(+4 insets) (this picture is super at full-size!)

Our visit to Newcastle Island--Saysutshun--was really wonderful and I got lots of pictures which I've finally finished processing. I wanted to present them in a logical order so I'll be rolling them out in four more presentations including this one. :) I hope you enjoy the show!

Setting Foot on Saysutshun
The short ferry ride to Saysutshun was lovely and we enjoyed taking pictures as we approached the island's harbor. Many boats were moored outside the main cove and it was neat to see the variety of sizes and types.

Steve helped get the bikes off the ferry and we made our way up to the visitor's booth, where we were greeted by a very gentle and knowledgeable man and his big smile. Speaking in his soft voice, we were given a map of the island and suggestions on where we should go to make the most of our visit.

He told us about the spiritual power of this place and I did not doubt a word of what he was saying. I felt it vividly the moment we arrived. There was a very strong sense of spiritual energy that emanated from the island, something that was very surprising and wonderful to me. Although I'm not religious in the traditional sense, I consider myself to be very spiritual and in touch with the planet and its life forms. I could feel this energy strongly from the island itself but also from the man who was speaking to us. It was totally fascinating to me. Steve could feel that there was something a bit different going on but for me it was very strong. Cool. (If you'd like more information, this is a link to the island's culture and history page (click).

Today's Pictures
My main picture shows the boats we saw moored outside and at the mouth of the island's harbor. Saysutshun offers moorage to visitors and residents and I can see why it's such a popular place for boaters to come and stay!

Insets include more pictures of the boats as well as an extremely wide, 360 degree panorama of the view from the visitor's kiosk. You can see my bike on one side near the kiosk and on the left, one of their wonderful totems which is set up at a meeting area complete with a host of benches. Finally, there is a picture of the lovely tribal artwork adorning the visitor's kiosk.

Rock Tumbling Update
After reevaluating the rocks over a week ago, I pushed most back to the first step but allowed others to go on to the second step, and yesterday I washed them all off and put them in a pan of water to appreciate how they were coming along.

WOWZERS!!! It was really wise to be more critical of every rock and its realistic progress because the difference in quality of tumbling was blatantly obvious! About 95% of the rocks in Step 2 looked AMAZING. Silky smooth and with very few divots or rough spots, I gave the green light to almost every one to head to Step 3--the Pre-polish stage! I'm so excited…they'll be heading to the final stage in another week, and just WAIT until you guys see these beauties, they are just GORGEOUS!!

The Step 1 rocks were also in great shape and though I had to hold back a large handful, I've placed all of the ones that are ready go to go Step 2 into a jar where they will sit until I get enough rocks that will fill a tumbler. In the meantime, I filled the second tumbler with all of the rocks that I decided to re-run as Step 1's and added a few new rocks to fill the tumbler. There are some seriously gorgeous rocks in that batch…heh…every batch…:D…and it will be such fun to share pictures of the polished beauties!

Pam, I hope all is well in your world! Feeling a bit better each day I hope! You've been on my mind as I gather rocks, I am sure you would love them all as much as I do! *BIG HUGS* from southern Oregon!

Explored on 1/27/20; highest placement #1.