Upon the realization that he had been deceived

To the north of this narrow passage is Fidalgo Island, so named for the Spanish explorer, Lieutenant Salvador Fidalgo. To the south is Whidbey Island, second largest island in the contiguous 48 states, which Captain George Vancouver, while exploring this region in 1792, at first thought to be a peninsula. Further exploration conducted by him disclosed the existence of this intricate channel. Upon the realization that he had been deceived as to the character of the large island, Vancouver gave to this channel the name of Deception Passage, and in naming the island he honored his trusted officer, Joseph Whidbey.

All the tulips in Skagit Valley were gone when we got there. What I had heard would be gorgeous acres of color was nothing but muddy lifeless fields, having been harvested only a day or so before our visit. That should have been some kind of sign.

But then, everything is a sign - if you’re paying attention. Like when we rolled across Deception Pass Bridge in Jeremy’s 1977 Dodge Tradesman van, and I exclaimed:

“Now that’s a suicide bridge!”

We parked and walked out on it. Jeremy and the others ventured out to the halfway point, snapping pictures as they went. I walked out a few yards, was overcome by dizziness and turned right back around to wait while they had their fun. We hiked from there through primeval Northwestern woods down to the beach far below.

The perfect peace and beauty of the rock-covered beach was exploded every five minutes by a lone jet launched from the nearby Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. Whatever they were looking for or training for escaped us, couldn’t have any less to do with us, couldn’t seem any more irrelevant to the rocks and trees and salt water lapping on the shore.

I spent most of my time down there climbing on the rocks and low cliffs which bounded the beach, while everyone else split off to do their own thing. I also balanced my way slowly down the length beach on old dead logs, playing that old game where you pretend the ground is lava. I fell off and died twice.

A bald eagle soared out from under the bridge at one point, arcing it’s way towards us. Two seagulls harried it down along the beach, hoping to usher it out of their airspace. Apparently the air over Whidbey Island is hotly contested by man and beast alike.

We continued the battle at the water’s edge, chasing floating logs and sticks down-current with a hail of rocks, tossed like boys playing in a giant bathtub. The sound of sirens floated down to us from up above. Traffic on the bridge had slowed to a halt, but our games continued down on the beach below. We loaded up a flat log with a cargo of round medium-sized rocks, and pushed it off like a funeral barge into the water.

When we got back up to the van, the parking lot was filled with police cars and emergency vehicles. Women stood around clutching their jackets close to themselves, worried looks on their faces. A state trooper took reports, leaning over the back of his vehicle as a writing surface.

We didn’t know what had happened and we didn’t ask. No sense drawing attention to an uninsured vehicle several hours away from home. Jeremy very non-chalantly removed the empty beer containers from the 70’s style mini-fridge inside our van.

Just as the engine turned over, the state trooper walked over to stop us.

“How long have you guys been here?”

“A couple hours, I guess.”

“Did you see anything?”

“No, we were wondering what happened.”

“A guy jumped off the bridge. Some people saw him park his car, get out, walk over to the bridge and jump off. Just wanted to make sure he wasn’t with you guys.”

“No, he wasn’t.”

Search on for man who fell into Deception Pass waters

DECEPTION PASS - The Island County Sheriff’s Office is looking for signs of someone who fell into the waters of Deception Pass.

At least two people driving on the bridge between Whidbey and Fidalgo islands called 911 about 6:30 p.m. Thursday when they saw a young adult fall into the water, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Jan Smith said.

Search teams combed the islands’ shorelines Thursday night and Friday, but found nothing.

A backpack was found on the bridge that might belong to the person, Smith said.

Just like Captain Vancouver though, they have been deceived. The man who jumped off that bridge didn’t die. He wasn’t washed away or sucked down into the whirlpools surrounding Deception Pass. As he fell, his arms turned to feathers. His wings caught the updraft, and angels disguised as seagulls came to escort him on through to the other side. Or at least, that’s what I believe happened. Official explanations are never enough - especially not in a place like that, overfilled with the dark magic of the forest and the old wisdom of the ocean.