We packed a lunch and headed to Whidbey Island. This is a long island off the coast of Washington, near Anacortes. The Strait of Juan de Fuca is on the west, and the Saratoga Passage is on the east. It is accessible to the mainland by bridges. We started at the north end, at Deception Pass Bridge and State Park. We crossed the bridge, which is over a steep gorge and beautiful water, and parked on the other end. You can also walk across the bridge, to view the gorge and water. A bit scary, but beautiful. As we approached the bridge, we noticed some trails off to the side, along the bluff next to the water. So, of course, without having a trail map, we started off. The sign we came to said "Summit trail 0.4 miles" and "Bluff trail". We started on the Bluff trail, but when we asked some other folks walking it, they said it was a 4 mile loop, so we ended up going on the 0.4 mi Summit trail. You would think we would know from the name that the 0.4 miles were all uphill--steep uphill. When we finally reached the summit, it was definitely worth it! Incredible views of the islands and the Strait. We returned to the bridge, and walked part way over it--to the middle. One side looked out over the Similk Bay, in Puget Sound, and the other into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
We drove the short distance into the Deception Pass State Park, which was lovely. We had lunch right on the beach. It was a gorgeous day--sunny, and comfortable with a light sweater.
We continued our drive down the island, and stopped at Fort Ebey State Park. We hiked a trail through the woods, that was mostly covered over with foliage, so we were walking almost through a tunnel. It took us to an old WW II gun battery, overlooking the sound, from the bluff. We then walked down to beach, and hung out on the rocks, watching the tide come in.
Our last stop was at Fort Casey State Park. This park had an turn of the century coast artillery--10 inch guns, that were state of the art in 1890. This post was to defend the coast from foreign attack. It also had a pretty lighthouse.
We ended up the day in Anacortes, in their marina tourist section, with art galleries, book stores, pus and restaurants. We had a nice dinner. And Peter found a remarkable book store. It had an amazing number of Peter-type books. It also had a piano player and a coffee shop. It was the most organized, well presented book store, that I've ever seen.
Deception Pass Bridge and Trail photos:
Deception Pass State Park photos:
Fort Ebey State Park photos:
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| Bluff walk |
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| View from inside gun battery |
Fort Casey State Park and Gunnery:
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