Every sensitive person has their own version of sacred places, where something significant happened in their lives. One of mine is Point of Arches on the Pacific Ocean coast. We first backpacked here in the winter of 1991, on a winter weekend that gave us a magical glimpse into the power of the winter ocean, and the wondrous nature of tide pools at low tide. We were virtually the only people on the beach, and the solitude was a magnificent counterpoint to the other parts of our lives.

As I write this in 2019, we have just visited Point of Arches again within the last week, and it is just as wonderful as it was over 28 years ago. We saw a Sea Otter floating on its back, and the tracks of a River Otter family meandering through the sand near the tide pools. And the tide pools themselves revealed perhaps half-a-dozen species of sea life that we hadn’t seen before on our many hikes to this location. A sacred place indeed.

Location: Point of Arches, Olympic National Park, Washington State, USA

LIMITED EDITION: This photographic print is part of a limited edition produced by photographer Lee Rentz. The edition consists of 250 prints, which includes all sizes and methods of printing.