Paradise In The Skagit Valley!
- nwriversphotograph
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
When I think of my own idea of paradise – beauty, happiness, perfection, and… when the light is just right, a sense of often unending and earth-shattering mental and spiritual euphoria -- my mind first takes me on earlier photography trips up above five-thousand feet, to the wildflower meadows of Paradise on the southern flank of Mt. Rainier National Park. Or visits to Montana’s Paradise Valley nestled beside the Yellowstone River. Or, going back further, to the Paradise put in on Idaho’s Selway River (my first western, wilderness, multi-day and self-contained river trip some forty [shudder!] years ago).
Others have obviously thought the same, as Bellingham has a ‘Local Paradise’ coffee blend, there are multiple ‘Paradise’ mountain ranges located from California to New Jersey, and some forty-four places in the world named Paradise, with twenty-seven of those here in the U.S.
But lately I haven’t been able to get away on long road trips and so I have needed to find paradise closer to home. Normally, for me, that inability to get away would have me climbing the walls, but I’ve been able to learn some lessons from good friends. One of these, Greg, has been in the same situation, and so he has gone local and small! Finding beauty in his own backyard and getting into macrophotography. His work is incredible, and is a great inspiration. To see his photography, go here!
During the Pacific Northwest winters, I may need to dig deep to find the right conditions to improve my mood and energy and to reset my internal clock (circadian rhythms). Some days, when the cold and dark are especially acute, I may lock myself at home in research mode and sit back and enjoy beautiful and ‘must-visit’ natural areas on the internet, or just lose myself in pleasant memories on my own website. But on those not-too-rare days when there is even a chance of sun and light, I am up and out early seeking local perfection and euphoria – a short time back in paradise!
Last week, there was one such morning that held great promise, and long before sunup I was headed south to the Skagit Valley, just a short forty-five-mile drive south of Bellingham. Skagit means a “place of refuge” in the native dxʷləšúcid (Lushootseed) language. Along with snow geese, bald eagles, and short-eared owls, I find the Skagit River and Delta almost always offers outstanding beauty, wildlife, and, standing in the approaching light -- an internal sense of peace and well-being.
The Skagit intertidal area has just so many absolutely wonderful places for photography. With the Cascade Mountains to your east, the (on a bright day) Olympic Mountains to your west, and nestled among the Skagit, Stillaguamish and Samish Rivers, there are birds, beauty, and sunlight everywhere. Agricultural lands mixed with native habitats, fog and sun, dogs and cats living together (sorry, a Ghostbusters quote), it is truly a Paradise close to home.
On that morning last week, I drove through the dark in heavy fog, but I kept going knowing that early morning murkiness in the Skagit means (most often) imminent spectacular light, contrast, and ethereal beauty. I just don’t always know how long I will need to wait for that special photographic moment? But as I pause, camera in hand, among the glowing sunbeams, dissipating wisps of fog, and the growing light reflecting off the estuary with its many rivers, marshes and irrigation ditches, I can feel that specialness creeping upon me, along with that sense of beauty and perfection – that sense of euphoria that is always just too rare and far too fleeting.
These photos bear witness to that one, recent, very special day in the Skagit!
Comments