Crabs and Whales in the San Juan Islands

Upon returning from Boston, we hitched up our rig and continued our trek into the Pacific Northwest. We headed northwest to Anacortes, a sweet town along the coast of the San Juan islands. In fact, Anacortes and Washington Park where we camped are located on Fidalgo Island. Our campsite was a tight fit. With great patience, Skip jockeyed back and forth until we were in the right position. After setting up, we strolled along the park’s scenic loop road and parked on a bench for just a bit. What a gorgeous view!

Our first day of adventuring in the San Juans centered on crabs. Our dear friends, Joan and Dave, had invited us for a day of boating around the islands. When their engine had issues, we pivoted. We joined their son Alex, his wife Marie, and their five kiddos who were camping amongst the driftwood on the shore of Hope Island. We ate fresh crab around the campfire, then ventured out on Alex’s boat to collect more crab from their pots. Our delightful day culminated with a crab feast back at our campground with Joan and Dave.

One of the great joys of our RV life is reconnecting with friends who live far from Minnesota. In fact, this Pacific Northwest trip was designed in large part by connecting the dots between friends we’re visiting. How fun it was to experience crabbing with friends rich in life experiences and wisdom (sounds better than “old friends”) … friends I met 43 years ago when we served together on Summer Staff at Young Life’s Malibu Club in British Columbia. We haven’t seen one another since 2011 when Skip and I visited Portland, where Joan and Dave live. We picked up right where we left off, as if no time had passed. That’s the mark of a beautiful friendship.

Our focus shifted from crabs to whales on our second day in Anacortes. We had good weather and calm seas as we chased the A65 pod of whales. Strange name, don’t you think? We learned that a group of orca whales, also called killer whales, is called a matriarchy because most groups comprise a mother and her offspring. The dorsal fins are much larger for the males, so typically, those are the whales captured in the pictures. Touring boats are required to stay a safe distance from these amazing mammals, so the pictures aren’t quite what the website conveyed. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the excursion immensely. We saw other wildlife as well as the whales, including a seal taking a sun bath on a buoy.

As a grand finale for the boat tour, the captain took us under the bridge of Deception Pass. Skip captured this beautiful photo.

Next stop – the Olympic Peninsula. Hope you’ll come along for the ride to see Mount Olympus and much more!