THE SOUND OF FREEDOM

No, that’s not when Kathe drops my leash and I take off. I mean the sounds of all the fighter planes taking off here on the island. Whidbey Island is the home of the Oak Grove Navel Air Station. We hear the jets blasting over us all day long. We call that “the sound of freedom.”

Today it’s so foggy and cold that no one wants to do anything or go anywhere. Kathy T took a solo bike ride this morning to the beach but return quickly because she was so cold. My humans have pretty much been sitting around doing nothing at all for me to write about. If you ask me I think all that hiking yesterday might be the issue.

As for myself I had a trip to the Best Friends Clinic this afternoon because I have an infection in my drivers side eyeball. I must have gotten a scratch from a pine needle or weed on one of my walks. I do bump into things sometimes like that. The nice lady vets gave me lots of pats and cuddles before they gave me some eyedrops to use for the next 10 days. We shall see how that goes!

Here’s a picture of the sunset last night. I won’t bore you with another picture of yours truly. 

UNDER THE BRIDGE

Late this morning my humans left for a hike in the Deception Pass State Park which is right across the street from our RV Park. Luckily, Jim purchased an annual Washington State Discover Pass so we can go into every State Park here for free. Once they were in the Park they started to look for some places to hike. The Ranger wasn’t very helpful and told them just to use the QR code to find a hike. Right! Anyway, they found some wooden signs for a couple hikes the old fashioned way. 

First, they hiked straight uphill along a cliff that led to the Bay Bridge. The Bridge Trail was a pretty easy half mile up and under the Deception Bay Bridge. The second hike wasn’t very well marked and they ended up at the shoreline and watched some people trying to catch salmon. Since that wasn’t the hike they were looking for they started back up the path to the parking lot. Then they found the trail that they wanted, the North Beach Trail. That was a rough one. It was a forest trail that passed through old-growth Douglas fir trees. It was a great hike but there were lots of roots and rocks which made it slow going. They were high above the ocean along a cliff the whole way. Beautiful.

After lunch they took a drive to the historic seaside town of Coupeville. It’s a tiny village, one of Washington’s oldest towns known for its scenic waterfront. Of course there were some little quirky shops for the tourists that my humans enjoyed. The movie Practical Magic was filmed in Coupeville, and many of the shops have merchandise with that in mind.

When they returned, my Kathe noticed that I had an infection in my eye, so it’s off to the veterinary clinic tomorrow for me.  When they asked Kathe to have my medical records sent by email to them tonight, little did they know that my records are 168 pages long. After all I’ve been going to the same vet for almost 20 years!

WHIDBEY ISLAND

Driving again today. It was an easy, short drive on Highway 20 except for all the roundabouts. When you are as big as we are and towing a car behind yourself, it’s really difficult to get in the correct lane in a roundabout. I think we had 4 or 5 of them on the route this morning. A little nerve racking when there are two big coaches traveling together through the circle. 

We are here at North Whidby Island RV Park. A bit of confusion here when we arrived. They were making a repair to the water line and there was no water at any of the sites. Warren and Kathy were to park next to us but something was wrong with the power at the post. They were moved to a different site way across the park from us. After a few hours the water was restored and power in the site next to us was repaired. The Taylor’s decided to stay where they were since they were all settled in.

Most of the day was spent relaxing. Kathe worked on her needlepoint, Jim worked on the computer and I took a well deserved nap. This evening they all piled into Warrens car and went to dinner at the Shrimp Shack, just over the Deception Pass Bridge. They stopped to take this picture just before the sunset.

FISHING NOT CATCHING

That’s an old joke. They call it fishing, they don’t call it catching. And that’s what they tried to do today. It took a while to get things together for today’s fishing expedition. First, trying to get fishing licenses after the women at the gas station, the only place in town to get a license, said she couldn’t help them until 2:00. Then trying to purchase the license on line which was challenging for some and not so challenging for others. Ok now, licenses in hand,  gear packed, chairs loaded, and let’s not forget lunch. 

They set off for Baker Lake where the cut throat trout are plentiful. It was a 17 mile drive through lots of beautiful trees. Only once they got to that lake there was no access and no place to park. Next,  they drove another 13 miles in the opposite direction to check out Vogler Lake. Only to find out that that one was a catch and release only lake. Back in the car for another 11 mile drive to Shannon Lake outside of the town of Concrete. Then there was an 8 mile drive on a one lane gravel road to find the beautiful lake with Mt. Baker in the background. Unfortunately, this  lake was  not accessible without climbing down a very rocky path to the lake shoreline.

Once they carried all the stuff down the steep embankment to the rocky shore they started fishing. Hours later, still no fish. The only bite all day was a mosquito on Warren’s face.

So, tonight it’s steak and potatoes for dinner! The cocktail is a pineapple martini. 

SMOKE AND ALMOST FIRE

I’ll get to the smoke later, but first the “almost” fire part of my story.  Last night we were all sitting around the campfire (propane of course) and I decided to walk over and stick my nose in the fire ring! Not too bright. My Kathe jumped up to save me from becoming a canine torch and promptly fell on her buttocks. Luckily, Warren jumped over and pulled me to safety.  It was very scary for all of us. Note to self: don’t do that again!

Okay now for now the smoke part. Today the humans set out for a hike the Ross Dam trail. As they started driving east the sky started getting darker, and darker. By the time they reached the North Cascades National Park they smelled the smoke. The Ranger told us that the closest fire is about 25 miles away. We are only getting the smoke today because the wind shifted but she advised us not to continue to Ross Dam. 

The Ranger gave two suggestions for hikes where they would not be impacted (inhaling) smoke.  The first hike was the River Loop Trail which was right in the National Park.  It was a very peaceful gravel trail with forest of old grove redwoods and a great view of the Skagit River. 

After returning to our campsite they took another hike right here in Rockport. The Ranger also recommended this hike in the Rockport State Park. By this time the winds had changed making hiking in this park really enjoyable.  The Sauk Spring Trail had many very tall Redwood including one called the Grandmother which was over 400 year old. The last hike of the day was another view of the Skagit River walking through a forest  more beautiful redwoods and ferns. Everyone is tired and happy tonight. 

UP AND OVER THE MOUNTAIN

The drive today was gnarly. We drove highway 20 from Twist to Rockport, Washington. It was a hard drive for Warren and Jim but everyone else enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The Mountains were so high that we thought we were in Canada again. We drove up and over Washington pass at 5,477, then down and across Rainy pass at 4,855 ft. All around us were even higher mountains! Mt. Logan at 9,087 ft, Gardner Mountain at 8,897 ft, and many other mountains over 8,000 ft in the distance. 

And the trees! Forests of  western red-cedar, big leaf maple, ponderosa pine, red alder, and lodgepole pine for miles and miles around us. There were a few waterfalls, and we even saw snow on some mountain tops. As we approached the end of our drive we could see Diablo Lake, a huge glaciated green lake with lots of people on paddle boards. My Kathe tried to take pictures through the windshield, so pardon the bugs!

Our home for the next three days is Glacier Peak Winery and RV Park. It’s a beautiful setting with lots of trees and blackberries bushes. As usual, Jim doesn’t like our site, but I reminded him that it’s Labor Day weekend and we’re lucky to have any spot! There are several hiking trails. I like it here as we have a big grass area between our two sites for Lady Bella and me to sniff and relax. We might be the only doggies here in the park, so we have the whole place to explore. 

There is a possibility that we might go fishing while we are here. There’s a river across the highway from our campground which is a beautiful clear green, but too shallow for fishing without a boat. 

FISH ON

The sun is shining today, and our RV park is filling up in anticipation of the Labor Day weekend. There’s been a lot of talk all week about finding the best place to go fishing here in Twisp. Jim and Warren ask the people in every sporting goods store and picked up some maps of lakes in the area. After much deliberation they decided to buy fishing licenses and travel to Blackpine Lake today where the fish were supposed to be ready for the taking.

After packing the car with fishing gear, camp chairs, and lunch and set off for the lake. Even with GPS they couldn’t find the right road. After several false starts, they finally drove on Twisp River Road for 11 miles before they found a faded sign on the side of road with an arrow pointing left. “BlackPine 8 miles ahead.”  They drove the first 4 miles on pavement, the next 4 miles on gravel, and finally found the lake.

It was a beautiful lake, but the fishing weren’t exactly easy to catch. After trying all hooks, lures, and bait, Kathy T caught the first fish. It was a really large trout, big enough to take home. They continued to fish for hours trying different equipment and didn’t get another bite. 

A couple of kids joined them on the dock and started pulling fish in one after another. After watching them catch 4 in a row, Jim asked what method and type of bait they were using. He then followed their directions and right away he caught a large trout. 

It was a great day even if they only went home with 2 fish.The fish are in the freezer for now. Our fish dinner will have to wait. It was sausages and cabbage with apples tonight.