In 1977 a Fidalgo Island resident named Kathleen Sharpe deeded a choice parcel of land to the county, to be used as a park in memory of her husband and his father. Irish-born Thomas Sharpe had arrived on the island about a hundred years earlier, establishing a farm and orchard. The 1870’s may not sound like long ago in historical terms, but Sharpe was one of the early permanent white settlers on Fidalgo Island. He and his family must have relished the peaceful views from their homestead.





Sharpe Park doesn’t impress with size but its beauty is undeniable. Set along rugged cliffs at the island’s western edge with spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains and San Juan Islands, this is the kind of place that is normally dotted with private homes. Instead, it’s a county park where anyone can enjoy the views free of charge. The park maintains a low profile; only a discrete sign at a small parking lot on a quiet road identifies it. Additional land was added to the park in 2003, thanks to the efforts of the San Juan Preservation Trust and funds from private, state and county sources. That cooperation dedicated to a mutually valued goal produced a gem of a park.





We used to drive up to Fidalgo Island to enjoy the scenery when we lived near Seattle. It was on one of those trips in the fall of 2017 that we discovered Sharpe Park. We followed winding, root-studded trails past a wetland and drifted through a moist, evergreen forest before arriving at Sare’s Head, the high bluff overlooking Rosario Strait. The expansive view took our breath away. Standing on that bluff with the silver water spread out far below, your mind-chatter fades away as everything quiets.
Since moving to Fidalgo Island, this park has become one of my favorite places to wander and relax. The trail system has easy, moderate and challenging sections as it follows the twists and turns of the shoreline. There’s a simple bench on the bluff and another on a second bluff to the east, making perfect spots for picnics. Walking through the peaceful forest, catching those first glints of blue through the trees and emerging on a bluff overlooking the water 400 feet below is always a treat.






The seasons roll forward revealing a parade of discoveries: dried cattails reflected in the dark waters of winter, a tiny native orchid penetrating the leaf litter in July, stripes of fire damage in the bark of a Madrone tree, and a suite of pretty Camas flowers lighting up the ground in a clearing. In March a friend and I watched a Bald eagle attempt to land on a branch that was too small. It tipped over and tried to right itself by spreading its wings. It was unsuccessful. We couldn’t help laughing as the eagle went to find a better lookout. There are supposed to be Harbor porpoises off Sares Head but I haven’t seen them there. That’s reason enough to keep coming back.






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Many thanks to Kathleen Sharpe, the San Juan Preservation Trust, Skagit County and the Montgomery-Duban family for preserving this special place for the public. I’ll be back soon!
Beautiful shots in this lengthy post, difficult to chose a favourite, they all are!
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Yes, lots of images, I know. 🙂 Thanks for coming along, Paula, I’m happy that you enjoyed the photographs.
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Your photos leave me breathless and I did not even take the walk – a real treat though following in your footsteps here
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That’s great, I’m so pleased to communicate and share the beauty of this place. Thank you, Laura.
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Beautiful images, as always! The view over the ocean, wow. If I had a chance to visit the park I would probably get stuck for hours somewhere overlooking the ocean. The light over the mountains on image 16, just beautiful. Nice composition, framed by the tree. Cheers.
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Oh, I can just imagine you in your kayak down there, cruising around, pulling in wherever you like, walking around and taking it all in. Thank you so much for the comment – and obviously, the framing wouldn’t be so nice without that beautiful light happening over the water. Enjoy your weekend!
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There’s that infrared look again in #7 and #8.
You caught nice lighting in #9, the first picture in #21, and #22.
I see the conglomerate in #4 as characteristic of the ground in a temperate rainforest.
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You’ve got it right, Steve, temperate rainforest for sure, cooperative light (aided by spot metering and a bit of vignette later) and LR magic. Thanks for noticing, and commenting on, those details, and enjoy your weekend. 😉
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Number Four: Magical!
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I love that you picked that one out of the crowd – there are many interesting things happening on the ground here. Thank you!!
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11 – well, yeah I like it!
7 – lovely infrared look – soft and dreamy
14 – Bugs are cool!
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I think I said before that you influenced me towards that dreamy, infrared look with that memorable 8 X 10 you gave me over 30 years ago, so thank you again. It’s so satisfying to finally have the time to get to work making images. 🙂 And bugz, yeah, we like ’em. 😉
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Lovely images! It is indeed a lovely park. We enjoyed our recent visit. Some of the trails receive little use so even though one is close to a populated area you feel as though as you are in a remote area. Thanks for the reminder; we will return.
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I’m surprised to see you here, Karen – thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. I agree, this park feels much more remote than it is. Now it’s just a ten-minute drive away – so much easier than coming up from the east side! 😉 Here’s to never-ending exploring!
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My favorite, the image of the licorice fern, number 9, reminds me of another favorite from one of your previous posts.I would love to be walking that trail in number 11. The grass is wonderful and the bent madrone a real eye catcher. All nice images, Lynn.
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Licorice fern is a wonderful companion along many trails here and a photogenic subject. You would have fun with it! Thank you, Steve, and enjoy the weekend!
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Excellent as always! 🙂 I vote for nr.6; great light balanced by darkness.. 🙂 Adios!
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#6 is a Harrie-style image! And lately, I think of you when I see fallen trees, especially in dramatic light. We have lots of toppled trees around here because the roots often aren’t very deep – the soil is shallow. Someday I may do a post called “The Fallen.” 😉 Enjoy the weekend, Harrie, arrivederci!
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Beautiful pictures!
I love 4 (because of the colors),8 (because of the mood), 14 (because I love it’s pose (and I love insects)) and 16 (because….. no idea, it just love it 🙂 )
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It’s cool that you singled out #4. I think that fits with your penchant for noticing details and delving into what’s going on in the whole system. Thanks so much for coming along and commenting – I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂
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Great photos! This looks like a park I would enjoy visiting regularly. I love taking photos around water so the spot in the first photo seems like it would be an instant favorite for me. That’s a great view.
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I bet you’d love it – it’s a very different feeling out here from the east. I’ve never been to Alabama and hope to get there someday. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and commenting, and following – I appreciate it.
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incantevole. enchanting: let’s breathe the soul of a fresh perfumed breeze
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That sounds wonderful….thank you, grazie! Enjoy your weekend!
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I’ll beautiful. The walk you took me on was invigorating. Do you have another item for my bucket list so that my actual food can get the actual trail. 6, 8, and 9 especially speak to me. 6 for it’s perfect balance of dark and delicate. 8 and 9 for their form and tone.
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I think an autocomplete gremlin got into your comment. 🙂 The kind of light seen in #6 happens a lot in the forests here, and I like to magnify it a bit with spot metering. I’m glad you like it. Glad you enjoyed the walk, too, Michael! Enjoy your day. 🙂
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Yes, Siri got the better of me. I did not sufficiently read it over before hitting the reply button. I look forward to actually getting my foot on the trail.
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I figured that was it! 😉
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The mention of the woodpecker made me laugh, but then my attention returned to the beauty of each image. The little insect has an equine-looking neck, and yes, Mr. Sharpe lives on thru the orchard’s descendants’ blossoms! The final shot is all but surreal, as if my double vision attempted a sneaky return!
It’s always a treasure to shadow your treks through nature, and Sharpe Park is a beauty of a treat!
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Thank you Lisa….glad you could come along…it is indeed a lovely place. Happy Sunday to you!
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We should all thank these people for their efforts to preserve this beautiful region. The photographs reveal the energy and beauty it offers … and obviously the photographer’s sensitivity!
Thank you for sharing!
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One of the best things about this park is that it’s not very well known, so there are never crowds. Sometimes I see no one, sometimes I see just a few people. Thank you for joining me, “Dulce.” 🙂
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LOVE “your mind-chatter fades away as everything quiets”, Lynn! And are some of these using a CEP4 soft/hazy filter perhaps, its a very nice effect. I especially like 6, 7, 13, 15 and 16 – what a beautiful area. A 🙂
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It’s good of you to notice the writing bits again, Adrian, glad you appreciated that. As for CEP4, I’m not sure which filter you mean – I see one called “Classical soft focus” and there’s “Glamor Glow” that also imparts softness. I use a bit of the latter sometimes. E.g. #11 – I think I used a bit of the CEP4 glamor glow filter, then added texture back in locally in LR. I’m enjoying using clarity and texture in LR in tandem – up on one, down on the other or a little of each in selected areas…it all depends, as you know. 😉 In #6 I used a vintage 28mm Takumar lens. That accounts for a little of the softness right there. I converted to B&W in LR, made local adjustments in clarity & contrast, and applied an infrared preset from – where? I don’t remember. I also used spot metering in camera to magnify the drama. Thanks to you once again for encouraging me to begin using spot metering a while back. Nothing but rain here lately but dry weather returns Tuesday. I’m ready for that. 🙂
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Yes, Glamour Glow, that’s it. And I’m right with you using a combination of clarity and texture in LR, very useful indeed.
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2 premiers noir blanc sublimes..merci
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Je pense que ces deux-là montrent à quel point la forêt est complexe et enchevêtrée parce qu’elle a beaucoup de croissance. Nous avons beaucoup de pluie et très peu de gel, les plantes poussent toute l’année. Je suis content que vous les aimiez – c’est amusant de travailler en noir et blanc. Merci beaucoup, Irene! 🙂
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Beautiful shots Lynn! More next time, I will come again 🙂
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🙂
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#16
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Going for the drama, Graham! 😉
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This place looks and sounds quite magical. I love the second photo – you’ve really captured the soft light.
Alison
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Thank you, Alison, I imagine this kind of forest and shoreline are familiar to you – and you’re right, it’s magical. 🙂
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Again one can feel and see your love for this place and I think we all understand why. It is a special place and how wonderful it could be preserved! A real treasure for future generations. And they make it easier to explain, why we should care more for nature! I love Nr 4! These little things (like little treasures for dwarfs and fairies 😉 are what I love about nature so much (there it is again our similar view on things 🙂 The different ferns are so beautiful and you chose the right “light-moments” for your pictures! Nr 10 must have been a woodpecker with a big drilling machine 😉 A very lovely fawn lilly – you are really lucky with all these tiny wildflowers! The bug in Nr. 15 could be a Raphidioptera https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamelhalsfliegen I never saw one in my life, but I know the pictures from my book of insects. Looks really funny this guy! I love 16 (the soft contours of sea and sky – beautiful!) and 19 (very dramatic) and the bark of the dead madrone tree – fascinating pattern. So many little treasures so well captured 🙂 Thanks Lynn!
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My reply disappeared…I was agreeing with you about our mutual tendency to focus in on the details. On the ground in the forests here there are plenty of different details to sort out. The woodpecker that makes really large, often rectangular holes in trees is the Pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, a big one indeed! It’s always a treat to see them. You can tell them by their pounding too – other woodpeckers bang on trees faster, with a higher sound. The ferns – I will do a Licorice fern post, maybe soon. They grow from tree bark, rocks, and the ground and are so pretty. The bug – I hoped you would suggest an identification, and I think you’re right – thank you! He was really fun to see. I’m glad you liked #19 too, I like the drama in that one. Thank you for paying such close attention and taking the time to comment, Almuth. 🙂
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You told me of this woodpecker before, but I forgot about him or at least about his knowledge of building. I found another picture of him and the holes he makes are tremendous, really! I almost couldn’t believe it, when I saw your special tree 🙂 Hm, maybe I try to find “his sound”. It must be quite deep then 😉 – Yes, a post about the Licorice fern please. That would be wonderful! You can never have enough fern.
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PS I found one with sound, wonderful 🙂
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Reading through the comments I see quite a few have picked #6 as a favorite. Put me on that list, too, but add #7, #8 and #9. Nice work, Lynn!
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Going for the monochromes on this quiet fall day, eh Ken? 😉 Learning which images work well in black and white and trying different methods of processing has been a good experience. And there’s always so much more to try, and learn. Thank you! 🙂
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Tough to have a place like that in your back yard, eh? I’m partial to 6, 16, 17, 19 today, guess I’m in a low-key, silhouettey mood. Ask me tomorrow and it could be four different ones.
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I understand! Thanks so much, Dave. Yes, I may miss some perks of civilization, like a better choice of cafes, but I’m managing. 😉
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A truly beautiful selection Lynn. There is attention to detail that unobtrusively contributes to the serenity of the of the sense of place (eg., the soft grasses in image 11)
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Those grasses drew my attention as much as the path and trees did, as you would guess. What a nice way of putting it – the details unobtrusively contributing to the serenity of the sense of place. I like that. Thank you, Louis, and I hope you have a good week!
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Fotos maravilhosas… parabéns.
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Muito obrigado e obrigado por visitar o blog. Eu agradeço!
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I have yet not been to neither Fidalgo Island nor Sharpe Park. But I can see that I need to change that. I get inspired by your photos.
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🙂 It’s worth the drive, Otto – I think you can make it in under 2 hours from Seattle. You’d have fun looking around Anacortes too because there is still some of the maritime industry feeling left. Thank you so much!
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What a stunning collection of images … I have so many favourites! Such a beautiful place to live .. thanks for sharing 🙂
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Thank you, Julie. We used to drive up here from our suburb outside of Seattle just to see the beauty, and we were so lucky to find a reasonable place to live – just over a year ago now. I’m sure there’s more to see here….
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Hands down favorites: 16 and 23, but I’m sure you could have guessed? I have to admit to feeling a bit desiccated from our trip, but your lush images put me right back into our dear Pacific NW. Isn’t it lovely to find such treasures so near. Then go away only to come back and appreciate them all the more.
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Thank you Gunta, I’m glad you enjoyed the moist interlude. 😉
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Stunning views of nature through your eyes. Standouts for me are 11, 15, 16, 23!
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Maybe you see scenes that have the same look as #11 in your area – that’s what I’d guess. 😉 Thank you Denise, I appreciate hearing your thoughts.
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I very much enjoyed the black and white renderings, Lynn…and the trails….so nice.
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Peaceful indeed.
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