[IMAGE] coast

[IMAGE] path

…click to listen:

…about the music

This way.

There may be no better way to begin the first day of the new year than with a walk through a wilderness area. Especially when, at 48 and a half degrees latitude, the temperature nearly matches the map coordinates, and the wind behaves itself (for a change. Lately it’s been a lot like THIS).

It’s particularly awesome when that wilderness is walking distance from one’s own bed. I will never cease to appreciate the beauty of where on this planet I live.

Any happy, alcohol-induced fog from the previous, festive day night was quickly escorted into the ether as fresh, ionized air surrounded my senses. Okay, fresh, strong coffee got there first. But once afoot, the joy of this stunning solitude took hold, and I shot a few unremarkable pix to share with my 2012 Kelphistos of what is, beyond the lens of my limited photographic talents, a truly remarkable view.

[IMAGE] cove
The grey-blue land at the horizon is Vancouver Island and British Columbia’s capital, Victoria.

[IMAGE] beach
Turning one’s head down and to the right, here’s the clear water at the shore. The beach is lined– as all here are– with the area’s history spelled out in driftwood lettering.

[IMAGE] trees and sky
The Olympic Mountain Range is a LOT larger than it appears in this picture. New Year’s resolution # 372: learn to take more effective photos!