Circles in the Sand
We set our alarms for 5:45 this morning, so we would be at Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint by 6:00 when the Circles in the Sand volunteers start to design the labyrinth. We also wanted to make sure we found a parking place. We saw the volunteers carry their rakes down to the beach, so we knew we didn't miss anything. The designer, Denny Dyke, creates a new labyrinth each time. From May to September, he creates a new labyrinth on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the low-tide weekend each month. He began creating labyrinths in 2011 as a "means of meditation, transformation, and healing." He starts with the entry and exit, and then plans the rest of the design. His first turn after the entrance is always left, and he repeats a couple of sayings in each design. The volunteers started filling in the design about 6:15 and finished just as they were scheduled to let people start walking "The Circles in the Sand" at 8:00. We stayed on the cliff overlooking the beach to watch them create the design and then watched the first people who walked the labyrinth. I shot a time-lapse that began in the early stages of the creation and continued until my camera battery died. By that time, about a hundred people had started through the labyrinth, and I'd shot about 1200 images. One article said it's not uncommon to have 2,000 people walk the labyrinth on a weekend day. We were glad it was much less crowded today.
Carol and I stowed our tripods and extra lenses in the Explorer and walked down to the beach to walk the labyrinth. The overall view from the cliff was very interesting, but the view of the art "inserts" in the labyrinth with Face Rock and the other formations in the background was amazing. By the time we finally left, the tide was already encroaching on the labyrinth and nearly everyone had gone. It was a very relaxing way to spend a Friday morning.
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