Day 34, Friday April 3rd: Finding Family in the far Northwest

 Friday we woke to 39F but it was not raining....things were looking up. We left our campground around 08:15, we are not sure how that happened but we were way earlier than usual. We set out to drive about 30 mins back west to hike Marymere Falls. 

America the Beautiful

On the drive to Marymere we came by a huge Eagle, just sitting on the top of a tree very close to the road. We turned around and went back for a picture, he wasn't even bothered by us. 

Lake Crescent

The hike was just off the shores of Lake Crescent, a very deep (600ft) and very clear fresh water lake; it is gorgeous and cold. 

Moss covered Tree

As we started our hike it was obvious we were in a rain forest, the trees all have moss, some are completely covered in moss.

Marymere Log Bridge

The Marymere Falls trail is pretty easy walking until you arrive at the 'Log Bridge', which is a very large log that they flattened the top of and put rails on ...genius.  

From the log bridge the trail climbs and includes 110 stairsteps (yes, I counted) to the top of the falls viewing area.  

Marymere Falls

The falls are about 90ft, but are very pretty. 

After the falls we made a quick stop in Port Angeles at Harbour Freight to pick up a tap and die set that I will need to repair the hydraulic leveler on the Serenity. 

We then set out for cousin Todd's place on Whidbey Island.  We could drive around and enter the island from the north, but it was much shorter to take the ferry and we like ferry rides. 

MV Kennewick

We got on MV Kennewick in Port Townsend and took it to Coupeville. It was a big ferry (275ft) that takes about 30 mins to travel the 6 miles to cross the Puget sound. 

At Todd's suggestion we made a stop at Fort Casey State Park when we got off the Ferry. Fort Casey was one of the border forts put in place to guard the coast of the US in the late 1800s.  

Admiralty Head Lighthouse

It also has on the property a beautiful light house that was in operation in the early 1900s but is no longer used. We climbed the light house tower for the view. 

Fort Casey had some guns called 'disappearing guns', that sat on carriages that would fold down behind the wall when not firing.  At the time these 5" guns were considered high tech. 

Fort Casey view

We really enjoyed Fort Casey, it was a nice walk with great views. 

From Fort Casey it is was only about 20 mins to cousin Todd's and his wife Ann's place in Oak Harbor, we arrived around 16:00. Todd and Ann were very welcoming.  I have really not spent any time with Todd since we grew up in Moriah but there is something about family that keeps the connection, no matter how long it has been. 

Todd and Ann have a beautiful home and property with lots of space for visitors and family celebrations. Their entire family of 5 children and 14 grandchildren live in this area, they are very settled in to the Northwest. 

We had dinner reservations at Anthony's at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes, Washington at 18:45, so Todd took us on a driving tour of the area before dinner. 

Deception Pass Bridge

We stopped where we got several views of the Deception Pass Bridge in Washington State, a landmark connecting Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island.

Deception Pass

Deception Pass has an interesting story. 

Dinner at Anthony's

We had a very nice dinner at Anthony's, it was a great evening. 

Tomorrow we plan to hang out and then go to Easter Mass with the Martins in the evening.