Many great childhood memories I have took place on Orcas Island, a group of idyllic islands in the Northwestern corner or Washington State (and for that matter the Lower 48 of United States). First off, the humorous part would have to be the picture of a bunch of Asian-American families travelling en masse to a beachfront chunk of land on Deer Point of Orcas Island. My family as well as the group of families that formed to social community in which I grew up would go up camping at least three times every summer. The amenities were few, a rundown trailer, an outhouse and a spigot with running water. The rest of the seven acres, which was owned by my parents and two other families, was overrun with nature. But the fact that we owned half of the beach of a small cove was amazing, and only as an adult do I truly understand how special it was. I say was because the land was sold by the three families in the mid-90's to someone who contacted my parents and their fellow co-owners and offered up an ungodly amount of money to buy it and so my parents and et. al. sold it. This was a tragedy most devastating to the six children of the owners. We six still mourn the loss.
Our families would set up tents and we children would play on the beach, dig up crabs, skip rocks, attempt every summer to climb just a bit further out towards the tip of the cove and watch the fog roll in and out to reveal or hide the "disappearing islands" offshore. We would all go to Moran State Park and get driven to the top of Mount Constitution and then hike (or in many cases run) down the mountain to Cascade Lake where our parents were waiting for us. Our parents would play set up folding tables to play Mah-Jongg (picture my mother and her friends playing Mah-Jongg amidst the towering trees of Orcas Island) into the night time hours. We would BBQ traditional camping food but it was always served with traditional Chinese dishes that our Mom's could pack up in a cooler. And somehow, I remember us always having fireworks. Certainly we were up there on 4th of July and that made sense for fireworks, but we were always setting off fireworks, so we must have brought them every single visit.
As you can tell, I speak of these childhood camping trips to Orcas Island with great fondness. The memories are even more treasured now that the land is no longer in the hands our either my parents or their friends. That's why this story about saving Turtleback Mountain from development struck a chord with me. The Seattle based Medina Foundation has put up the large swath of undeveloped land, currently privately held, up for sale. But in an act of generosity, conservation groups have been given the opportunity to but it first before developers. At $18.5 million dollars, the land could be preserved undeveloped and opened to the public for hiking and general enjoyment. Please consider a donation to the San Juan Preservation Trust. At the site, you can specifically designate your funds toward saving Turtleback Mountain. With a gift of $150 or more, you will receive a Gary Larson (of the Far Side) designed T-Shirt that references saving Turtleback Mountain. I've got my T-Shirt coming.
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