Just Another Day at the Beach

“There are no words that can tell of the hidden spirit of the wilderness.” –Theodore Roosevelt

This year is the 50^th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, passed by Congress in 1964 to acknowledge the benefit of preserving wild places in the face of the rapid development of our nation, and establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System.  It celebrates and protects the wild places that so many seek for solitude, peace, beauty, worship, self-reflection, and wandering.  Until recently, when I thought of the “wilderness,” I imagined places deep in the forest or atop steep mountain slopes – far away from the roar of highways and big cities.  But now, I have begun to appreciate the other areas of “wilderness” that offer opportunities for discovery in new and different ways.  It harbors safe sanctuaries for plants, animals, and for us.

Different than most of our wilderness experiences, we began yesterday morning by exploring the marine sanctuaries protected along the wild coastal areas of Olympic National Park.  Up at dawn (5am here), we made the short trip up to Beach 4 from the campground to walk amongst the rocks and tide pools in search of sea life that lives in the intertidal zone.  We arrived about an hour before low tide, allowing plenty of time to wander through without fear of encroaching water re-hiding the treasures we had come to find.  Just a few hundred yards up the coast, we encountered Starfish Point – a group of rocks sheltering marine life galore!  We pointed and gasped, picked and carefully stepped our way around each rock obstacle so as not to disturb the fragile habitat.  Purple and ochre sea stars, mussels, barnacles, anemones, periwinkles, and chitons… oh, my!  With each new creature we saw, I felt as if I was being allowed a window into a new world.  We had the entire beach to ourselves…making the experience that much more special.  Even before 6am, we could not wipe the smiles off of our faces.  To add to the magic, we also got to see a bald eagle defending her nest from ravens high up in the trees overlooking the beach.  With the cold mist beginning to sink in after almost two hours of exploring, we could not pull our eyes away from the majestic sight before us.  It was our morning gift.

Later in the day, we attended a Junior Ranger program on gray whales at the Kalaloch Lodge, where the kids completed their Junior Oceanographer program and earned a patch for their collection.  We also met a family from Perth, Australia who was out exploring the western U.S. for a year in an RV.  With a daughter about the same age as Abby and Isaac, we decided to meet up for a beach hike just a bit later.  We set out in search of a sea cave that was supposed to be covered with a massive tree just a couple of miles north.  While we didn’t end up finding the cave, we did have a fabulous walk together – talking and trading stories of our adventures and the places we both lived while the kids ran freely along the shoreline and scampered over rocks.  Sitting on rocks overlooking the ocean, we spotted an otter fishing for dinner and were treated to yet another wildlife encounter as we were mesmerized by his popping on and off the rocks to eat each catch.  Following us back to the campground were a couple of gray whales spouting just offshore – I guess it was dinner time for them as well.

It was a day of wilderness encounters unlike any others I have experienced… wandering in a world of wildlife that I rarely have the privilege to see up close – or just another day at the beach.