When I first read the story of the wishing rock in a small journal of the San Juan Islands (around 1983) I thought it was a cool local myth. “A wishing rock is any stone found on the beach that is completely encircled by a ring. The ring must not be broken or the wish won’t come true.” Peggy Sue McRae
The story goes that one is to stand at the shore, facing away from the water, and toss the selected stone back over your shoulder as you make a wish. Long ago I gave up on turning my back to the ocean — in part because I want to see it — but also because it was very easy to lose my balance and tumble backwards into the water! Not what I wished for!!!
One year, while I explored the shoreline near Doughty Point (north of Beach Haven on Orcas Island) I came upon the biggest wishing rock I’d ever seen. How many desires and aspirations might there be in this magnificent boulder? Maybe enough to quiet a village or sooth a civilization.
Since reading the legend, Creighton and I have made a ritual of tossing a wish rock into the surf before our journey home. It is like saying a prayer.
They do seem a perfect match!
Cape Disappointment was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark expedition when they arrived at the Pacific Ocean in mid-December 1805. Though the vistas before me are awe inspiring, I imagine this setting would have appeared an inhospitable environment for a tired and hungry band of explorers entering the teeth of winter — thus its name.
Lindy Low LeCoq 