From North Cascades to the Islands of Western Washington

After our epic hike near North Cascades National Park, we continued our drive along the Cascade Loop (Highway 20) heading west. We passed and briefly admired some of the other popular sites in this national park. Along the way we ...

... enjoyed the devilish green-blue color of
Diablo Lake,

... hiked under the towering forest
on the Trail of the Cedars.

...stopped for a picture of Gorge Creek
Falls for our waterfall fan, Dave,

... picked the wild blackberries
that are so invasive in the area
that no one bothers to harvest them
(except us),

...and followed the Skagit River as it winds
its way out of the park and
heads towards the Pacific Ocean.

Along with the river, we too found our way to the northern Pacific Ocean as we explored a few of the islands that dot the western coast of Washington State. Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands treated us to beautiful sunsets, great hiking trails, and an up close view of the unique ecosystem of tide pools.

One of the Washington state parks that often makes the ''best of'' lists is Deception Pass State Park. It lies right between these two islands, and I was hopeful to be able to visit it as we passed through. Much to my delight, Doug managed to reserve a campsite (not an easy feat during these last busy days of summer), so we were able to spend a couple of days checking out the natural features that make this park one of the ''best''!

Deception Pass got its ''downer'' of a name from the explorer George Vancouver who felt deceived that the body of water between the two islands was merely a narrow passageway and not a large port like he had hoped it would be. But happily, exploring the park was anything but a downer for us.

We were able to park our ''home'' at the beach area during the day and wait for low tide so that we could walk the beach.

During high tide the water would be well over my head, 

...but during low tide, the water recedes to reveal a wide beach filled with colorful stones that keep both amateur and professional rock collectors busy. We talked with two women who come here often during low tide to sift through the pebbles in search of sea glass that they use to make jewelry. I like to look for heart-shaped stones, but I have to work on finding smaller ones.

Lovely color but just a little too big for my van.

During a park hike to Rosario Beach, we came upon a first for this mid-western girl ... a tide pool. I had to think waaaay back to middle school science class to recall learning about tide pools. And I have to admit that it is a lot more fun to re-learn by experiencing it in person. Tide pools form when rocky areas of shore are exposed during low tide ... revealing a treasure of hardy ocean plants and animals.

Walking along the yellow rope path (shown in the middle of the picture above) helped protect the surrounding area and also allowed us to see anemones, snails, and sea lettuce ... salad, any one?? A state park intern saw us observing the pool and provided us with a wealth of information about the special beauty of these tide pool organisms. In a year when all the informative park ranger programs have been canceled, it was great to be able to learn about the uniqueness of this natural setting ... one-on-one, six feet apart, and with our masks on, of course!  

Nearby, we came upon this future marine biologist. I could have spent hours watching this young fellow bait his homemade trap, catch a crab, play with it for a while, and release it back into the water.  

After driving to the south end of Whidbey Island, Baby Beest took her first ferry ride across the Puget Sound to the cute coastal town of Port Townsend, Washington.
 

Here beach walks and light houses continued to give us some ''island vibes'', 

... and an overnight campsite near the ocean at Salt Creek Recreation Area gave us another ''tide pool'' observation opportunity.

During our time at the park, the sight of ferns and moss growing out of dead tree limbs and mountains rising in the distance gave us a hint that we would soon be in for a change in landscape.

We enjoyed our island time,

 but the mountains, and rain forests, and beaches of Olympic National Park are calling!

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