Salt Marsh

Just beyond the dunes you see above lie the Atlantic Ocean.  On the other side of me not a mile away is the Cape Fear River.  I am standing on a narrow patch of salt marsh lined with maritime forest.  A boardwalk path winds its way through sand and marsh ending at a bird and nature observation deck.  From here I can see ibis, herons and egrets.  I hear rails and woodcocks but never see them.  Hawks and eagles glide high overhead while ducks feed in the shallows.  The only noise is the wind.  This is a sacred place.