We arrived around 5:00 Monday evening and quickly set up camp. The campsite was small, but cozy. We fit our two large tents and two large vehicles without too much difficulty.
Enjoying dinner around the campfire.
After dinner we went down to the beach to explore. It's beautiful! There's also a fresh water lake a few yards away, but the swimming area was closed due to goose contamination. (Maybe they should invest in some of those plastic coyotes Lake Sutherland has.)
We walked along the beach, then around the rocks
Jillian and Chloe..don't they look excited to have their picture taken?
Around the corner is this beautiful view of the Deception Pass Bridge. All along the right shore are small beaches in between the cliff-like rocks. We were hoping to be able to explore some the next day. They looked so secluded and peaceful.
Ben and I stayed to watch the sun set. We were hoping to wake up to glorious blue skies and spend the day basking on the beaches. Looks promising, doesn't it?
Well, we woke up to overcast skies and chilly air. We decided to go on a hike and hope the clouds burned off. They did the previous day, so our hopes were still high.
This path leads up to the Deception Pass Bridge.
Walking across the bridge was quite the experience. The walkway is very narrow, right next to the oncoming traffic (all that separates you from the speeding cars is a narrow cable) and the bridge is about 180 feet up in the air...quite a dizzying experience looking over the edge.
It was hard to get a good picture of the swirling water, but the currents are crazy under the bridge...exactly why it's called "Deception Pass." It would be pretty tricky kayaking through this spot!
Ben wasn't bothered by the height too much, but Jillian didn't want to get too close.
About midway across the bridge there's an island with a walkway under the bridge so you can go over to the other side.
Here we are standing on the other side.
A view looking back the way we came. We looked around for a few minutes, then finished our crossing and headed back. The trail on the Whidbey Island side continues up to Goose Rock, the highest point on Whidbey. It was a nice 1.5 mile hike.
Ben standing on the top of Goose Rock.
The view over Whidbey Island, which would have been spectacular on a clear day...unfortunately, it looked like the clouds were thickening, not clearing up. The lake on the right is the one at the campground.
Ben being silly on the way back down.
After we got back, we sat around the camp site for a while and had lunch. Brooke tried her hand at splitting kindling. She's pretty persistent. I would have given up after the first few whacks, but she kept at it until she had a nice little pile. By then we realized it wasn't going to get sunny, so we might as well go to the beach anyway.
The kids were very resourceful and started playing with the rocks. They had contests to see who could built the most creative things. They took turns being the judge and ranked each other's creations.
I think this is one of Jared's creations. Or maybe Adana's. I don't remember.
Jillian's foot
Baba on a motorcycle with Adana and an Orca whale created by Emma. It was Adana's turn to be the judge and Emma was hoping to score some brownie points. It worked! Adana was delighted!
My beautiful rainbow. I was really amazed at how many different colors of rocks there are.
Ben's "Angry Guy"
Jillian's sand picture of Emma, when it was Emma's turn to judge.
As we sat on the beach, this ship appeared on the horizon. For a long time it didn't look like it was moving, but then we realized it was gradually getting closer. Doesn't it look like a pirate ship?
Then it turned parallel to us and headed toward the bridge. I was pretty sure it was planning to sail under the bridge and wanted to watch it, but the kids were getting bored, and hungry, and cold, so we went back to the campsite to get dinner ready.
A better perspective of how close it was to us.
After I got dinner started, I decided to run back down and check on the ship's progress. I made it just in time to see it go under the bridge. I talked to some people who had been watching the whole time and they said it was really neat to see it lower it's sails as it approached the bridge.
And there it goes, through the narrow pass.
After watching until the ship was out of sight, I went back to the site to finish up dinner. As we were getting ready, we heard some rumbling in the sky. At first I thought it was fighter jets from the nearby Navy base. But then we realized it was thunder. Then more thunder, flashes of lightning, and RAIN! I am a true Northwesterner, but one thing I am not...a blue-tarp camper. Rain=go home. Brooke agreed, especially since the forecast for the next day said more of the same, no chance for sun or warmth. We quickly started putting things away and the rain started coming down harder. We managed to get everything shoved into the cars and rushed out to try to catch the ferry to Pt. Townsend. Reservations are recommended, but we were counting on it not being overloaded on a Tuesday evening. We made it with no problems, and surprised everyone at home by coming home a day early. Deception Pass is a beautiful place, and I definitely want to camp there again when it's sunny!
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