Snowy April Days at the Beach

Weekend of April 18, 2008



I took the camper down to Deception Pass, had a beautiful campsite overlooking the water and a few islands, the closest being the southern tip of Lopez Island. The weather was lovely: high winds, 30 degrees on Friday. Calm with hard rainstorms Friday night. Snow for about 3 hours on Saturday morn, then on/off rainshowers. Sun breaks. Hard rain Saturday night. Lovely calm weak sunshine today, temps maybe up to 40. It was so clear I could see the snow on the islands across the strait.



I did get plenty of beach time, walked a lot of miles in many different manners ~ some brisk walks along the path, others exploratory through some trails and bluffs, still others strolling on the beach at the tideline. On Saturday morn, I walked on the beach in a snowstorm for about an hour. I was the onliest one there.


On Friday afternoon, I experienced the problem I thought I had solved in my camper ~ the house battery drained gradually, and went dead. This means the furnace won't ignite, cuz the fan doesn't get power. I had to go into the cab and start up the truck every couple of hours to recharge the house battery in order to get heat from the furnace. What gave me gratitude though, was viewing out my window, seeing the family camping in a tent nearby; I was constantly grateful for my running water, indoor toilet, gas stove, table, couch, a comfy bed, my dry camper, and the fact that I had brought my longjohns and warmest winter clothing, coats, gloves, hat and all.


The really best news of it all was that my wool blankets kept me totally warm at night in bed, very cozy and comfortable. And, the earplugs kept it silent when the rain was pounding the camper roof just 6 inches above my head. And the even better news was that when I fell over the drift logs Saturday afternoon, I landed in soft sand.


Doesn't this sound like fun???? Well it really really was. I got to feed the birds, they really appreciated it, those towhees just outside my window. There were hummingbirds and bumblebees at the salmon-berry flowers too. I saw a log of red-breasted mergansers, they are so beautiful, and of course, eagles, crows, gulls, herons, red-winged blackbirds, finches, wrens. i sat and stared at the amazing changes in the seascape, from my "dining room" window. I sat on drift logs just gazing.


The differences in the visuals of water and air were amazing, constant change. Ocean-like breakers on the first day in the windstorm, and a deep green sea; at other times calm and still, or just piddly little waves at the shore. Tides changing at Deception Pass are, well, a sea-change, as they say, so obvious, chaotic, just so powerful and magnificent.