san juan islands...

well it happened, the thing i have been thinking about doing now for a number of years has come, sea kayaking in the SAN JUAN ISLANDS

johnny and i decided since the weather was looking cold in idaho and in eastern washington and everywhere else we thought about going to, the decision was made, san juans for the week. we packed on wedensday and were on the water mid day thursday. as we drove from duvall towards anacortes (our put in) the weather seemed to clear the closer we got and the smiles on our faces widened.

after a short two hour drive we were there. loaded the boats (see above photo) and headed out. right away we crossed from anacortes to the island of guemes. the crossing was short and the current was a little against us, but the sun was shining and so was i.



we stayed close to the shore of guemes heading west and around the tip heading north to this wonderful view (see above photo) the tiny little island in the distance is one of three cone islands. the water was amazing through here for a while, the wind did pick up a bit when we crossed from guemes to cyprus, but not so much that i felt uncomfortable.

within minutes of being on the water, seals, porpoises, eagles, blue herons and a ton of other creatures were playing all around us. the seals were really fun to watch, they were as curious as i was. the porpoises make a really loud breathing noise when they come up for air.

we stopped at this little "no name" island to look for canadian geese eggs, which johnny found a nest of five eggs, one was sacrificed for our breakfast. right before he cracked it open he said "i wonder if there will be a baby in it..." his next words were "almost" and into the fry pan it went, almost baby and all. johnny also harvested a bunch of sea weed and stinging nettle to add to dinner. all our meals were really quite amazing, we had a wide range of goods that we brought but also mother earth fed us as well.

we camped on cyprus island at pelican beach. it was quite a beautiful cozy little spot that we decided to spend two nights here and do some hiking one of the days.

we spent our morning laying on the beach enjoying the weather and each others company. headed out in the afternoon in search of duck lake, and yummy wild edibles. we actually ended up hiking to four different lakes, found lots of yummy goods, saw lots of little critters playing around, johnny took a FREEZING COLD BATH, and we hiked back in the dark. it was quite a great time.

that night in our shelter we along with slimy (a big slug) shared the night time hours together, woke up in the morning to him right above my head. im thankful he wasn't on MY FACE.

the next morning again wonderful weather. packed up the boats and headed for obstruction pass. once around the tip of cyprus the winds picked up and it was quite difficult to cross over to toe head island (really short crossing) but with the winds and under current my two feet forward seemed more like two forward, one big one back, over and over. i made it around and it was much calmer on the north side of the islands. then the big crossing from toe head to blakely.

the winds continued a bit so our course was a little off from obstruction pass. we ended up farther south then we hoped for, which turned out just fine, we headed north on the shore line, which was amazing, we saw four raccoons playing together, lots of starfish (picture coming up) some crazy little creatures under the water, and again a lot of seals and eagles.

snack break, celery and peanut butter. (the sun was bright, hence the one eye closed look)

obstruction pass is just right of the little hump straight ahead. so far this is the biggest crossing i had done, it doesn't look that far, but it took quite some time to get over there.

purple star fish. (first of many) a highlight of my day

this is rocky... the raccoon

inside thachter bay, we camped right on top of that rock. the weather was nice so we slept under that stars. had a fire on the beach (behind the rock) below high tide line, so when the tide came up the fire would be put out and our work would be done. the tide came up to the fire just as we were finishing dinner, perfect timing to a perfect day.

i actually got a bit of a sun burn on my face and neck that day on the water. we had stopped at a little general store/marina, which was closed and ate lunch on the dock and did a little sun bathing as well.

the next day the weather turned a bit and a few sprinkles in the morning and overcast sky's the whole night. we had a long day ahead of us so we stared early. johnny filled the waters up at a near by waterfall we saw took a big swig and almost immediately threw up his breakfast. we decided to toss the rest of the water. glad it was him and not me, (sorry johnny) since i can't physically throw up. that would of been a ruff day for me.

paddled down the shore of blakely, crossed from blakely back to cyprus and took a snack break at reef point. within a couple of minutes of being off the water 3 ORCAS whales were playing right where we had just paddled across. they were jumping up out of the water for a few minutes just playing and having a grand old time. i LOVED that moment. feeling so blessed to have seen the whales, i had a moment of gratitude of knowing that god has his hand in all things.
the crossing from cyprus to guemes was really ruff, we started across and the current was really strong towards the south. we decided instead of trying for it and ending up in mexico we would wait it out. (i really liked that idea cause those waves were looking a bit TOO BIG for my liking)

once we did cross the waves were still pretty big and strong but much better than they would of been. im thankful that johnny has had so much experience on the water and understands under currents and such.

we ended our day on saddle bag island. it was a full day, left about eight and got to camp about eight, had a lot of good breaks in there, but it was for sure our longest day on the water. we both loved this island is was the smallest one we camped on but the most LUSH. flowers alive everywhere. sadly our time would be short on this island. we would need to be on the water by seven in order to be back to the take out for johnny to make it to work on time. we both were feeling a bit sad that our time was coming to an end.

the morning paddle was very nice, the night before we had listened to the weather station and it sounded like it might be bad, but it was really quite nice. the weather was a little chilly at seven but the paddle was really quite enjoyable. i had many thoughts that morning of thanks for our safety.

the boat in the back ground was HUGE, i was waiting for it to cross my path, its waves were quite large, and made me realize how i wouldn't want to be out in that big of water.

as you can see the weather has turned.

we had a wonderful time all around. thank you johnny for a splendid time.