Mount Vernon, WA - Sep. 2 - 15, 2008

The day after Labor Day we moved a grueling 50 miles north from Bothell to sunny Mount Vernon, a lovely town on the Skagit River.  We stayed at Mount Vernon RV Park, a very well maintained park within easy walking distance of town.  The park also offers easy access to country roads for biking and walking and to the San Juan Islands. 

Note:  When biking in agricultural regions avoid areas where pesticides are being sprayed.  We discovered that Malathion, or whatever that stuff was, isn't as tasty as one might think.  On the plus side, we are pest free (except for that dog barking next door).

Bill was very eager to explore the San Juan Islands, so our first full day in Mount Vernon found us up early and heading for the San Juan Ferry in Anacortes that would transport us from Fidalgo Island to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  The partially sunny voyage took us past Orcas Island and Lopez Island, as well as numerous smaller islands, and we arrived an hour later at Friday Harbor.  After a quick look around and a stop for lunch we took off to explore the island.

Our first stop was American Camp National Historic Park, site of the not-so-famous 1859 Pig War between the USA and Britain.  The only casualty of this brief war and subsequent 12-year standoff was the pig.  Although historically obscure, the skirmish resulted in determining the US/Canadian Border in the northwest, and included such luminaries as George Pickett of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, Lt. Henry Roberts of Robert's Rules of Order, General Winfield Scott, (aka: Old Fuss and Feathers) and Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany.

After a quick stop at Cattle Point Lighthouse we headed to Lime Kiln Point Lighthouse and Whale Watch Park.  We didn't see any whales, but we did catch a glimpse one lone porpoise or dolphin.  Then we moved north to English Camp where one can tour portions of the 19th Century British encampment.

A bit further north we wandered through the serene Westcott Bay Reserve and Sculpture Gardens then headed back to Friday Harbor for a well-deserved glass of wine before boarding the return ferry to Anacortes.  On our eastward voyage we were treated to a lovely sunset that cast a rosy glow on snowcapped Mt. Baker to the east.

A few days later we drove to Deception Pass State Park for a bit of hiking and exploring.  The Park encompasses Deception Pass, which separates Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island.  A very dramatic bridge that offers fabulous views of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Mountains and the San Juan Islands spans the pass.

Our first hike was on the south or Whidbey Island side of the pass.  It appeared that the forest trail was seldom used as it was quite overgrown and we had to scramble over several fallen trees.  At one point, while trying to find the path Susan encountered a thicket of nettles, which made the remainder of the day less than comfortable. 

After our morning hike we moved north to the Fidalgo Island side of the Park for a bit more exploring.  We determined that Bowman Bay would be perfect for trying our hand at sea kayaking.  Several days later we returned for a rather boring paddle.  We saw a total of one seal.  Rather disappointing, but at least we got are our kayak salty.

Our excursion to Mt. Baker more than made up for the kayak expedition.  We took the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway stopping to admire the reflection of Mt. Shuksan in Picture Lake and on to where the road ends at 5,100 feet elevation.  At the top we had fabulous views of Mt. Baker and the Northern Cascades. 

We returned to Whidbey Island to do a little geocaching, which took us to a historical Indian burial site and two parks.  Our last stop was historic Fort Casey State Park and its very challenging geocache hunt.  Fort Casey was built in the 1890's and in union with Fort Worden and Fort Flagler, comprised the "triangle of fire" guarding the entrance to Puget Sound.  Today visitors can tour the Admiralty Lighthouse, bunkers, and portions of the old fort and roam the bluffs overlooking sea.  Fort Casey was much more than we expected and felt it well worth the visit.

On our last Saturday in Mount Vernon we traveled north to Bellingham to hit the Farmer's Market, lunch at the Marina and explore the port city.  We returned home via scenic Chuckanut Drive that hugs the coastline and provides fabulous views of the San Juan Islands and Chuckanut Mountain. 

While in Mount Vernon we had all the routine maintenance work performed on Kermit (Honda) and the Beast (motorhome).  We also had a propane line and connection installed so we could use our catalytic heater while boondocking.  The catalytic heater provides great radiant heat and since it has no fan it doesn't require electricity.  So now we can stay toasty warm without drawing on our batteries (but more on that during our November boondocking adventures).

After two weeks in the beautiful Skagit Valley we headed south for our long delayed visit to Portland.  On the way, we planned a two-night stay in Castle Rock so we could visit Mt. St. Helens.