I had my car with me and so this time I drove out to the fort, parked there in the gravel lot along the beach, and walked out to the lighthouse. The trees look like bonsai because of the wind, but today was bright and only a bit breezy. I found a trail behind the campground that winds up onto the bluff (the tsunami evacuation route no less) and walked up through the woods admiring the view. There is one switchback in the trail that is marked with a bench and sure enough the vista from there includes the lighthouse and Mt. Baker rising up behind it white and shining. I want to learn the names of the other mountains going south. I know one of them is Glacier Peak, but I don't know its shape. There's an interpretive sign somewhere that names the whole range, but I wasn't near it today.
Earlier, looking out at the Strait of Juan de Fuca, two bald eagles flew right above me. I wonder if some day I'll be blasé about seeing them since it happens quite frequently, but for now they still take my breath away. Even the deer, who are sighted daily, give me pause. I am hungry for communion.
Sometimes I think I could spend my whole life walking, just pack it all up onto my back and go.