Wild West day 23

Deception Pass was our favorite haunt over 50 years ago. The Deception Pass bridge was beautiful and the area around it almost mystic.  Located on the southern side is Deception Pass State Park where we stayed this trip.

Here's an interesting shot taken of my GPS while at the park, demonstrating the location next to the water.  The zigzagging white lines are the campground lanes.

The actual pass is the narrows between Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands.  There are actually two channels with a small island called Pass Island in between.  The bridge makes a couple of hops across the full pass. The following shots were taken from the small island as it offers the easiest access...and 52 years after we first visited the pass, we needed easy access.

Along the shore across from where we stand now is where Joyce and I would often go.  We walked down a mossy covered rock strewn path through fern patches and big trees.  Eventually, working our way out on huge boulders down along the water channel.  We'd climb out on the rocks and fish for Ling Cod using shrimp for bait.  We caught a LOT of fish.  When the tide slowed, so did the fishing and we'd do other things young newly weds might do in the seclusion of the woods. Hey! Where is your mind? We'd go pick wild flowers and gather pretty pine cones, of course.

Bridge over troubled waters

The tidal current that flows through these narrows becomes very strong as the tide sweeps in and out. We once watched a fishing trawler sit in the middle of the channel chugging away against the current, hardly moving at all.  Finally, as the tide slowed, it slowly picked up speed and continued on out to sea. In the following photo, taken today, is a boat laboring about where we saw the trawler in it's struggle years ago.

Returning lovebirds enjoy a sentimental journey.  What happened?!!!

We left Whidbey Is. taking the Deception Pass bridge to Fidalgo Is. and on to the once sleepy little town of Anacortes. It's not so sleepy any more, but we found the fishing wharves and docks we used to visit long ago.  In a parking area along the road was an interesting display.

Go ahead, count the lines.  The plaque says the tree was 970 years old.  I started to count them, but fell asleep.  Tree age lines are as bad as sheep.

We took hwy 20 on from there across the Cascade Mountain Range, camping at the North Cascades Newhalem Creek National Forest campground part way across.

Next stop, Grand Coulee Dam