Even though the islands are neighbours with only a short distance of water between them, we had to take the Queen of Cumberland ferry, leaving at 7:20 am, from Mayne Island to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island and then transfer to the Mayne Queen arriving at Saturna Island by 10:30 am. But what an arrival!
Mist was rolling on the water as we approached with clear blue skies above.
Each with a small backpack we planned to spend the first day strolling the 1 km down into Narvaez Bay. My backpack carried my camera and two lens. The new lens is huge and weighs as much as a medium size puppy. Thus, it required a change from a shoulder camera case to a full-on backpack. David had water bottles, lunch and small first-aide kit. We intended to spend time at the smaller bays of Echo and Little Bay then finish up with a hike up to Monarch Head in the late afternoon.Missionaccomplished. It was absolutely splendid! During this whole time we met two cyclists and one hiker with his dog Molly on our way out. Following are a few images so you can join us in one of our favourite magical places.
Though this path takes us to Echo Bay we opted to go out to the point.
From here I wandered over to the side and looked at the cliff side and took this image which will be familiar to some of you from a previous trip.
However, each visit is a little different and with the cliff in the shade I was surprised that this image came out so well.
Through the trees on the other side of the point I spied my favourite mountain.
I did take a photo of it all by itself but have opted to show you later on the ones I took of Mount Baker from Monarch Head instead. Going back along the trail, I was attracted by patterns again through trees.
What amazing water.
There are a couple of purple starfish swimming in here. Can you find them?
More trees with the sun coming through by Echo Bay.
This will likely be a reference for an oil painting that I will do over the winter.
Then of course there are these ladies of the arbutus waving their fancy apparel in the air.
Are you ready for a break yet? We sure are. There! Lunch! Water! Alright, pack up and let’s head for Monarch Head.
Ahhhh, the view.
And there is Mount Baker with a teeny tiny sailboat sailing by.
To give you some perspective on where we are here are a couple of shots that include part of the cliffs.
And then on the other side.
Now back we go and tuck ourselves into a most excellent B&B – Saturna Lodge.
Thank you for joining us as we celebrate our tenth anniversary of the day we met September 20, 2001 at a breakfast meeting when we both worked as seasoned bureaucrats for the Province of British Columbia. Seems so long ago in a different world of briefing notes, meetings with Ministers, urgent rush folders and a ridiculous amount of emails topped with a pile of documents that needed signing which seemed to have no bottom. How did we ever manage such a delicious courtship with lunches, long walks and quiet dinners together? But we did and here we are today still enjoying such a splendid time in each other’s company. Glad you can share it with us.
Sprout question: What magic are you taking with you into the weekend this week?
Stay tuned, more images from our time on Saturna Island will be posted on Monday.
New: Check out my coffee table book PRECIOUS SECONDS – Mayne Island in paintings and photographs
© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.
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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.
From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada
Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com
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- Hiking Brown Ridge on Saturna Island (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Creative Potager 
Terrill,
Beautiful journey once again. The water photographs have captured my attention! The first two and Ahhh, the view!
Congratulations on your anniversary ! Happy for both of you!!!
What magic are you taking with you into the weekend this week?
I am taking the magic of two photographs to be exhibited in the Philadelphia Photographic Society month long exhibition of it members work.
Congratulations Jeff and enjoy having your photographs out and about living a life of their own. I thought you might like today’s post when I was reviewing it before posting. I have some most interesting ones from yesterday – almost mythical.
Gorgeous imagery. When the fifth one from top came into view, I had to catch my breath.
Thanks Maureen and did you notice the heart on the wall of the fifth one? I have photographed this spot before a few years ago. I find this whole area has a strong spiritual connection for me. The photographs I took yesterday after the rain stopped are something else. Hope to have them ready for Monday’s post.
Awesome work/play Terrill! each shot has a voice of its own. I am partial to 1,2,5,8,12 & 13. I can see paintings of many of the them as well – perhaps a whole “Saturna” series??
What delight, you and David celebrating 10 years of soul-bonding in such a beautiful place. . . . . your bounty has been communicated through your photos. I will bring the high vibes of beauty, love and peace, which you have shared here, into my weekend. Thank you so much.
Oh my gosh Alison, did I really include 13 or more images in this post? Ouch! Yes, there is likely to be a Saturna Island series. It will be part of my winter’s work. Best of the weekend to you!
Breathtaking beauty–makes me long to catch those ferries. What a wonderful way to celebrate your anniversary.
To answer, I attended a ego-boosting belly dancing class last night. The instructor used imaginary and a strong sense of humour to weave her magic and we all became dancers. Once again, I was impressed by the power of my gender. If you ever hear of a class given by Martha Reid, run don’t walk to attend it. You’ll have a blast.
Thank you Leanne and I shall keep in mind your high recommendation of Martha Reid’s belly dancing class. I have taken belly dancing in the past and was surprised with how centering and grounding it is – and fun!
What a lovely way to spend an anniversary…congratulations. It seems we have entered ‘fall’ and there is a real change in the photos. Like the misty shots. Be well.
Thank you Shirley and yes the heavy rains of the last couple of days have given us fair warning that the season is changing. Monday’s post has the potential to share some of those misty, mysterious times of fall.
What a good new lens/ matched with your good eye and I loved taking your anniversary hike with you – beautiful and a stunning day to share – Thank you
Zip was born on Sept 20th! And on the 21st during and after my acupuncture session, I have been very stiff but pain free for a couple of days now – I am not pushing my luck and still doing several hours of pain relief.
So your post made me feel like I too was having an out of house experience.
Yes how did we find time for each other in those busy, busy days?
Good to hear of the pain relief Patricia. I have had both my shoulders freeze one at a time in the past. It is an extremely painful experience where the shoulder in my case takes six months to freeze, is frozen for six months and then around 18 months before it starts to move freely. During the first two stages of the process the muscle spasms are relentless. I can remember how the pain would zap my energy that I wanted to use for other things. Pain-free days are such a blessing. And I am so glad my post allowed you an out of house experience.
Terrill – I received an email notice earlier this morning notifying me that you had a fresh post. Knowing full well that it would have lots of photos with your new lens, I patiently waited until lunch so that I could take my time and savor the experience.
Ohhhhhhhh, the medium-puppy-sized lens was well worth it!
I grinned my face off when I got to the, “…this image will be familiar to some of you from a previous trip!” Looking as fantastic as ever!
My keyboard practically got water damage from the photos further down as the pictures are so life-like. I’m telling you, I could practically hear the water lapping the shore.
I see the the sassy arbutus ladies are showing off their splendor as they vie for attention with David and Mount Baker.
happy, Happy, HAPPY 10th anniversary!
Sprout question: What magic are you taking with you into the weekend this week?
I can’t reveal the contents just yet, but the magic is in the message contained in an email I received from UW Madison regarding an event in April 2012 and how it pertains to me, specifically. Once this has fully unfolded I will reveal my hand.
Laurie, I am glad I can’t see up your sleeve because I am sure there is a clanking street band of hands trying to march out into the street of our awareness. Button that cuff! Quick! Oh, too late… there goes the drummer off to announce your newest accomplishment on the next blog you are about to read:) Ah well, he has a big heart and you will be able to collect him up on your way through. Best of the weekend to you and I have a few more images that you are most familiar with that I am thinking of posting as a study sometime in the future. Still considering.
p.s. thank you Laurie for the anniversary wishes… I got so caught up in my story-telling that I rudely forgot my manners – only for a moment though.
Happy Aniversary Terrill and David! Your journey has only begun.
The photos of Mount Baker are absolutely stunning. But the entire presentation raises the bar on a measurement barometer that’s been raised so many times that it’s crashing through the roof. The ey van’t be ravishing enough times by these physical beauties that provide for inner fullfillment. I hope you will have some of these around for new projects.
I received PRECIOUS SECONDS yesterday and it’s magnificent. I’ll be more specific on future threads, but my initial reaction was OMG.
Thank you Sam and I am so glad that you copy of PRECIOUS SECONDS has arrived. You were one of the people that was sitting on my shoulder guiding my selection as I put the book together. Actually, many regular Creative Potager community members were sitting there side by side and pointing… “I think that one should go next… and that one, now this one. That poem, oh I really liked that poem – maybe you could put it here.” All that was left for me to do was press the keys and upload the images 🙂
Been turning the garden. Very still outside. No wild birds or farm animals talking… extremely humid, warm and still. They say high winds are coming. I believe them.
By now most of you know the drill but just in case —–> if you don’t hear from me later tonight or tomorrow, or the day after that, it is not a worry – just means there is a power outage due to trees falling on our lines.
The alert will be updated here…
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/alerts/wwcabc0053/cabc0159/attractionsfx?ref=warnings_citypage
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oo, gorgeous images. I literally took a deep breath after viewing them.
Thanks so much Leah for dropping by and I glad the visit was found to be pleasing.