We took a short trip up to experience the bioluminescence in the San Juan Islands, something I've wanted to do for a very long time. Because you need as much darkness as possible to get the best experience with bioluminescence, I timed this trip to happen with the new moon. This means, much to Bruce's chagrin, we were out in Washington State on a weekend. My loving, antisocial husband is convinced that nobody in Washington knows how to stay home. They're either on the roads going to or from work at all hours of the day and night during the week or they're out experiencing the outdoors when they aren't at work. He does have a point. It's so beautiful up here that everybody wants to spend as much time outdoors as possible. That's especially true in the summer, when the sun comes out regularly.
So, with ferry reservations having been made in advance for this busy time of year, we left bright and early on a Saturday morning, braving traffic through Seattle to get to the ferry terminal on Anacortes Island. I had my new Orca card set to autofill when its funds were depleted, so I just gave the terminal guy that to pay our fare. He had a good chuckle! Apparently, unlike almost all other autofill cards (think Sunpass in Florida or Opal in Sydney), the Washington State Ferry System doesn't auto refill until 24 hours after the funds run out. No problem. I just paid the balance of the ferry ride on a credit card. I'll probably need to turn off that autopay and just pay with my credit card in future. But, we pulled into the terminal and got in line, hanging out for the long wait for our boat to arrive. I took some pix while we waited. That white spot in the distance is Mt. Baker, a glaciated volcano in the Cascade range.
When we got on the ferry, I was willing to sit inside on the first level for Bruce, but he said we should go on to the top and outside, since that's where I usually like to be on ferries. No need to tell me twice! So, we headed up to the top and to the outside. Some dude beat me to the front and put a coat down. When I sat next to it, he informed me he was saving seven seats. Not wanting to start the trip out on a negative, I just scooted down. As the rest of his party came up, they had a couple of kids, toddler sized. The kids were cool, a bit rambunctious, but well behaved. The parents, on the other hand. One of the parents told the kids to play tag all the way down that side of the boat. She then turned to another person beside her and said that if the kids played tag all the way down that side, maybe nobody would bother them. That really ticked me off. I have no problem with kids playing. I have problems with adults telling the kids to play very active games in crowded spaces in an attempt to prevent other adults or children from enjoying those spaces, too. The kids were great, though, and as more people came to the area, they scaled back their game, trying to stay out of other people's way, and eventually stopping the game. I stayed along the rail (where we know I would be throughout the trip). Once we were underway, they all decided it was too cold and windy and went inside, as did most others. Me? I just put on a jacket. Lots of shots on the trip over - mostly blurry birds, but some came out.
I loved the way the fog was just hugging this little island.
Yellow-legged gull
Wonder how much it costs to have a double-wide mobile home delivered to the islands?
When we got to Friday Harbour, everybody headed to the lower level. Foot traffic exited from the same level as vehicles, so all the foot traffic was at the front of the ferry. Our car was also close to the front, so to get in the car, we had to ask people to temporarily stop leaning against the doors! No problem. I just thought it was funny. When we rolled off the ferry, we drove around the island a little bit because it was a little early for checking into our hotel.
First looks off the ferry (through the windshield)
Who knew there was an "American Camp" and an "English Camp" on the island! More about that later! This is the visitor center at the American Camp.
The totem by the harbour. There was a little protest going on here this weekend.
On the way from the street to the restaurant for lunch, we encountered the gentleman who was leaning against Bruce's door on the ferry. He and some friends were sitting on a bench by the ramp, looking over the harbor. He introduced himself and his buddies and we chatted for a minute. After learning that I was from Kentucky, he asked my thoughts on Andy Beshear. I let him know that I am a big fan of the Beshears, Andy and his daddy. Dude then told us he was on a mission to get the vote out for Trump. Before I could stop laughing, Bruce interjected that he was hungry and ushered me on toward the restaurant!
After lunch, we checked into our hotel and took a nap. This trip is about bioluminescence, and that only happens after dark. I'm a lightweight, so if I'm going to stay up late, I need an afternoon nap! As it started getting dusk, we headed out in the car. My goal was Lime Kiln Park, hoping that we could get close to the water not too far from the parking lot. I wanted to be able to play in the water and still have a fairly easy time getting back to the car. It wasn't meant to be. They close the gates to Lime Kiln Park at dark, so you can't park in the lot after dark. There were several pull outs near the park where you could see the water splashing up on the cliffs, but getting to the water wasn't really an option, especially for us after dark. So we parked at one of the pullouts, and I took several shots, long exposure, short exposure, etc, just to see if I could get anything. If I had seen anything on the back of the camera, I would have pulled out the tripod and tried to get some really good shots. After I FINALLY (Lots of things got in the way after we got home, but that's a whole other thing!) got around to going through the photos, I found this shot. It took a lot of work to clean it up because it was a long exposure that was handheld and rested along the car window ledge on the door. But you can see a little bit of sparkling water crashing on the shore waaay down there! It's my ONLY shot of bioluminescence, and you can barely see it.
We drove around to a couple of other places, hoping to find a place we could get by the water even though we hadn't scoped them out in the light. We went to Jackson Park, but not knowing anything about it, the little lights that were flitting around in the park before they suddenly disappeared just scared us. I decided they must be aliens. That was pretty much the only place close to Friday Harbour, where we were staying, that I could think of that might have accessible water, so we went back to the hotel after being run off by aliens.
We got up the next morning ready to circumnavigate the island. If we didn't stop, that would take about 2 hours. But, we all know me! We started at Jackson Park and decided we were glad we didn't try to walk out there in the dark. It was hard enough to pick through the driftwood to the beach in the fog! Sure was pretty, though! We drove over to the area where the aliens were, and it was a dock, launch ramp, parking lot, and bathroom.
The next stop was in search of the Cattle Point lighthouse. We drove past the American Camp all the way to the end of the road. One would think that is where the lighthouse would be. One would be wrong. I navigated the rocky ground to the point without incident. Walking along the groomed trail toward a sign, I fell and scraped my knee up pretty good.
Bruce says I only take pictures of his back, so...
I decided we could keep looking for the lighthouse before cleaning up my knee when we get back to running water and soap. Bruce wasn't fond of that idea, but he went along. He's often a good sport that way. We pulled into the Interpretive Center where we found this barn swallow nest. These little mouths opened before Mama got there to feed them! When wide open, they cover the whole head!
I finally put the lighthouse in the GPS. Turns out, the trail to the lighthouse was just in a little pullout that wasn't marked. It looked like it was just a field across from somebody's house! A few beautiful, yellow poppies and yellow daisies scattered in around the dry grasses with a few green patches.
A pair of black-tailed deer in the fog.
And we finally found the Cattle Point lighthouse!
This guy was hanging around. He didn't seem concerned about the people and snacked on crumbs dropped by people eating snacks, mostly toddlers. Believe it or not, this is a red fox, not a silver fox. They were brought onto the island to control the rabbits, which are also invasive, and have mutated to this grayish coloration, but they are red foxes.
Jakle's Lagoon was pretty
We finally made it to the American Camp, and I cleaned up my knee with soap and water in the bathroom, and Bruce found the first-aid kit to put a bandage over the scrape of the day. Then we headed for our next stop, Lime Kiln Park. This is the most common place to see Orcas in Washington State, so I grabbed my camera backpack and tripod and headed down the trail to the Orca viewing area. Bruce didn't think he was up for another hike, so he hung back and read his book.
There is an orca statue at the lower parking lot in front of the gift shop. This was the only orca I saw.
There are picnic tables set up all along the trail. People hang out here waiting to see if any whales show up. There was a naturalist at one of the tables who talked to me about the foxes. She also gave me a run down of the local whale situation. Two days ago, they had seen two humpbacks. Transient orcas (meat eaters) had been spotted further south in the Sound and didn't seem to be heading north. The Southern Residents (fish eaters only) were finding food further into the Straight of Juan de Fuca, closer to Victoria Island. We're happy they're finding food. (Feel free to read up on the Southern Resident orcas that are starving out of existence in large part because of the loss of king salmon in the Sound.) We just wish they were finding that food in more places, including where we were watching for them!
This little white-crowned sparrow didn't mind being around people, but she didn't stand still for good pictures.
One of multiple beautiful views from the trail around the point.
And I finally came to the Lime Kiln lighthouse. It is still functional and has a working lamp in the tower. They let us go up in the tower a few people at a time. If you decide to do it, be aware it is very narrow and the steps are very steep. It's best to leave backpacks on the ground floor if the workers on shift when you go allow it.
Signs are very insightful!
After enjoying the lighthouse, watching for some orcas that never appeared, and finishing the trail, I headed back to the car. Going on around the island, we came across this camp site. You can rent these structures for overnight stays. When not rented, they keep these boards in front of them to keep people from squatting in them. I have no idea what they would be like like inside, but I'd just have to put on a Sponge Bob Square Pants outfit if I ever rented one!
We finally made it over to the English Camp, which like the American Camp, is just the area where the two countries' armies camped while the issue was arbitrated with some trails that can be hiked down to the water. The English Camp is only a parking lot, trail head, and marker. The visitor center at the American Camp has exhibits that go much more in depth of the "Pig War", which centered mostly around which country had jurisdiction over the pig killer. Peace was brokered and the boundaries of Canada and the United States around the San Juan Islands and northern Puget Sound/Salish Sea area was brokered through international arbitration by Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany. I was not expecting a history lesson on this trip, but there's a lot of history on the island! And this was an interesting little tidbit!
Our next stop was Roche Harbour, which is the little town on the other side of the island than where we were staying, Friday Harbour. We first stopped at the sculpture garden. Some of them were very nice. They were all for sale, and they were all waaaay out of my price range. It was nice to look at, though.
As we got closer to town, Roche Harbour reminded me of Florida in a deed restricted neighborhood. All the buildings were interchangeable with lots of beige. There was even a bocce ball court, complete with seniors playing on it. The restaurants were overpriced. The parking lot had a 2-hour limit except for the one handicapped spot, which was limited to 30 minutes of use. It was so out of place for the whimsy of the rest of the island! I didn't take any pictures. Except of the lime kilns. The two large kilns made by the British troops (ordered by their commander) as a way to keep the troops busy during the Pig War. There are two of these, but it was difficult to get a picture of them both without getting the bocce players in the shot. Limestone was burned down here into industrial lime for sale and use in plaster and lots of other things. And that is how you keep a British soldier busy on San Juan Island!
After deciding Roche Harbour wasn't for us, we drove along the other side of the island to head back to Friday Harbor. There were a couple of things on this side of the island, mostly a winery, that we didn't stop to see but that may be interesting for others. Soon after leaving Roche Harbour, we were reminded of the whimsy of the rest of the island!
Love this metal dog sculpture peeing on the old hydrant!
After lunch and a nap, I got up and met my tour provider, Outdoor Odysseys, in the center of town. I and about 6 others were going kayaking in the bioluminescent waters. The provider picked us up around sunset and took us to Jackson Park, where we got our equipment, a briefing, and were underway for our kayaking trip. I got lucky and ended up in a kayak with one of the guides, so I didn't have to work very hard. The only camera I had with me was my GoPro knock off. (I took my new Outex waterproof camera housing to the island with us, but I forgot the harness, so I had no way to hold onto it while paddling the kayak and no way to keep from dropping it even when I wasn't paddling.) We got out into open waters as it got darker and darker. As we paddled around, you could see the water start to sparkle! It was absolutely amazing! It didn't look like the blue I've always seen in pictures and videos. It was shiny, blue-ish sparkles. Very bright, more of a bluish silver. Like Tinker Bell when she's moving! I tried to take video or pictures, but since my camera had no way to turn off the backlight, the light of the camera washed out the sparkles. Same with trying my phone. I never gave up, but there were no "happy accidents" like the shot from the first night. I dipped my hands into the water and splashed sparkles onto my life vest on my chest and played with them. Put the sparkles in my hair! It was so awesome! We also happened to be out during some of the more active days of the Perseid meteor shower and saw several falling stars! It was just magical! Stars above and below! Words can't describe and I couldn't get a picture! At one point, Starlink went by. We decided it was a space snake. So we had shooting stars, sparkling water, and a space snake. Definitely a night I'll never forget.
Bruce picked me up when we got back to town, and I fell promptly to sleep after getting to the room and wound down, not waking until late morning. After getting breakfast, we went back to Lime Kiln Park and watched for orcas for a while. Again, they did not show up. The only disappointing part of the trip, but it was still beautiful looking for them! After dark, we went back to Jackson Park, where we decided the aliens from our first night was probably head lamps worn by some tour providers loading or unloading equipment. We went out on the dock and stirred the water up with one of my hiking sticks. It didn't disappoint! Bruce was able to see the bioluminescence without having to get in the water. And we saw more shooting stars! I still wasn't able to get any pictures, though.
We got up early the next morning and caught the ferry back to Anacortes and went home. A magical three days that I'll never forget. We may do it again or I may try to go somewhere that the type of bioluminescence is easier to photograph (like just on the Pacific Coast of the Olympic Peninsula) or even some of the places where you can leave footprints in the sand. I think there's one of those places just down around San Diego...
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