It's hard to convey to my friends and family what Circles in the Sand is about. I generally start by setting the scene - it's a beautiful remote stretch of Oregon's southern coast where a cliff overlooks the beach and an amazing array of large rocks jut into the water. And on the stretch, volunteers trace an elaborate, unique labyrinth. Other volunteers fill in the pattern, and presto - it's ready to be walked. And then the tide comes in and the whole thing disappears. All of that happens in the span of a few hours, and it's always stunning. The locale is beach down the stairs from the Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint, just south of Bandon's downtown.
One weekend each summer, I head to Bandon to see it for myself. This year, I was there for Father's Day weekend. On Saturday, with clouds and rain threatening, I arrived late morning, but just in enough time to walk a smaller pattern before it washed away. On Sunday, I arrived much earlier in the day and got to be one of the volunteer "groomers" who use rakes to gently fill in the curves and swooping areas of sand. After an hour of raking, it was ready to be walked. In addition to my very understanding better half (9+ hours of round-trip driving isn't easy!), I was joined by some friends and family who also came down to Bandon for the weekend, and it made it all the more special to have them there. It was a bigger design, and had a Father's Day feel as I could feel the positivity from other dads like myself who were spending part of their day on the beach.
This was my seventh year participating in Circles in the Sand. The founder-organizer-leader-genius behind it, Denny Dyke, said he started it nine years ago. He's the smiling guy with me in one of these photos, and is as inspirational as one gets, as are the other people on the Circles team. They are universally welcoming, thoughtful and engaged in creating basically a public attraction on the beach that is open to all. I can't think of another effort that is designed, built and totally erased shortly thereafter, and then repeated over and over again much of the summer.
Of all the many, many labyrinths I see each year in the various places I go, my favorite one hands-down is, and always will be, this one. It may only last a few hours on the sand, but it stays in my heart year-round.
(Extra photo credit - (9) me grooming by Donna Belt; the others mainly by me or her )