As I type these lines, the wind outside my window is blowing fiercely, whipping the tops of the waves into spray and bending the fir trees on the hill like so many blades of grass. I fear, after such a day of constant genuflecting, some of those trees are unlikely to get up again. It’s winter, full-blown Northwest wet and windy, and it’s not likely to end for some time.

It’s hard not to go back through the photos looking for warmer memories, summertime shots from places that seem so exotic and unreachable on days such as this one. But the picture is the proof, proof that it happened and that such places exist, where sunsets last for hours and the night air smells sweet and alive.

This particular shot is a late-summer view of one of the most beautiful places in the San Juan Islands. Just by way of an early holiday gift  and to see if anybody really reads these posts, the first person to respond with the correct answer to where this photo was taken will receive an awesome new waterproof daypack, courtesy of the Ikkatsu Project and Exped. Send your response to

Ready? Go!