A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
I’ve been offline for the last week or so. Laura’s mother passed away on June 13 and we have been in Washington State on Samish Island for the funeral. I only had my phone for Internet access, so I’ve not been able to upload photos or do much blogging. I’ll try to catch up with things in these next couple of posts.
The celebration actually started yesterday. There were the beach fireworks Duff and I saw while paddling, usually involving ordnance obtained from the reservation and NOT approved by Washington State law. Also, the neighbors a couple of doors down had hired a band. Duff and I had heard them while paddling, and back home they were really loud.
After dark Laura and I walked out front and watched (and listened to) fireworks both on the reservation across Padilla Bay and on the San Juan Islands. For some of them, if these weren’t official shows, then someone was REALLY in violation of the “safe and sane” fireworks laws.
Monday, July the Fourth was one of the best Independence Days we’ve ever had. It started quietly enough like every other morning on the island so far. I even skipped another paddling opportunity in order to sleep in a bit. Mid-morning we decided to head down to the Samish Island Parade on North Beach.
It looked like I wasn’t going to get to go paddling this trip. I had thought about just buying a kayak and leaving it up here for future trips, but couldn’t find anything reasonable. I thought about booking another tour, but by that time most had filled up with holiday travelers.
Fortunately, the neighbor Duff came to my rescue. He had several homemade Fiberglas boats that we had used before, but they weren’t easy to reach. They were at the bottom of the cliff on the south side of the island. We managed to haul them up the cliff, but by that time it was late in the evening, and we were a bit tired from the haul to go paddling.
After discussing options we decided to take the boats up the Valley and run a section of the Skagit River. This was something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, so I was psyched. We loaded the boats onto our rental, since it had roof racks.
The next morning Duff and I headed out in two vehicles. We had barely gotten off the island when one of the boats came loose and slid off of my car. Fortunately there was no damage to car or boat, and we were able to get it loaded back on an limp home. However, we needed to regroup.
The view from Mrs. Wright’s living room is constantly changing. The lighting changes with the rising and setting of the sun, clouds and weather roll in, and there is the constant shifting of the tides. Throw in a couple of eagles, herons, and humming birds, along with some boat traffic, and you’ve got a constant … Read More “A Day on Samish Island” »
Mrs. Wright’s house looks out over Padilla Bay, a section of the Puget Sound bounded by Samish Island to the north, the flat farmlands of Skagit Valley to the east and south, and Fidalgo Island south and west. The Swinomish Channel runs between Fidalgo Island and the mainland, connecting Padilla Bay to Skagit Bay.
On the east side of the bay, near the little community of Bayview, is the Padilla Bay Preserve. As many times as I’ve driven past here over the past 20 years, I had never stopped in. I decided that had to change on this trip. It was sunny one afternoon this past week, so I headed on over.
The Padilla Bay Preserve actually encompasses the east side of the bay. Just south of Bayview is a paved walkway that provides great views of the bay and the surrounding wetlands and farmlands. North of Bayview is the Brezeale Interpretive Center – a research and meeting center with displays for the general public. I had walked along the pathway, but had never been to the visitors center.
Wednesday I left Laura and her mom to get settled into the house a bit more, and I headed out to explore. I kind of had a couple of destinations in mind, but I wasn’t really sure where I would wind up. as it turns out, I did a ton of hiking in several locations.
My first stop was at a wildlife observation area just about a mile from the island. You have to have a permit to park there, so I park out on the road and walked out anyway.
I followed a trail along cultivated fields, heading toward the dike that keeps Padilla Bay from flooding the farmlands.
Our first morning after arriving on the island, Duff the neighbor came over and asked if we had seen the fireworks across the bay. Of course, we were still on East Coast time then, so we hadn’t. The next evening I managed to stay up late enough so that I could watch them. At this … Read More “Fireworks, Swinomish Style” »
Every time one of Laura’s family visits from the West Coast we get the inevitable comment about there being a church on every corner. The comment is valid. Even as a native I’m surprised when I turn a corner to find a large Greek Revival structure I’d not spotted before – and that doesn’t even include the store-front churches that pop-up just about everywhere.
So, I guess my friends here in the Pacific Northwest have the same reaction when I comment about there being a coffee shop on every corner. I’m stating the obvious. After all, this is the home of Starbucks.
December is a hectic time of year. In addition to all the Christmas rush there is my birthday and our anniversary. Last December 27 was crazy with family and travel, so we decided to celebrate our anniversary six months later. Little did we know that June 27 would be crazy with family and travel, too, but we decided to go ahead with our plans for a special day.
Neither of us had ever been on a whale watching trip, so we decided that would be our big adventure for the day. This being a week before a major holiday, it was tricky finding reservations. Fortunately, Island Adventures in Anacortes had space, so we booked our trip.
It turns out that this is the same company that I used for my kayaking tour last August when I was here. They followed the same procedures, too. We checked in at their main store, then reported over to the marina where we would board.
It was one of those days that the State of Washington would prefer that no one knows about. I think they would prefer that the rest of the US think that it’s all rainy and gloomy. Otherwise, everyone would rush to move up here.
Granted, it was cold when I first got up – in the 40’s. However, I knew it was going to be a good day when I could see the Olympic Mountains over Anacortes to the southwest and Mount Rainier to the southeast.
We had a lazy morning with a few more chores around the house, then I headed out to do some photography and exploration. I drove to the north end of the island and walked down to the beach on Samish Bay. Mount Baker was starting to peak through the clouds, and the skies were spectacular over Lummi Peak.
