tides moving in

March 24, 2022

When I was driving in I knew instantly that this moment I would never forget. 

I had just driven through high winds, blinding rain. I was pretty certain I saw something get struck by lightning. I was watching for funnel clouds. The green skies. Emergency lights flashing.

I was getting groceries when the sun came out. It was time to go set up camp and watch the sun go down. 

So I drove and the clouds parted and the landscape changed. It was like a jungle but wide open. More animals in one space than I had ever seen. White crane roosting in trees. Wild pigs swimming. A nutria with her babies. A deer spooked then plunging. Two black cats. Egrets. A raccoon. Everything had taken shelter from the storm. Except me who had kept driving. Now we were all out living.

I was laughing. Because I felt like I was getting away with something. Something so beautiful that it felt like magic. I was transported to another place entirely. Going across a drawbridge. Seeing the houses on stilts. Everything flooded everywhere and water was moving.

I turned on a dead end road. Eight miles to go. My destination at the end. But the tide had risen. 

So I waited. And waited. Observing. Listening. Waiting. Watching an ecosystem blind me with brightness and sincerity. Crabs walking. Geese honking. Everything fishing. The sunshine glistening. It was amazing—the truest meaning of that word. The waves pounding. Birds. 

I waited for the water to go down until right at sunset. My drive to my campsite was slightly northwest. It was stunning. I slowed down. Deer were running to my right showing me the way. It was insane. Like everything was telling me that I was supposed to be right here in this moment on this day 

I drove in and saw a sunset like I had never seen before. After the storms that came through, the heavy winds still in pursuit — the waves were giant. Everything was thrashing in motion. But the sun. The sun was constant as the Earth moved on. 

I was just getting myself set up when the park ranger came by. He asked me “are you the one who is supposed to be here?” and I said “Yes, I am that one.”