Northwest Road Trip with Bikes: Lopez Island and Orcas Sighting.

Puget Sound from the Anacortes Ferry Terminal

We really enjoyed our time in Portland; so much so that I began second-guessing our decision to head to Puget Sound for 3 and 1/2 days. After all, wouldn't we be able to relax more and have a true vacation if we were to simply chill out in Portland? The calculus on the other side was that this was our first true longish vacation in a while, and we'd already driven all the way up here, so we might as well drive the extra 3 and 1/2 hours to Anacortes and check out the islands. In hindsight, our trip to the San Juan Islands was totally worth the extra drive and planning.

From the ferry deck

Driving on the main corridor on the day before the July 4th long weekend was not the most pleasant experience. We stuttered our way to Anacortes, worried about missing our 5PM-ish ferry to Lopez Island, where we planned on staying the night. We got to the ferry terminal parking lot with enough time to unload our bikes, pack our gears onto the bikes (since we were camping for the next 3 nights) and wandered to the line for pedestrians/cyclists. I bought two tickets for us, chatted with a resident cyclist who is an experience tourist, and proceeded to board the ferry when the ferry worker let us on. Both M. and I were so excited about our trip--we giddily walked around the boat to soak in the amazing scenery and daydreamed about our adventures for the next days. Little did we know at the time that our adventure was indeed about to start, but not quite the way we planned.

Ferry coming into Friday Harbor

The resident cyclist whom I was chatting with found us looking out the window and pointed out that we were on the wrong ferry, as the one we were on were headed directly for Friday Harbor on the main San Juan Island, whereas our intended ferry was the one after. We poured over the ferry schedule and realized that we won't be able to get to Lopez Island until 11pm at night. We considered finding a place to stay on San Juan Island but on late afternoon of July 3rd finding a spot to stay was nearly impossible.

Friday Harbor at Dusk

After we got off the boat we decided that we would hang out in Friday Harbor and wait for the late ferry to get on Lopez. We sat around and enjoyed the harbor the best we can. It was getting cooler, and we sought shelter in a enclosed hut on the dock. It was getting late but the darkness was slow to arrive. As we left Friday Harbor at 10:30 or so the night had barely fallen.

Sunrise at the campground on Lopez Island

I'd been to Lopez Island once in 2005, but navigating it at night, even with bright dynamo headlight on our bikes was not easy. We proceeded cautiously and were able to find our campground and stumbled our way to our site. After a long day of travel both of our patience was wearing thin. Somehow we got the tent pitched and we fell into slumber in the quiet evergreen forest on Lopez.

I also made the mistake of not bringing a sleeping bag. I'd checked the weather prior to leaving California, where we had the worst heatwave in several years. Portland was baking when we were there also. The forecast for the islands showed temperature in the 50's. I thought bringing a thin fleece blanket would be sufficient. I was mistaken and had to put on all the layers I had and stayed as close to M. in the tent (she had a sleeping bag) as I could. I did get used to it the following two nights and slept well.

Lopez Island Harbor on July 4th

Lopez was very tranquil, even on a day like July 4th. I rode my bike 1.5 miles to the grocery store at the local village center to buy some food and supplies. The town was hosting a 5k run to raise fund for several local organizations. I meandered to the harbor nearby the market and stared for a while before heading back to the campground. Few folks were up at this point and hanging out in the common area. I made some breakfast and woke M. up to eat. After tossing a frisbee for a while I convinced M. that instead of kicking back and sitting in a lawn chair for the rest of the day, that we should take the ferry to San Juan Island again to check out the beautiful coastline on the west side of the island and to try our luck with potential sighting of orcas. M. was doubtful but decided to follow my whim.

Bike on Ferry

We collected a bag of snacks and maps and headed for San Juan. After getting off the boat, we rode at a leisure pace toward the coast. The weather was breezy and sunny. There were more cars than I remembered from 8 years ago. After a couple of hilly stretches M. was regretting her decision and missing the hammock back at our camp site. We reached the coast shortly after and began to make our way toward Lime Kiln Point State Park.

Orcas watching folks and boats

We saw some folks pulled over on the side of the road and made various sounds of exclamation. We stopped and walked up a big rock to see what it was about, and saw a line of boats moving steadily northward undoubtedly carrying passengers to watch orcas. While we were standing there enjoying an amazing vista of the sound, we saw it--an orca surfacing just above water and was moving about. Though it wasn't for long our interest was now definitely piqued. We decided to ride 2 miles to Lime Kiln to get a better view.

The state park had quite a few folks at this point. For the next hour or so, we sat on a rock near the beach in the park and saw 2-3 orcas surfacing from time to time, to the joy of people on the shore. It was truly an amazing sight, even if they were merely small specks from the beach.

The best I can do to capture the Orcas

Reluctantly, we got back on the road and headed back toward Friday Harbor so we can catch our ferry back to Lopez. Even without the orcas sighting, the ride up and down the west coast of San Juan was incredibly scenic and relaxing. We rode back to Friday Harbor in time for the ferry. After a low-key dinner and some time in the law chairs, we turned in to catch up on some needed sleep. The next day we planned on de-camping and then go visit Orcas Island before heading back to Portland for the weekend.