November 10-13, 2022: We took a long weekend to visit our friend's new place on Orcas Island. If you are not from Washington and are thinking hammocks and pina coladas... nope. But I was excited to scout out future orchard layouts and sample some of their backyard protein in between bundling up the kiddos for island explorations with the grandparents.
For starters, they have a stunning view back to Mt Baker on the mainland and it was looking good at 9pm. The sunrises were not too shabby either:
Our first hike was the loop around Cascade Lake. We had carried our eldest around it in 2018 when he was pint sized but this time we had two trail monsters who powered through (at least for the first two miles). The last stretch of the trail is barely off the road so I let Oak drag me back to the truck at what counts as a jog for me these days while the kids recharged on carbs.
We had hoped to follow up the hike with a visit up to Mt Constitution but the road was closed due to storm damage (pretty impressive winds for a mountain that is only 2,400' tall). Instead we opted for an afternoon of yard work and crabbing.
Day 2 featured an exploration of the Rosario Resort and a short hike through the Coho Preserve. Somehow two modern humans managed to take zip for pictures for the whole morning... Instead of beautiful scenery and historic architecture, you get to check out the next chore we gave the children - harvesting scarlet runner beans left by the home's previous owner.
Day 3 wrapped up our visit but we had enough time to explore Obstruction Pass State Park. Its probably in the top 10 for undeveloped state parks which was a plus. The few campsites available are ideal for the boat crowd but would be a decent hike for us landlubbers. Plenty of room for trail hugs, trail maintenance, and beach exploration:
That was it for living the island life, we had to head back to hunker down for winter. In fact, I took hunkering down to the next level and started hibernating. On the plus side, besides a summary of the pheasant/duck season and a couple quick trips to warmer climates, I've finally caught up to the present day!