No Small Measure

In northern Washington, even the tiniest natural wonders have an outsize effect.

- C PAM ZHANG

I LEFT SEATTLE and drove east, into gathering clouds. By the time I entered the rocky throat of Snoqualmie Pass, the landscape had been swallowed by mist. I worried about the view from the peak.

But this is not about the peak. This is about an unmarked stretch of I-90E, somewhere around the 47th parallel north in Washington State, where the mist briefly parted. I looked to my right.

A cold, dark body of water floated into view. At its center was an island, craggy with rocks, crowned by evergreens so huge they seemed prehistoric—I half expected a dinosaur to swing its spade-shaped head through the trees. Just one hour from the city found me lost not only in place, but in time. The island eventually vanished back into mist. I never found it on a map; it was that minor.