Stuart Island, WA

Lovely Stuart Island is in the NW corner of the San Juan archipelago. It is heavily wooded and home to two small communities of year-round and seasonal residents, a state park, two airstrips, a one-room school house, and a lighthouse. 

On a recent beautifully warm, sunny summer day, we put our Whaler in the water and headed out on another boating adventure to do a little exploring on and around Stuart Island. The Washington State ferries do not stop here, so the only way to get to the island is by private boat or small plane.

Come have a look...

Traveling by boat to Stuart Island gives you wonderful views of the area's calm waters and vistas of other islands and Canada beyond...

We passed a colony of seals enjoying the warm sunshine...

Entering Prevost Bay and Harbor...

Approaching the little Hamlet of Prevost...

Our trusty Whaler tied up at the county dock...

The county dock - that little red house is where the locals pick up their mail...

The U.S. post office...love that color!

The main road out of town...

A little farm near the harbor...

The old post office, which is no longer in use...

View from the old post office...

Heading back to the dock...

Turn Point Light Station is on the NW tip of the island. It guides shipping through the busy waters of Boundary Pass...

Lover's Leap...I can see why they call it that!

The San Juans offer so many islands to explore and photograph. I can't wait to go back. They are my home away from home!

Orcas Island, WA

On our recent boating adventure around the San Juans we stopped off in the small hamlet of Olga on the southern shores of Orcas Island. Olga overlooks the pretty waters of Buck Bay and has a public dock where you can tie up for two hours without having to pay a fee. It was named after the wife of the first postmaster and is now home to an art gallery, some inns, a store with a gas pump, a US post office, and a cafe. It also has a smattering of cute cottages and farms.

A sign on the dock welcomes visitors...

Our trusty Whaler tied up at the dock...

 Peace...

A view of Buck Bay...

A picnic area at the top of the dock...

The old store and gas pump...

A pretty cottage...

The US post office...

A typical residence...

The road toward Eastsound - about a 20-minute drive away...

Farewell Olga...

If you need a temporary place to escape the rat race, I think Olga just may be the perfect spot!

Cashmere, WA

Our final destination along US Highway 2 was an interesting town called Cashmere. It's only about 12 miles down the road from charming Leavenworth and well worth a quick visit. The striking feature about this place is the covered sidewalks and walkways. No wonder - you need plenty of shade in the summertime to protect yourself from the sweltering heat. As you can see, it was 98 degrees when we got there - and that was in the late afternoon. One interesting fact about this place is that Cashmere is acknowledged as the geographic center of the State of Washington. How cool is that?

Cashmere is also home to the Cottage Avenue Historical District, a quaint neighborhood of beautifully restored craftsman-style homes. I love visiting small towns in America. They really give you a sense of what it's like to live outside of urban areas and to see what remains of our colorful past.

Leavenworth, WA

A trip to Leavenworth is like taking a trip to a Bavarian alpine village. If it weren't for the English-language signage and abundance of large American vehicles, you could really imagine that you're somewhere in magical Bavaria.  Leavenworth is nestled in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains and thus is much warmer and dryer than the towns and cities on the western side. It was another one of our stops as we traveled east along Highway 2. 

Once a railroad and lumber boom town, it has been cleverly transformed into a very popular year-round destination. In order to avoid the weekend crowds, we chose midweek to go there. It was still quite crowded, but we had no problem finding a parking spot in town or grabbing a table at one of the popular beer gardens. The only problem was the heat. By the time we got there, the temperature was hovering around 95 degrees. Yikes! That's a little too hot for my taste. In spite of the sweltering summer air, we managed to shuffle around from one shady spot to the next; I even dragged my big Nikon along and snapped a few photos of the colorful architecture and flowers. 

Have a look at Leavenworth's world famous Bavarian village...

If you like shopping, wining, and dining, this place is for you. And if it's as hot as it was when we were there, you can always go tubing in the swift waters of the Wenatchee River to cool off  - all while drinking an ice cold German beer!