Lime Kiln Sunset

Yesterday late in the evening it was so nice I just had to get outside. I decided to go out to Lime Kiln State Park on the west side of the island to watch the sunset. For the first time this year the breeze off the water didn't have a bite to its chilliness; it felt almost warm. I took "the long way" to the lighthouse which took me along this path through a grove of Pacific madrone trees:

I was the only one in the park - a sure sign that the tourist season hasn't hit us in full yet - but I certainly didn't mind the solitude. I found a place to settle in for a while and here was my view to the southwest:

The beautifully warm spring weather of the last few days wasn't going to stay with us for very long, as evidenced by the clouds brooding on the horizon and over Lime Kiln Lighthouse:

Still, the sun broke through the clouds enough for me to have some photographic fun, like making it shine through the light of the lighthouse:

Here was my view looking across Haro Strait towards the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the Olympic Mountains. The tranquility was only broken when a Steller sea lion popped his head up for a few noisy breaths on his travels north in the straight, but I didn't mind the interruption.

Speaking of Steller sea lions, today at The Whale Museum's marine naturalist gear-up we learned a lot about sea lions from Canadian scientist Peter Olesiuk. I'll post some cool info from today's series of lectures in my next post.