I hadn’t had time to take any photos yesterday, so this morning I got up early and went searching for photo ops.  It’s another beautiful day, and the morning light makes everything even more beautiful.

This town has tons of restaurants, cafes, specialty coffee shops, ice cream shops, art stores….the typical tourist town, but charming.

Even though it’s September, there were flowers everywhere.

This rose had just about finished blooming and was full of rosehips.

And, there is a hostel half a block from the water.

I found lots of historic houses, some from the 1800’s.

They take face masks seriously here.  Even this metal heron lawn ornament was sporting one.

You don’t see too many self-serve, pay on the honor system flower stands where I come from.

I was really surprised to find this San Juan County Fairground.  Apparently, among other events, they have a Saturday farmers market here. 

I got my 10,000 steps in and headed back to the boat.  By now, Al was up and getting the boat ready to head back to Hunter Bay, on Lopez Island.  Such a beautiful day for traveling.

As I was trying to get a shot of Mt Baker, going through Upright Channel, the Washington State Ferry “Chelan” appeared.  

When we got to Hunter Bay, we were pleased to see that the summer crowds are starting to dwindle.  Nice.  We were able to anchor deep into the bay, where we hope to avoid the ferry wakes.

Today is Al’s 90th birthday!  We started this beautiful sunny day with Belgian waffles topped with peanut butter, fresh strawberries and whipped cream.  I put a candle on Al’s waffle and sang “Happy Birthday”.  

After breakfast, I headed back to The Marketplace, but on my way I decided to check out King’s Market, which was only about half a block up Spring Street… way closer than The Marketplace.  What a great store!  Their produce was primo. I was able to pick up some of their chorizo, which Al likes for breakfast, and some fresh mussels to go with the Gundlach Bunschu merlot that we’re going to be drinking for Al’s birthday dinner, and a Marie Callender apple pie.  

Fresh steamed mussels dipped in garlic butter…..delish!  By the time we finished the mussels and appetizers, and the bottle of Gundlach Bunschu, we were pleasantly full. So, we decided to pass on the entrée.  We did have room for the apple pie, however.

By 0900 hrs, we’re on our way to Friday Harbor, where we’ve reserved a slip for two nights.  It will be so nice to get some fresh produce.  We’re down to eating prunes for fruit.  

We haven’t been to Friday Harbor for 30 years, and are pleasantly surprised by all the improvements.  This is a first class marina.  And when I went to pay for the moorage, I was shocked to find out it was only $44 a night!  This is about half of what we’ve been paying in some places in Canada.  Yay!

Right after breakfast, I headed to The Marketplace for groceries.  It was a bit of a hike, but I needed the exercise.  I found everything I needed and then called a taxi to take me back to the marina.  Luckily, they have dock carts, because I had quite a load.  

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the WiFi connection.

It’s raining this morning.  It was chilly and ugly outside, so I opted to stay in bed, where it was warm, until 0745 hrs.  Such a luxury.

Eventually, the sun came out , so I decided to paddle around Parks Bay.  It didn’t look promising, and it wasn’t.  I paddled for two hours and all I found was a kingfisher and a vulture so high up in a tree that I thought it was a crow.

The only reason for coming to Parks Bay was its close proximity to Friday Harbor, where we have reserved a slip for September 1.  

I’m going to miss Reid Harbor, with all its beautiful walking trails, outstanding scenery, and surprising sheep.  But there are so many places and so few days, that we’re moving on to Parks Bay, on Shaw Island this morning.

I got up at 0530 hrs and did a quick two-hour paddle just for the exercise.    A lot of boats left yesterday, but there are still a bunch of boats left.

This heron was up and about and already looking for breakfast.

And, there were boats on both sides of the new-fangled mooring arrangement this morning, so I had to get a shot of that.  Surprisingly, when boats are on both sides of the chains, the chains separate.  Cool.

The Parks Department takes the Corona virus seriously, especially when recreating, as evidenced by this sign. 

When I got near the entrance, I spotted a Trump fan.  This is a rare, almost extinct, species in the state of  Washington.

My body had recovered enough from the walk to Turn Point Lighthouse to tackle the trail to Prevost Harbor and the state park dock. 

On my way in to the beach, I spotted this deer nibbling on trees.

There is a lush marsh at the head of the bay, behind the campground.  The trail was nice and flat as it skirted the marsh.

The flat didn’t last for long, however.  The trail was so steep, that they embedded stairs that climbed for what seemed forever.

I know.  They don’t look that steep, but trust me, they were killers.  I would look back on these stairs with fondness, however, when I got to the really steep parts of the trail that looked like a mountain goat path.

I climbed and climbed and finally got to a fork in the path.  I decided to take the unmarked path, thinking it might take me down to the shores of Prevost Harbor.  Wrong.  I walked and climbed for another 30 minutes, and when I discovered where this trail ended, I couldn’t believe it, but there in front of me was the school house I hiked to day before yesterday!  

So, back I went to the fork in the trail.  Fortunately, from there I didn’t have far to go to the isthmus of Stuart Island, where the state park dock is located.  The sun had come out.  The view was beautiful.

Back at the fork, I located the trail that heads toward the entrance to Reid Harbor, which was posted as “Difficult”.  From the map I found posted on a tree, I learned that I couldn’t go all the way to the entrance, because much of that property is private.  Oh, well, I figured I’d walk as far as the public land took me.  

As I hiked along the trail, which was more vertical that I would prefer at this point, I looked out over the harbor looking for “Jubilacion”.  I finally spotted her.  When I zoomed in, I could make out Al’s outline in the galley, probably doing some preparation for dinner.

When I pressed the Review button on my camera to see if the shot was good, I noticed that my battery was dead.  Well, here was my excuse to head back to my kayak.  Three hours of hiking over hill and dale is more than enough exercise for one day.

I set out paddling early this morning, enjoying the flat seas and blue skies.  The only fly in the ointment was distant fog.  I could see a fog bank hugging the shores of San Juan Island just across the channel and hoped it wouldn’t drift this way.

I heard the chatter of a kingfisher and saw him heading for a nearby tree, where he stayed just long enough for me to get this shot.

Then, he was airborne again, heading for some rocks.

I headed for the entrance to Reid Harbor, checking out the shore as I went.  It’s a wonder I was able to spot this heron, he blended in so perfectly with the rocks.

This giant madrone caught my eye.

When I reached the entrance, I checked on the fog situation and decided I’d take a chance on going out into the channel.  As I rounded the point, I was looking for seals or otters, when, to my amazement, this sheep appeared!

And then, another sheep appeared, and another.  There were several sheep grazing on the grass, and the seagrass exposed by the low tide.

This guy had a perfectly round hole in his ear.

I’m assuming the sheep are used for weed abatement.  I love it!

Well, I did find a seal.  In fact there was a whole rookery. 

I didn’t hang around long enough to take any more seal photos, since I’ve had frightening seal encounters in the past.

One of the pretty little islets at the entrance had an interesting beach I wanted to check out for possible landing.

Not too far from the beach I found some oyster catchers scouring the shore.

I headed up the dirt road, enjoying the lush vegetation and wonderful fragrance of the forest.  The road was lined with beautiful ferns.

This swing was a real surprise.  I would have loved to try it out, but apparently the giant old tree in which it was hung has grown quite a bit since it was installed, because you would have to be about 8 feet tall to reach it.

The cruising guide made it sound like the trail and road were mostly flat.  Well, I have a totally different idea about what flat means. To make matters worse, it was hot, over 80^oF.   Luckily, there was a lot of shade.

The first thing I came to was the historic school house.  Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, the school was closed.

By the time I got to this half-way sign, I was beginning to think I might not be able to make it to the lighthouse. 

I started worrying about whether I’d be able to make it back to my kayak before the tide came in.  But, I soldiered on.

The scenery was beautiful and bucolic, with farms overlooking Prevost Harbor and spectacular Mount Baker.

Then I came to this sign and hoped I had the worst behind me.

And, the road did get flatter for a while.  

I was really surprised when I came upon this airplane and grass airstrip.  The owner must be a real hot dog pilot, or he has a death wish.

After what seemed like an eternity, I came to this sign.  Surely, it can’t be too much further.

Then, just up the last hill, there was this sign.  I had finally arrived, huffing and puffing, but I’d made it.

The views alone were worth all the pain.

The lighthouse itself was not all that impressive.

The lighthouse keeper’s house, however, was lovely.

I would have loved to sit down and take in all the beauty, but the tide was coming in, and if I didn’t want to have to swim to retrieve my kayak, I had to start heading back. My body was hating it.

I had noticed two benches not too far from the lighthouse, at the top of steep inclines.  When I reached the first one, I just had to rest awhile.  Someone had been kind enough to place this bench here with the following thoughtful inscription.

As I was puffing up one hill, I spotted the remains of this very old automobile discarded in a ditch.  Someone apparently felt it was too expensive to pay to have it hauled off the island.

The beautiful scenery, and the fact that there were fewer inclines, made the walk back to the harbor less difficult.

When I got to this sign, I figured I was going to make it.

All of the homes on the island have to provide their own utilities.  I’d wondered what they do for water.  Well, apparently there is some water on the island, as evidenced by this pond I discovered.  They must drill wells.

When I finally reached my kayak, I found that I need not have worried, as it was still way up the beach, high and dry.  Yay.  Though painful, I felt the walk had been well worth it.  A little Aleve tonight, and I’ll probably be ready for new adventures tomorrow.

The wind is calm and we have another beautiful sunny day in store for us.  We’re leaving right after breakfast for Reid Harbor, on Stuart Island, so I have to get my paddle in early.  Fortunately, I didn’t have far to paddle for my first photo op. An eagle landed in the top of a tree right near the boat.

He was going to make me work for it, however.  After just a few shots, he flew to the top of an even taller tree, where he lingered long enough for just this one shot.

So, I headed toward English Camp, where I was sure I could get heron shots.  And, sure enough, this guy was waiting for me.

He headed along the shore, coming my way.  A seagull was looking for low tide goodies also, and didn’t appreciate this guy horning in on his territory.

Mr. Heron was not in the mood for squawking seagulls this early in the morning, and took off for quieter feeding ground.  He surprised me, flying right over my head.

Well, I figured I’d better head back to the boat if we were going to take advantage of these calm traveling conditions.  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something scurrying over the rocks….an oyster catcher!  I love these guys, and their crazy eyes.  There is an oyster farm in Westcott Bay, but this fellow was going for the wild ones.

As soon as we finished breakfast, Al fired up the engines and we were off to Reid Harbor, for the first time in 30 years.  The last time we were in Reid, we had a sailboat.   Reid was only 6 miles away, so we were pulling into Reid before we knew it.  

What a difference 30 years makes!  The placed was packed with boats.  Luckily, it’s a pretty good size anchorage, and we were able to find a nice spot deep inside harbor.  

This afternoon, a fleet of kayaks came paddling through the anchorage.

We have wall-to-wall blue skies this morning… perfect weather for Al to replace teak plugs on the foredeck, and for me to go kayaking.

This morning, I headed out toward Mosquito Pass.  The current in the pass was a bit too much for me to handle, but I did manage to get a few shots of this heron, who also seemed to be enjoying this beautiful morning.

On my way over to English Camp, I spotted some pigeons foraging at low tide. I’ve never seen pigeons feasting at low tide before.

When I got to English Camp, I found the heron that was here yesterday.  And, once again, he paid me no mind.  He was too busy hustling up breakfast.

Fishing didn’t seem to be as good today.

Al finished replacing all the teak plugs and whipped up a batch of peanut clusters…what a guy!

It was such a beautiful day, and we have a front row seat.