My bare feet were covered in sand as I trudged along the beach when I heard the telltale shriek of an eagle. I am used to that sound along the Nooksack River at home but not here. Instantly I picked my head up, looking around trying to spot it in the tall pines. Then I turned a different direction and squinting towards the waves. There is where I spotted it. Just out of reach of the waves. I used to run these shores and now I walk them with my camera in hand and so quickly brought up my camera to photograph this unusual sight. Every morning, I walked the shore with camera in hand and was rewarded with another encounter of eagles, not just the one, but two along the beach. Slowly, I edged my feet into the small fast flowing creek that cut across the beach, holding my camera high above the water as it crept higher and higher, and covering my knees. Hoping it wouldn't get any deeper, the cold water swirled around my legs, I kept crossing, switching my view between the eagles and the creek bed. I walked at a diagonal towards the pair of eagles. Stopping to photograph them, hoping that I could get closer and not scare them into flight. The combination of morning mist, predawn colors of the sky, rolling surf upon the beach, haystack rock and eagles became almost magical.
An Adventure: Sailing to Cypress and Lopez Islands Part 2
By Leslie Parks - Friday, July 28, 2023
Day two of our four-day trip, we rose early because that is what happens when camping. Sleeping in a boat, being pummeled by waves, knocking against the buoy all night counts as camping. The sun while shining beautifully, was calling up the fog from the water. Quickly, we readied the boat, released the mooring lines and puttered out of the cove. The fog at our back, chasing us as we sailed west towards Obstruction Pass. The wind died and the fog rolled closer. We started the engine, which we would need to do to go through the pass anyway and slowly motored away just barely faster than the fog. Rounding the bend, we came out into the middle of East Sound. Islands surrounding us on all sides. Ferries running from island to island. I felt as if I was in another country. It did not feel like our back yard. We were barely 30 miles from home yet felt as if we had crossed borders. While we have lived here for twenty-two years, we had not explored the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea. Oh, we did a couple of things such as camp on Cypress Island and Lummi Island. We sailed with friends on their sailboat to Sucia Island and hiked. We took the ferry to Lopez Island and rode our bikes and did the same on Lummi Island as well as hiked on Lummi. But it isn't the same as taking your own boat out and sailing around the islands. There is something magical about raising anchor, unfurling the sails and letting the wind take you. Earlier I had taken a weeklong sailing class for women, and we did just that, sailed the Salish Sea. I just couldn't believe that I had been missing this. After that trip I couldn't stop talking about it. So here we are seeing East Sound together and it was just as magical as the first time. We raised our sails, cut the motor, said goodbye to the fog that ended at the entrance to Obstruction Pass and let the wind take us. Our original goal was Friday Harbor but decided on Fisherman's Harbor on Lopez Island instead. Slowly rounding Upright Channel we sailed along the west side of Lopez until we came to the entrance to Fisherman's Bay. There were rocks and shallows along the entrance which made it a bit tricky. The skeleton of an old fishing boat complete with an eagle on the lookout greeted us. We slowly maneuvered our way. I reached for the radio to call ahead. I could hear but for some reason, it appeared to us that we were not transmitting. I called again but nothing. Thankful for our cell phones, I called the main Marina, but they were full for the night, so we motored deeper into the bay, calling the Islander Lodge to see if they had a spot for us. We found the dock they gave us, hooking our mooring lines to the cleats and proceeded to the boat house to pay for our night. Unfortunately we didn't take our dock extention cord so we were without power. They had showers, coin operated, but quite lovely.
An Adventure: Sailing to Cypress and Lopez Islands
By Leslie Parks - Friday, July 28, 2023
Once our boat was safely attached to the mooring ball at Pelican Beach, we climbed into our little dinghy and rowed to shore. We found the fern lined trail leading uphill towards the cliffs. Broadleaf Stonecrop and flowering foamflowers also made their appearances along the trail. One thing about hiking the island trails, you pretty much only meet a few people, and everyone has arrived by boat. There are all kinds of boaters, weekend boaters, liveaboard vagabonds, and once in a lifetime charters. The last bit of the trail was steeper but not overly so and we popped out of the woods onto a bare cliff top overlooking Fisherman's Cove and Obstruction and Peavine Pass. Though the cliffs are named for the eagles that soar here, vultures do as well and we saw a flock of them. The scene from the Jungle Book entered my head and I could almost hear them say, "What do you want to do? I don't know, what do you want to do? Oh, don't start that again." We stayed until the air became a bit chilly, chatting with the other boaters that made the trek as well. Back to our little floating hillbilly home, we settled in for dinner and an early night. I was exhausted, not being used to the six hours of sailing and a hike.
We could see the outline of the distant islands, and the endless expanse of the sea, its surface shimmering in the light.
In awe and excitement, we stood there for a moment, taking in the beauty of our surroundings. As the last rays of sunlight turned the sky shades of purple and faded, we began our descent back down to the beach, exhilarated by the experience and already planning our next adventure.
