The theme for the quotes used in this blog is adventure! These excursions for the South Carolina ETV
Endowment are truly a meaningful adventure for everyone involved.
“You humans have begun an
endless unfolding of an almost infinite panorama, a limitless expanding of
never-ending, ever-widening spheres of opportunity for exhilarating service,
matchless adventure, sublime uncertainty, and boundless attainment.” The
Urantia Book (1194.1) (108:6.8)
Our first stop after Mount Rainier was at the Nisqually NWR,
which is located on a protected estuary on the Nisqually River Delta. While walking around the pond we spotted a
female Wood Duck with young swimming on the pond. She was completely at ease in her safe
environment but she was a good ways away and I could not get a clear photograph
of the floating family. Further on there
was a bright flash of yellow that flew past my face; I could not get a good
look but it flew too fast to be a Goldfinch.
We were told there were warblers in the area; perhaps it was a yellow
warbler (Common Yellowthroat). At any
rate it was pleasant to walk through the reserve and listen to the many birds
singing merrily in the woods. We also
watched a swallow flying into her nest on the wall of the porch of the Visitors
Center feeding her young. Over the front
entryway to the Visitors Center there was a nest that appeared to be a basketball
sized wasp nest but upon closer examination it was populated by yellow jackets.
Hoh Rain Forest
The only rain we encountered during the entire tour was either
at night or while we were touring the Hoh rain forest. This rain forest is on the Pacific coast of
the Olympic Peninsula and home to trees covered with green moss and ferns
covering the ground. The coastline was
dramatic with a green windswept hillside rising beside the surf and the trees
nearest shore were swept back by the constant breeze. Outside of a couple of cute little banana slugs
we saw no wildlife here, but the atmosphere was humid and expectant with rain as
we walked amongst the otherworldly treescape.
Our next stop was a stroll along the beach where long stalks of
kelp had washed ashore. They had bulbs
that acted as floatation devices and long flat leaves. There were also interesting stones and
shells; one small stone I picked up was a composite having one end white and
the other grey that was shaped like a tooth.
According to our naturalist the stones had probably washed down from the
nearby Olympic Mountains.
Orca near San Juan Islands
Our next stay was at Port Angeles where we had a motel on the Strait
of Juan de Fuca. From there we drove to
Port Townsend where we took a daylong tour on the boat Glacier Spirit. On the tour we saw a Bald Eagle, two young
eagles, sea lions and other sea life in addition to the whales. There were also magnificent views of the San
Juan Islands, a beautiful excursion. The
Orca in this photograph is a male, they have higher fins; later we saw a female
(smaller fin) with a calf. The spotter
on the boat was able to identify the individual whales. There was constant chatter between the
various independent tour boats in the area, both from the US and from
Canada. That way the entire fleet was
aware of where the various whales were that day, the cooperation making it
easier to satisfy their passengers. At
one point we were in Canadian waters, someone on the tour neglected to turn his
phone off and received a call from South Carolina but it was billed as an
international call because of the location of the boat. Again the weather was ideal, somebody asked
the boat Captain how often they had weather that good on the tours and the
reply was about once a week, frequently there is wind and rain.
Starfish under Pier in Port Angeles
Back at Port Angeles the next day we went exploring the pier near
our motel before we left for the day. From
the end of the pier we watched a tour boat coming in and docking. There was an open area in the pier where
starfish and Sea Anemones were attached to the pilings. In this photograph four star fish, each a
different color, and large Sea Anemones are living on the piers. They all seemed to be healthy; in fact the
White Sea Anemones were larger than usual.
A nearby piling was covered by Anemones that were even larger than these. The diversity of the life created by our
Mother Spirit is stunning.
View from Picnic Table – Olympic Mountains
from Hurricane Ridge
Our final stop before Seattle was at Hurricane Ridge, which is
in the midst of the Olympic Mountains on Olympic Peninsula. The ridge got its name because hurricane
force winds have been clocked up here.
Even in mid June some of the trails were covered by snow and a couple of
deer were unconcernedly walking around feeding.
For the above photo I was actually sitting at the picnic table, which
can be seen in the foreground, and getting ready to eat my box lunch when I
took the photo. That was what I was
watching while eating, looking at God’s magnificent creation. People who arrived at the table later joked,
asking why everyone was sitting on one side of the table because the other side
looked at the Visitors Center, interesting but not a view like this.
Fish Market in Seattle’s Pikes Place Market
The last day of the tour we had free time to explore Pikes
Place Market in Seattle; fortunately I had breakfast before going there as I
expected there would be crowds of people and I was right. I had about an hour and a half to see the
sights in this market before the next event but as soon as I got off the bus I
called a local Urantia Book student
and we talked for nearly forty minutes about the revelation and how I might be
of service. There was not enough time
for us to meet but we did have a good conversation and I still had time to
explore the market. At this colorful fish
market the various employees are shouting back and forth; when somebody buys a
fish it is tossed to someone behind the counter for weighing and wrapping,
quite a show! There were many kinds of
goodies; one lady accosted me with chocolate covered cherries, which I could
not resist. There were stalls of
flowers, one had colorful little bunches of sweet pea blossoms for $5 each and
larger bunches of colorful flowers for only $15 each. One lady on the tour said she could decorate
her entire apartment in South Carolina at these prices for the cost on one
bunch in South Carolina.
Tillicum Village – Dancer with Mask
After the market we boarded a boat to take us to Blake
Island. Just as we were coming in to
shore there were two Raccoons rummaging along the shore oblivious to our
comings and goings. Our last stop was at
Tillicum Village on the island where Native Americans greeted us in traditional
dress offering cups of steamed clams in welcome. After this we went into a long house where
over one hundred people were served a dinner of Salmon and traditional dishes. After dinner there was a dramatic show
consisting of Native Americans in various costumes including elaborate colorful
wooden masks. These masks had moveable
beaks that could be slapped shut by the dancer adding sound and drama to the
dance. One of the dancers later told us
that the masks were used in a secret ritual by one of their clans and that they
had permission to use the masks but not the secret dances. The dances they performed for us were based
on other rituals.
“There is no adventure in the course of mortal existence more
enthralling than to enjoy the exhilaration of becoming the material life
partner with spiritual energy and divine truth….” The Urantia Book (1430.2)
(130:2.4)
All photographs used in blog postings were taken by
the Wandering Urantian, Doug Cable.
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