San Juan Islands

Mary Lou had her heart set on seeing the Orcas up in the San Juan Islands. We drove North from Seattle and across Deception Pass to Whidbey Island. It was an unusually clear day, for the Pacific Northwest, and at the pass, we could see Mt. Rainier rising up all mystic-like over Puget Sound. Before staying overnight in a State Park campground, we grabbed dinner at Adrift, in Anacortes. Edamame, sea scallops, crab cakes, kale and a bottle of Asti Spumante. It was an absolutely delicious meal and quenched our seafood cravings.

The next morning we were up early and back to Anacortes to catch the ferry to San Juan. It was a pleasant hour and a half ride around the islands, bothered only by an incessant car alarm echoing from the car bay. By the end of the trip, the alarm had drained to a whimper, and the unknowing owner must have surely been disappointed to find his battery dead.

We disembarked at Friday Harbor, picked up some maps, had coffee and pastries at a cafe near the docks, and hopped on a bus to the West side of the island. Lime Kiln National Park, our best chance of seeing the Orcas from land. We spoke to the rangers at the park and they informed us the Orcas had been spotted about a week before, but they had moved farther out to sea, in search of food. But, we enjoyed our walk up the rocky coast, spotting some sun soaking seals and looking through the kelp layered tidal pools to find starfish.

From the West Coast of the island, we could see Mt. Rainier again. It appears, ethereal, like a shimmering mirage floating just above the sea's horizon. But at the same time, it is so massive and seems so solid, a giant iceberg waiting to sink passing ships. A truly remarkable sight.

In the park we talked to some locals, and the Orca research rangers working from the Lime Kiln lighthouse, about the Killer Whale Watching Trips. The locals said that, maybe ten years ago, they would have paid to get up close and personal with the Orcas. But, nowadays, the populations had decreased, due to noise and water pollution from all the whale watching boats. In turn, the minimum distance required between the boats and the whales had increased, and so all you can really see is a fin here and there. The rangers said the Orcas weren't anywhere close by anyway, since the salmon hadn't yet started to run. Even though Mary Lou really wanted to see them, we decided it wasn't worth the money or the damage to the Killer Whales.

It was time to really start heading East. We had a date, with Kyle and Yellowstone National Park.