Walking on Whidbey

[qos]

Yesterday was A Good Day -- and certainly less painful than Friday.

I got up, made the posts I'd been planning to and a few I hadn't, sent a rose to uncrowned_king's LJ and left a comment on the last entry (I can't visit his body's resting place), and then set off for the island.

I'd chosen to go to Fort Casey, one of the old miltary installations on the island designed for coastal defense during WWII. We used to visit there when I was a child and my family vacationed on the island, but I haven't been back for years. Unfortunately, although the guides indicated there were trails, there weren't many of them and none of them were very long. Still, I had a good time just wandering around the battery itself, over the coastline, past the lighthouse, and down five or six short trails.

It felt very strange to be there by myself. I've always had a tendency to solitude, but I haven't done many outdoor trips by myself. It was a beautiful day, and there were people all around: family groups, groups of friends, partners, a soccer team. . . People who didn't have another human companion had a dog with them. The only other person I saw alone was an energetic white haired woman in a pink and black track suit doing what was obviously a regular walk. I felt unusually. . . not "conspicuous" but perhaps set apart?

Still, I had a lovely time, and the point was that I was there with Lohain's spirit. I went down some side trails and found a lovely hillside that overlooked the beach, and just sat there for a while in the sun with the scent of the water.

I saw two deer grazing in high grass very near the path, a snake lying across a path I was considering (which didn't move when I got close, so I decided to leave her alone and take a different route), and a little brown rabbit. When I drove out of the park, I saw another deer, and then a coyote that broke from cover, loped across the road, and disappeared again -- a very rare sight for me.

Then I went to the Earth Sanctuary. I hadn't planned to go, but it's become a touchstone place for me. I went into the labyrinth for the first time in ages -- not because I thought it would bring Lohain closer, but because the center of a labyrinth is always magical space. Then I took a trail down to a stone circle. Finally I took a side path to a medicine wheel, which was fenced off with specific instructions about how to approach it, including being barefoot, washing your feet, smuding, bringing in tobacco, and how to pray there. I didn't go in, but just looking at it was a prayerful experience. It was much more impressive and spiritually charged than either the circle or the dolman.

It was raining lightly off and on the entire time I was at the Sanctuary, but most of the time I was under a thick cover of trees, so it didn't matter. I was all alone on the land, except for the birds and a squirrel (who scolded me loudly), and it was simply lovely.

There's a group called "Whidbey Walks" that's meets once or twice a month to walk together, and I'm thinking of joining up. I love being out there, and I'd like to make some new friends and get to know the island better. Besides, I keep thinking that one day I'd like to live out there, and it would be nice to find out more about what that's actually like.

Comments

[tamnonlinear.livejournal.com]

I want to let you know I've been reading all of this, and thinking of you, even if I haven't had anything wise to say in this. As always, I wish you hope and comfort and peace.

[qos.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It means a lot to me.