Orcas, Ospreys, and Eagles; Pig war
Took the ferry to San Juan Island yesterday, we wanted to see the American and English Camps, site of the famed “Pig Wars” (more below). It was a great day, with a nice hike up Young Hill for some panoramic views. We also lucked out and saw several juvenile bald eagles, some ospreys in a nest (through a telescope), and a pod of Orcas heading for deeper water. Too bad I didn’t take my telephoto lens…..
In 1818, the 49th parallel was established as the boundary between Canada and the USA. Unfortunately, the border was ambiguous as to where it went through the San Juan Islands, and both English and US residents claimed ownership. Finally, one of the US residents got tired of the pig owned by an Englishman rooting up his garden, and shot the pig. This escalated into a full scale argument, and England sending troops. The troops landed on the north of the Island, and established a camp there. So, the US sent a garrison of Marines, who established an American Camp on the south of the island.
Over a period of 12 years, the almost-war between England and the US continued, until by mutual agreement Kaiser Wilhem of Germany was asked to arbitrate. He ruled the Islands were US property, and the English moved out peacefully. So for once we had a war with only one casualty: the pig.
English camp headquarters
English Camp, formal gardens
Cone flower in English Garden, with a bee
A view from Young Hill
Great sandwich, great location
American Camp headquarters
Looking over Grandma's cove, American Camp
Mt. Baker, from American Camp
Look close, middle of screen, down low.....
... cropped and enlarged view of surfacing Orca
Juvenile Bald Eagle
Mt. Baker, from the ferry back to Anacortes
Paddle to Swinomish, 2011
Every year, there is a large gathering of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest. Many arrive by traditional canoe, and have tribal meetings, dances, and traditional social activities. This year, it is being held just down the road from where we are staying. So, we went to take a look.
The canoes, and costumes, were quite colorful. The dances were interesting, depicting historical events. I have included some pictures of the canoes, but not the dances — photography was not allowed.
A waterfront gathering spot, following traditional designs
Some canoes bowsprits
More traditional designs
A spectacular drive
Washington Highway 542 runs 57 miles from Bellingham to the ski areas on Mt. Baker. Along the way, there are spectacular views of the mountain as well as forests, rivers, and waterfalls.
Yesterday, we decided that this would be a good time to make this drive. So did many others, as this was the first sunny weekend in a LONG time! On the way down we had a nice lunch at a local bar/food place, and shared it with Harley riders, cyclists, as well as car driven tourists.
On the road, Mt. Baker looms in the distance
Art on display: man-made vs. nature-made
Nooksack falls, a pleasant diversion on the way up
A view upstream from the falls
Roadside view
Peak of Mt. Baker, from the ski area
The lake at the end of Highway 542
... and looking a bit more to the east.
Alger Alp hike, WA
The Alger Alp hike is all on abandoned logging road, so it is an easy walk, terrain wise. But it is all uphill to the summit, just over 2 miles of uphill. It is amazing to think that at one time heavily laden logging trucks came down these roads!
Unfortunately, the weather never cleared, so the expected views were severely limited. Nevertheless, we had a nice hike, d picked up a few geocaches along the way.
Start of the hike, with the destination (top of the hill) visible
Foxgloves provide some color alongside the trail
Half way up, still a ways to go to the top
We actually beat this local resident to the top
View from the top, limited by clouds
A view on the way back
We found a cache by the side of this creek
Where are we — Holland?
The town of Lynden, WA has a very large Dutch population. In fact, this area produces more tulip bulbs than the country of Holland, and 2/3ds of all US raspberries. So when Lynden has a Raspberry Festival, we had to go.
Even though the Raspberry Festival attracts 20,000 people, it still is a very local event. But it was fun, and we enjoyed some raspberry sundaes and — poffertjes! Good stuff.
Yes, Lynden has a windmill!
"Dutch" street
More "Dutch" street
Yummm!
Lost in Discovery Park
Discovery Park in Seattle is one of the largest city owned parks in the country. It’s Loop Trail is almost 3 miles long, with lots of side trails. We know, we found a lot of them! The park itself is in far west Seattle, on a peninsula jutting out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The scenery was great, with excellent views of both Mt. Rainier (to the South) and Baker (to the North).
We didn’t have a trail map, and after we got past the lighthouse the trail was obvious, but little used. We finally asked a runner where the Visitor Center was, who pointed vaguely and said “way over there”. We finally found a map and our way out, but our 1 1/2 hour walk turned into a near 3 hour hike. But it was pleasant out, and very scenic, so we enjoyed it anyway.
Looking west, to the Olympics
Am idyllic scene, looking east to the Cascades
The lighthouse at the tip of Discovery Park
Mt. Rainier to the south
Mt. Baker to the north
A color contrast
Fourth on the water
When our friend Steve invited us to watch Seattle’s spectacular fireworks from his boat, we jumped at the chance. Little did we realize we would be on a 62 foot superyacht! Seems like some of Stave and Kathy’s friends are yacht brokers and they took one of their yachts to Seattle, and we watched the fireworks from the front lounge on the ship. Must make a plug here… it was a fabulous yacht, and it’s for sale, so if you have a spare $1.7 million laying around….
So we took Steve’s boat to their friends dock on Lake Union, where the fireworks were to take place. It was quite crowded with all size boats. As dusk approached, so did a flotilla of boats, from kayaks to yachts, really filling up the bay. A little after 10:00, the fireworks started. The Seattle show is one of the top rated in the nation, and it was fantastic, with some fireworks effects we’ve never seen before. Fantastic!
The fun wan’t over, though. After the display, some 5,000 boats of all sizes streamed through the ship canal, resulting in a massive bottleneck of boats. Some boat operators had obviously tilted the bubbly a bit…
Anyway, it was a great day and a most impressive way to watch fireworks.
Steve getting his 26ft Cobalt ready to launch
A view back to Mt. Rainier as we head to meet our friends
There's our ship, docked on Lake Union
Inside the salon
Inside captain's station
Galley images
Master bedroom (total of 3 BR on board)
Engine room - twin 730HP Yanmar diesels
At last, dusk settles late here, it's 9:30PM
A small image, hard to take pictures with my little camera
Time to say goodbye to the Navigator....
Tacoma Museum of Glass
Tacoma has an extensive glass art history, especially with Dale Chihuly being a native son. There are glass objects all over downtown, especially Union Station (which was closed today, darn!) It is interesting to see the huge variety of art objects, all made from glass! We did visit the Museum of Glass, a very interesting tour. A visiting artist was making one of his signature glass elephants, with the help of the local crew.
Unfortunately, photography was not permitted in the gallery itself. There were some fascinating works of art, all using glass as the main medium. But photography was permitted in the Hot Zone, where the making of artwork was in progress. So here are some pictures of the Hot Zone, as well as a few others taken in the area.
Union Station - you can see all the Dale Chihuly glasswork in the top windows
Chihuly Bridge of Glass
On the Bridge of Glass
Outside of the Museum Hot Zone
Looking up inside the Museum Hot Zone
The very start of making the elephant head
Forming the head round
Heating the trunk for bending
Heat soaking the head in a working oven
Cleanup of the elephant head
Unfortunately, we did not have time to stay and watch the completion of the entire elephant. That was a 3 hour process. But we learned a lot from what we were able to see.
Chirico Trail and Paragliding
Paragliding is very popular here, partly because there is a natural take-off site on Tiger Mountain, right behind where we are camped. On a sunny weekend, it isn’t unusual to see a dozen or more paragliders, gently gliding down to earth. Because of the terrain, these ‘glides can last up to 3 hours!
There is a hiking trail (Chirico Trail) that leads to the top, so Romola and I decided to hike it and take a look. That was quite a hike! 2 1/2 miles long, and it gained about 1,600ft in altitude. We were a’huffin and a’puffin on the way up! But once there it was a beautiful sight, with Mt. Rainier visible from the South Takeoff Zone.
We were lucky enough to catch one of the top paragliders getting ready to take off, so we talked for a while and snapped some pictures of his start. Beautiful! Then, we had to walk all the way back, not easy with the steep terrain.
After watching this guy take off, and learning that he give instructions and tandem paraglides, we’re thinking maybe we should experience this while we are here. Especially as our quads were burning from the long descent! We’ll see…..
2 1/2 miles of this makes for tired legs
Mount Rainier, from Take-off Zone South....
Romola enjoying lunch, and the view
Looking north. Lake Sammamish and Bellevue are visible.
Todd laying out his flying gear
And there he goes!
Now doesn't that look like fun?
And finally, a soft landing ends the ride.
Boy, that sure looks like fun!
Ah, Seattle!
Of course, the first stop in Seattle had to be Pikes Place Market, as well as Ivar’s Fish ‘n Chips. Since we had decent weather, this is where we went today. We parked down at the waterfront, and walked up to the market. Good way to get our legs in hiking shape!
The Market itself was as we remembered — busy, all kinds of food and artisan items, and crowds. Yes, we did see the flying fish. By the time we left the market we had spent around $100 on fresh fish and produce. Alder smoked salmon, smoked black cod, halibut steaks, fresh lychees, cherries, and more. This will be our first time to try elephant garlic shoots at dinner tonight .. gotta love the variety!
Then we had lunch at Ivar’s and met some locals. To me,the fish ‘n chips is the best anywhere. After lunch, we went to the Uwajimaya Market, an Asian market with goods we’ve never seen (or tasted) before. I’m anxious to try the Kobe Brisket tomorrow, never had of that before, either. In any case, we ended up with a basket full of goodies.
All in all, Seattle is living up to it’s foodie reputation!
The much photographed Market
Fresh fish, anyone?
Dungeness crab cocktail, a big helping, only $9
Aha! My favorite lunch place!
A local joined us for lunch
A fountain near the Seattle aquarium
A rather unusual light fixture
Really fresh seafood at Uwajimaya Market
The first totem pole to be carved in Seattle for 70 years
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