Historic RCA Building
Historic RCA Building
2 miles
3 hours
Start: Historic G Ranch Cemetery
End: Historic G Ranch Cemetery
Includes: Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Historic RCA Building, Schooner Creek
Hike 13
March 14, 2013
Queen-of-Swords
Flexibility
Usually we walk on Fridays. This week, on a whim, I went on Thursday to walk from the Historic G Ranch Cemetery to the Historic RCA Building.
Flexibility is the essence of the Queen of Swords. We see her in profile, faced toward the future, her left hand extended.
I started walking at 8:00am. Fog hung heavily over Drake’s Estero. Poppies glowed golden-orange through the mist, water-droplets collecting on their delicate, closed petals.
Desultory mooing issued from the gloom. My exposed wrists and hands felt icy in the moist air, as I stopped to photograph purple vetch at the pasture's edge.
I passed Historic G Ranch, which is run by the Lunny family, who also runs the oyster farm. I felt happy to let my mind wander. There was a good bit trash along the road, but I opted to wait to pick it up on my way back.
Traffic-yellow road signs looked like SFMOMA exhibits set against the moody grey of the morning.
The cows were noncommittal in their curiosity, looking as I passed, only the youngest quickening their step. There were some beautiful, rust-colored calves, I later found out I wasn't the only one to admire.
Joe Lunny happened by in his truck and told me an unfortunate tale of cattle rustling, very Wild West. How do you steal cows and move them undetected from the end of the world, on the only road going in or out? We shared various theories until an oncoming car scared me from the road.
I got to the North District Operations Center. It is housed in the Historic RCA Building. My intention was to walk to the Bull Point trailhead, but once I saw the cypress-lined avenue, I could not resist exploring.
The sweeping drive ending in late 1920’s deco architecture is very Great Gatsby.
The upper story now houses the North District law enforcement department for the park service. Downstairs is an old marine radio-communications station from the days of Morse code. This technology was supplanted by cable and later satellite.
The downstairs is open to the public on Saturday mornings, but this was not Saturday; I tugged at the bolted door and headed back toward the road.
Exotic, red-orange flowers, appropriate to the 1920’s motif, bloomed elegantly, visual hot-spots in the surrounding cold.
When I got back to Sir Francis Drake road, I decided to return to my car. This mile had taken awhile to walk, I had a lot of trash to pick-up, and time was short.
Had I not turned back when I did, I would have missed the best part of the walk, well the two best parts: talking with Joe Lunny and seeing the otters!
A chuffy sniffing noise caught my attention as I crossed Schooner creek. To my right, by the culverts, was an otter-head extended, nostrils flaring in my direction. It took me a moment to get my bearings. I was so excited to see this otter close-up and I was afraid he was going to dart away before I got a good look.
I heard three chuffy sniffs and he dropped out of sight. A moment later, his head popped-up. He dropped and I heard more sniffing. There were two otters. I sat down. Eventually, five otters emerged. They took turns swimming in a large circle from the back of the pool to just under my feet by the culverts.
How I wished my boy was here. We saw otters in White House Pool about four years ago and have been looking for more ever since. At least I got pictures.
So how does the queen-of-swords fit into this? She offers a way of being in the world. She knows her own mind, which means she knows what she needs and what she values. She is also willing to be influenced by the world. She welcomes others into her sphere and is flexible enough to change her course of action if the situation calls for it.
To make the most of the possibilities the world has to offer, we must be open to them. This means, we know what we want and what we are willing to do to get it. We also realize, we never have all the answers. The world offers us opportunities in the form of tree-lined avenues, conversations with ranchers in the middle of the road and otter-spotting when you least expect it.
To get the most out of life, we must know what we want and be able to change our course at any moment. Really, the list of human needs is short; we want to know ourselves, know each other and be well.
Our needs are few, but the potential means by which we fulfill these needs are infinite. The queen-of-swords allows us the flexibility to open to new thoughts and possibilities, while still making progress towards our goal.
