Cranberry Lake Walk

Cranberry Lake.

This was the first day in many where the smell of smoke was gone, although the sky still had a blueish-brown haze to it.  We will remember the middle of August for its two weeks of forest fire haze.  In all the years we've come to Anacortes, we had never experienced anything like this.

From the spillway looking back to the parking lot at Cranberry Lake.

Cranberry Lake is about 0.45 miles long, and if you take the trail around the lake it's about 1.5 miles long.  Today we just wanted to walk and think about coming back to kayak the lake in the next week.

There's an island at the far end of the lake.

Laura and I have walked around the lake before.  Part of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands (ACFL), the area is served by several trails.

Laura and Dale Mack

We'd had rain the last couple of days, and although it was late August it was amazing how much the moisture brightened up the moss.

Rehydrated, the moss comes to life.

We couldn't resist taking a short quarter mile hike on one of the trails.  The rain made the air smell crisp and clean.  The temperature was in the lower sixties, and we were happy to be away from the heat of the Portland/Vancouver area.

ACFL keeps the trails open but leaves the forest in its natural state.

All across Anacortes visitors will find benches.  You find them in parks, and you find them lining the Tommy Thompson Trail.

Laura standing on the dam.

Most of Anacortes' benches are donated by couples, surviving spouses, or family members who wish to memorialize that this place was once as special to another couple as it is to us today.  Every time I see or sit on one of the benches I think of a couple I've never met, and yet a couple in which Laura and  I share a connection with because of this special place.

A memorial bench.

I Googled the Hiblers and discovered that Russell Hibler was born on April 22, 1914 in Woodland, Illinois, and passed away on November 23, 2015 at Island Hospital in Anacortes at the age of 101.  Russell married Ethel Lucille Newburn on May 5, 1937.  Russell and Ethel had two sons, Harry and Cranston, who they raise in Anacortes.  Russell was a welder.  He and his family moved to Anacortes in 1947.  Ethel passed away on November 1, 2004 (February 8, 1913, age 91).  Their son Cranston was lost in Vietnam in 1970.

A beautiful memory.

The Internet is an amazing time machine.  While I've always loved the benches around Anacortes, a simple Google search connected me with some of the joy and the sorrow that marked Ethel and Russel's journey.  Thank you, Russell, for the bench.

Pelican Bay Books & Coffeehouse

Imagine a place crammed with used books.  Neatly organized and appointed with tables and chairs to entice the reader to browse, the shop is a delightful blend of retail establishment and community center where patrons meet and discuss favorite authors and the events of the day.

Laura on her way to get a coffee.

Despite years of downsizing our personal home library, Laura couldn't resist the urge to add some titles to our collection.  I highly recommend Pelican Books to anyone looking for a great environment to sip a coffee and explore the world through the eyes of another.

So much to explore.

What a lovely way to spend an afternoon.  The walk had been great and the bookstore was special.  Laura had already visited the store, so this was her chance to introduce me.  WOW!, Just WOW!  Anyone who loves books should crack a cover at Pelican Books.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much