There are days in Northwest Washington that are so beautiful that it is breathtaking. Despite the region’s high rainfall, frequent fog and cloudy days, there are days when the clouds lift and the view is spectacular. Yesterday was on of those days - the second in a row after a bunch of rainy days. In the early afternoon, after having helped a couple of hours with our grandchildren’s homeschooling routine, we left the farm and turned east toward the Interstate and were greeted by a full view of Mount Baker in all of its snow-capped glory. Like other mountains, the distance to Mount Baker seems to change with the amount of moisture in the air. On a cold, clear day like yesterday it looks like it is right at the end of the street, despite being nearly 30 miles away.

On our way home we decided to explore one of the gems of the Washington State Park System. Larrabee State Park was the first state park established in Washington. Frequently when we tell others where we live those familiar with the area will tell us about Chuckanut Drive. We first drove Chuckanut with our son several years ago and it fully lived up to the things we had heard. Located on the seaward side of Chuckanut Mountain, south of Bellingham, the road is a 21-mile stretch of beautiful scenery, winding through tall Douglas fir, cedar and hemlock trees and gorgeous views of the Salish sea and the San Juan Islands. If you stop to hike, you will see many Pacific Mandrone trees that shed their bark. While they grow only up to 50 to 100 feet tall, substantially shorter than the surrounding trees, they are dramatic and exotic looking. The salal plants growing underneath, with their glossy leaves that remain year-round add to the beauty of the plants.

Not being familiar with the park, we were content to follow winding trails that mostly led to the beach where clamming and crabbing were once common activities. Although currently closed to shellfish harvesting, the beaches and views from the shoreline are well worth the short walks. The Burlington-Northern railroad runs right along the shoreline through the park, but despite an average of 16 trains per day, none passed during our visit. There is an underpass the allows pedestrians to access the beach without having to risk crossing the tracks.

Days of worrying about the disruptions in Washington D.C. and the struggles of discussing the news with our grandchildren combined with the sadness of the news of deaths in the attacks on the U.S. Capitol piled high on the season of death during which the United States continues to have much higher infection and death rates than most other countries of the world to set a mood of sadness. The clearing weather, beautiful vistas, and isolated and quiet walking trails offered a balm to our spirits.

Over and over during the span of our lives, when we have felt powerless in the face of the confusing events of the world, we have found solace in the beauty of nature. A walk through the forest, a paddle on a lake, and time to watch a sunset are gifts that remind us that there is still great beauty in God’s creation.

We are not alone in our need for time with God in nature. The Bible reports that Moses would go up on the mountain to pray and b gone for days. Jesus sought out a lonely place to pray. The stories of our people are filled with reports of spiritual leaders who took time to immerse themselves in nature in order to nurture their spirits. We can sometimes feel closer to our ancestors in faith with a walk in the woods than we can inside of a building.

In this place that is new to us, our eyes are continually struck by vistas and views that we have not before seen. We’ve never before lived so close to the ocean. Though we have been blessed with many visits, it is a new thing to be able to stop by the shore on our way to or from the farm. Having an ocean view as part of our daily life is a new experience. The stunning combination of lofty snow-capped mountains and the ocean is a feast for our senses that we are enjoying. Being allowed to live in such a beautiful place after the gift of a quarter of a century in the magnificent Black Hills of South Dakota is gift upon gift that have graced our lives.

Meanwhile, over in Japan, our daughter and her family are experiencing record snow and blizzard conditions. Though they also live near the ocean, they’ve been unable to visit it much this year with the base on lockdown due to Covid at times and yesterday they were staying at home as the base was closed due to snow. They’ve had 80 inches of snow already this winter. That’s right - nearly seven feet. With the blowing and drifting you can barely see the tops of the fence posts in their yard. Street crews are running out of places to put the snow they plow from the roads. They are seeing the power of nature in a completely different way than our experience of living in a place where little snow falls. Sharing a FaceTime call with our daughter is truly experiencing a different world than the place where we live.

In a world filled with worries and fear and grief, our hearts are filled with gratitude for the blessings of the situation in which we find ourselves. We pray that we will never take for granted the beauty that surrounds us and are doubly grateful that we have the health to walk and explore the place where we live. Part of our ability to enjoy that beauty is a gift of those who have gone before who decided to preserve places as parks so that everyone would have access to special places. To those visionary people and to those who work to preserve those special places, we owe a debt of gratitude.