Adventures on land

After our wonderful visit to Eagle Harbor we were glad we got back when we did.  The next day we had heavy winds out of the south that, combined with temperatures in the mid 60's, made it a tad cool.  Not to mention the challenges the wind created for the sailors here.  Even the Wednesday night racers, who seem to be possessed at times, all turned around and tucked their boats away saying it was just too much.

Our mascot, Simon the Doggi Lama, has also been facing some challenges with his already limited vision. So for the past couple of days we've been enjoying seeing more of our surroundings on land.  On Wednesday we drove out to Bayview State Park which is across Padilla Bay from Fidalgo Island.  Padilla Bay is a big shallow bay, less than a fathom deep (6 feet) for the most part.  So since the tides here average 9 feet, it spends a good part of the time as a mud flat.

"High Tide Use Only"

Seems to state the obvious...

From there we drove down to Camano Island.  Like Fidalgo Island where we are, Camano is separated from the mainland by a narrow channel.  It seems like a nice spot to live.  We took a back road back to Anacortes, stopping in Conway at the Conway Eatery and Pub.  A dock neighbor told us to give it a try as it has good food.  And it did!  It was a good old tavern type of place with a lot of regulars.  We like places like that.  We sat at the bar and visited with a local guy who gave us some more useful local knowledge.  The drive back to Anacortes was lovely traveling through the farmlands of Skagit Valley.  Because our focus is the water, I sometimes lose track of the fact that this is primarily an agricultural area.  Lots of corn, potatoes and berries being farmed here on beautiful smaller family farms.

Yesterday morning I had a nice visit with a dock neighbor who also has a "sight-challenged" dog about Simon's size.  She grew up here but they now spend their winters in St. Louis, MO and their summers here on their boat.  They are just the nicest people and have been very helpful with their experience and local knowledge.  She was telling me about Whistle Lake which is just a few miles from the marina.  It's part of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands along with another small lake or two.  It's set among some tall timber with a nice wide trail as well as many smaller marked trails.  One of which goes around the lake.  Simon was content to hike into the lake and back out.

One of the many marked side trails.

Whistle Lake is a popular swimming hole for the younger, heartier crowd.

The wide, kind trail up to the lake.

This place gets used!  When we arrived the small parking area was pretty full.  As we were hiking in, probably half a mile or so, we passed a bunch of young folks who had been swimming who were on their way out.  Meanwhile we got passed by a few groups of picnic basket toting families on their way in.  It's nice to see a place like this that is appreciated and so well cared for.  We saw just one water bottle beside the trail.  Nice spot.

Well, it's time for me to get on with today's excitement - we're going to the fifth wheel to pick up the sewing machine for this weekend's project.  We're making some alterations to our mainsail cover.  Stay tuned, I'm sure it'll keep you on the edge of your seats!