port Angeles, WA, we rose with the sun to catch the ferry for Victoria, Canada.
Never having enough sea, the hour-long ferry ride was a gift! From the water the view of the mountains of Washington rising out of the thick layer of fog that hovered over the bay was striking. We were going out for a whale-watch from Victoria that day. We all were praying for whales!
Alyssa said that the Orcas came right up to the boat because God felt sad that she’d stubbed her toe badly the night before, and He was wanting to let her know that He loved her… The Orcas were so beautiful! Dolphins, really, not whales – they moved with speed and grace through the water. They didn’t idle by the boat like I wished they would, but were preoccupied with the business of lunch!
The Orcas travel in large pods (there were about 40 in this one), so we had a wonderful opportunity to view them. They did swim right alongside and even under our boat! We learned that the eldest member of that particular pod was a female, 90 years old! It’s a matriarchal society where each member stays with the community for life. Some of the family stopped upright in the water for the blink of an eye to check us out. My heart felt huge – full of Orcas! They were for me indelible black and white images of God’s largess.
After the whale watch we spent a few hours in Victoria enjoying the beauty of the flowers and totems and the Parliament Building. The day was crystal clear! But a wind sprang up in the afternoon that made our ferry ride back a little more exciting than it was in the morning. We were seated with some kind and sensitive people who diverted my attention with funny anecdotes. The ferry was heeled over like a sailboat in waves that were washing right up over the second deck! Growing up with a sailboat, Glen was in his element, and so were the kids! I love the sea… but if it’s going to be noisy, I prefer to enjoy it from shore!
It’s been my experience that God always does more than I could ask for or even imagine… The next day we explored Whidby Island – taking the scenic route round to our friends the Sanford’s, where we would spend the night. Off a side road we spotted a pair of Bald Eagles!
We stopped at Deception Pass (so named because those who explored the island thought it was a peninsula at first) to explore our last beach and say goodbye to the Pacific. Some people began to gather and point out to sea. Shining in the sun, a pod of Orcas flashed past our beach! Some of them jumped right out of the water! Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11
Joyce and Bea Sanford treated us with great kindness! I enjoyed chatting with Joyce about our shared enthusiasm for the Christian mystics, and she passed on some great new titles for me to check out. We arrived in time for her annual peach pie… What a treat! John and Zach were away on a father-son camping trip – we were sorry to have missed them, but took good care of their share of the pie! From the Sanford’s we drove into Seattle on Saturday. There were three things we wanted to do in Seattle – see Pike’s Market, drink Espresso, and visit the Space Needle. We did all three – and enjoyed all the sights and sounds of the city. There was a piano player at Pike’s Market who provided a backdrop of soothing music against the frenzy of the Market. We drank our espresso as we gazed on heaps of flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, and all varieties of people! What a jumble of color… Glen, Sean and Alyssa rode to the top of the Space Needle without me. I learned from my experience with the Great Arch that I prefer to enjoy architecture of that sort from below.
We enjoyed Seattle for much longer than we intended due to most of the roads leading out of the city being closed for an annual parade!
That brings us back to the Cascades… and the continual parade of beauty before us as we begin our homeward leg of the journey.
Now we’re off!
With love,
Beverly – for all of us
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