Walk on the wild side!

Ok, I know I already had a post today but I had to write about my hike yesterday. Two of my neighbors stopped by to take us on a hike to the top of the island where we have our weekend house. This is a little 25 sq. mile island in the San Juans north of Seattle. If anyone has ever been to the San Juans, they usually don't even know about this island. You do need to take a ferry to get there but it's a very small, 20 car ferry as opposed to the huge state ferries that hold a couple of hundred cars. This island doesn't have any well known harbor, like Friday Harbor, or mount or resort, like Rosario Resort. It's a still a great island all the same and we love it for its charm, sense of community, and peacefulness. This is one of those sleepy places. There is only one store on the island, Anderson's General Store. As the history goes, many of the people of the island were opposed to any store whatsoever. To this day, many of them refuse to shop there and add to the commercialization of the island. Anyway, I digress.

So our friends take us on a hike to the top of the highest peak on the island. It's the spot that was scoped for the cell towers, so it must be good right? Not a difficult hike by any means - clear paths, open spaces, and minor inclines. Once you reach the summit, you have a panoramic view for miles out into the Puget Sound to the Olympic Mountains plus the Cascade Mountains and to Mount Baker. What an absolutely spectacular view! We discussed a few activities we could try sometime such as yoga, lunch, camping overnight. This spot offers such peace and tranquility. Perfect spot to sit and contemplate. Plus a place to be thankful for all the I have been blessed with.

It never ceases to amaze me that I live in this part of the world where I can experience mountains and water at a glance, as long as I take the time to get there. Plus, the fact that I can experience this little bit of heaven on earth that still remains unharmed, for the most part (remember the cell towers) and still non-commercialized (remember the General Store).

As for the sore back and legs, that's another post altogether.