Padilla Bay – high and low of the matter
Padilla Bay (Washington State) is an estuary at the saltwater edge of the Skagit River delta in the Salish Sea. It is about eight miles long (north to south) and three miles across. Filled with sediment from the Skagit River the bay is shallow, flat and muddy – and almost entirely intertidal. This estuary is home to a large eelgrass meadow of nearly 8,000 acres. The richness of this ecosystem provides nursery for our beloved salmon, crab, perch and herring. Great blue herons, eagles, otters and seals all feed on the local worms, shrimp, clams and other invertebrates. Padilla Bay is part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve system.
5280 Lens Mafia 
The tranquility in that top shot is wonderful. The blue of the sky and water are almost the same field, and the way the shoreline angles up to the right and the way the trees crop the sky gives you a nearly perfect angular bisect . Incredible composition here.
Thanks Sam – it was a lovely calm afternoon, quite the gift.
Oh how I love this photo. Let me count the ways. Definition of serenity. Very nice.
Wish you could have heard the young bald eagles in the trees – they are very common along the Skagit River. I still get a thrill when I see them.
The bottom photo is breathtaking. Visited Padilla while doing my master’s at Evergreen. Wonderful place
The entire Skagit watershed is so beautiful. Several years ago we did a river float on the Skagit – counting Bald Eagles (89). I am pleased you got to enjoy the Bay.