Oh-dark-early. After a drenching, all-day rain on Saturday, Sunday was supposed to be sunny, so we rose early. A blush of dawn appeared in the east, but darkness and fog filled our forests and waterways. Fog hid the nearby islands from view as we drove down rain-slickened roads on Fidalgo over to Whidbey.
My headlights revealed just enough of the road ahead for us to creep along Zylstra Road, arriving at the Del Fairfax trailhead long before daybreak. I wanted to experience it at first light while wildlife still reigned. I had promised Kath a Starbucks before we got started, so now with her cup in hand, we slipped through the gate and into the Reserve. This was Kath’s first visit here. Maybe yours too.
Walking along the soft forest trail, a Varied thrush, a Hutton’s vireo, flickers, kinglets, chickadees, Pac wrens, and song sparrows sang, warbled, and twittered … and a rooster crowed a wake-up call. Not a bad welcoming as we walked toward the meadow. I let Kath lead as we emerged from the dark forest into the bright opening of the field. She sensed the magic before we even got there.
The meadow lay silent before us, sacred and serene. Veiled in the mist, three ghost-gray deer dawdled along the opposite side of the field and then out of sight.
Kath began walking to the west, and in a minute or two, also faded into the mist.
We rambled along the perimeter trail while the fog flowed around us on its silent haunches, muting the universe into our own private world, a separate peace. Trees emerged as fuzzy silhouettes in muted shades of gray until we got beneath them, and then they faded away again as we moved beyond. Branches and cobwebs lay speckled with brightly shining diamonds.
Making the full circle around the meadow, we observed and absorbed the hidden details often overlooked on a bright sunny day. Fog focuses our attention on what is before us, near at hand, within our reach. The rush of the highways, the busy of business, the past, the future, indeed the entire rest of the world are all beyond our view and our worries right now. All that matters is just this meadow, moist and mysterious, shadowy, and intimate.
Walking through the forested shadows and rolling grasslands, this place reminds us of the complex simplicity that surrounds us, the life that can be ours. Just like the singular sparrows of the woodlands, and the lilies of the field, “the least of these,” anonymous, humble, seeking not their own glory, yet gentle and glorious in their boundless living and giving.
Just like George Fairfax himself, who owned and treasured this land, and donated it in memory of his late wife Del. He wanted everyone to experience the quiet beauty of this secret garden, this place of softness and solitude, this pocket preserved for us all to come and be at peace.
We returned home as the fog was fading, the morning breaking, the sun rising, blue skies blazing, and yes, breakfast waiting.
Directions
Directions: From Highway 20 in Oak Harbor take Swantown Road and then an immediate left onto Fort Nugent Road, then drive two miles and turn left onto Zylstra Road. Or from Highway 20 4.3 miles north of Coupeville, turn left onto Zylstra Road and drive 3 miles north. Park across the street from the small fire station.
By bike: The roads in this area once you leave Highway 20 are rolling and relatively quiet, but with limited shoulders.
Mobility: The forested part of the trail is wide and firm, mostly dirt and mostly flat. The meadow trail is a mixture of grass and dirt, fairly wide but also lumpy and rolling. Please stay on the trail around the meadow, and keep your pets leashed at all times.
Republished with permission. Read the original article.