Shh…Don’t tell anyone. Arrive on any non-summer-visitor-rush day at Rosario Beach and you will likely be alone. I know, right? Unfortunately, most folks must visit during the summer months, which are also awesome, as long as you don’t mind sharing. And I don’t. First, the tide pools, also known as the Urchin Rocks, for reasons …
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If my same-size sister and I had known that the canoe our neighbors agreed to loan us weighed nearly as much as one of us, we’d have handled things differently. Our plan: to lift, load and transport the dark green Coleman X Scanoe to our destination seven miles away: Cornet Bay, part of Deception Pass State …
Continue reading “Scrapy Sounds, Stinky Smells and…Serenity”
Frederick, the title character of one of Leo Lionni’s many wonderful children’s books, is a mouse that seems to be daydreaming and shirking his preparing-for-the-winter-months duties while his mice friends work. But when winter comes, he does his part by sharing the memories he collected and lifting their spirits. Last week Tuesday while others in …
Last week, for the first time during the decade I’ve lived on Whidbey Island, I made my way to South Whidbey State Park, located between Greenback and Freeland. The Washington State Parks site says, “South Whidbey Island State Park is a 347-acre camping park with 4,500 feet of saltwater shoreline on Admiralty Inlet. Park features include old-growth …
Two years ago, I came upon a plant while doing what else, running, on the Lighthouse Point trail in Deception Pass State Park. I had never seen the flower before but suspected it was an orchid. I was right. It was a Calypso bulbosa, common name: Fairy slipper orchid. From that day forward, this plant …
Last week, for the first time, I walked a recently-opened mile-long section of the Guemes Channel Trail in Anacortes, which will eventually connect to the Tommy Thompson Trail. I also visited the nearby Ship Harbor Interpretive Preserve, which is accessible from the end of a little cul de sac that can be reached from Oakes Road (to Glasgow Way …
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A few weeks ago my husband and I hiked the Bluff Trail that traverses three different areas: Ebey’s Landing, the Robert Y. Pratt Preserve (Mr. Pratt “gave 147 acres of his land, including the beautiful Bluff Trail, to the Nature Conservancy, for its wildness to be preserved, enjoyed and shared with the public), and the Admiralty Inlet …
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Anacorteans (or whatever those who live in Anacortes are called) are very familiar with the Tommy Thompson Trail, which, according to Anacortes Magazine, “consists of approximately 3.3 miles of paved trail for pedestrians and bicyclists between 11th Street and across the train trestle to March Point,” and, according to Trail Link, “follows an abandoned corridor of …
I’ve lived in the area of Dugualla Bay, located at the northernmost notch along the east side of Whidbey Island (at the upper (20) marker on this map), for nearly ten years now, which has given me plenty of time to see dozens of different species of plants and birds as well as some sea …
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Now that I’ve finally figured out the trail system around Goose Rock, I have decided that these are the two most ideal hikes in terms of time, effort and scenery that begin from the parking lot north of Deception Pass Bridge. Either way, you’ll need to park, display your Discover Pass, and head towards the …
Continue reading “The Perfect Walk (Hike or Trail Run) at Goose Rock from the Parking Lot”
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