Washington, Seattle and the San Juan Islands

Our daughter. Lauren, moved to Seattle to attend graduate school at the University of Washington which gave me a great reason to visit Washington for some riding.  We visited several times and the biking is superb.  

Burke-Gilmann Trail

The first day Lauren guided us on a tour the UW campus and the Burke-Gilmann Trail.  Not only is the University of Washington ranked one of the best universities in the world, but it is also considered one of the most beautiful. 

University of Washington, ranked top 10 in the world academically...

... and the second most beautiful campus in the US.

No argument there! From the campus, the Burke-Gilman Trail follows the shore from park to park for 27 miles offering plenty of views and places to stop.  

Ninety minutes north of Seattle is the famous biking destination, the San Juan Islands.  From Anacortes, it's a easy ferry ride to the San Juan Islands.  If you can get by without your car, you can ride as a walk-on passenger with your bike.  As a walk-on, you don't need a reservation, don't need to arrive early and will save a lot of money.

Washington State Ferry to the San Juan Islands

We drove as we were staying on the far side of the island at Roche Harbor Resort.  We stayed in Anacortes the night before and caught the morning ferry.  In Friday Harbor, we rented bikes at Meat Machine Cycles (highly recommended) and rode from Friday Harbor to Cattle Point.  

Biking on San Juan Island

The San Juan Islands' reputation is well deserved.  Once you get out of Friday Harbor, the roads are quiet and the views are marvelous.

Overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Nap time at Cattle Point

We rode from Friday Harbor to Cattle Point.  A warm June day, after lunch Mona and Lauren informed me it's nap time. 

What does a fox say?

Signage warns visitors not to feed the wild animals as the local foxes are a little too friendly.

Lauren rescues Mom from the rising tide at False Bay

Showing off at Lime Kiln Point State Park

On our second day of biking, we noticed a very large white rock in the middle of a farm field off of Beaverton Valley Road.  I was curious enough to ride across the field to investigate.  Apparently, the large rock is a community canvas for graffiti and, as a community resource, the currently blank canvas was reserved for artists from the local middle school.

"Rock painting is reserved for Friday Harbor Middle School"

With a kayaking trip around Henry Island (San Juan Islands Outfitters, recommended), our visit to the San Juan's was so much fun we returned to the islands the next year after Lauren's graduation.

Matt and Lauren do the graduation dance

Awkward Dad kiss at Grad School and Junior High -- some things never change.

Matt flew in for the celebrations and we partook of the Seattle's excellent food and spirits.

Graduation celebration at Dick's

Lauren's boyfriend Jeff bravely joined us (it was our second meeting) on another trip to the San Juan Islands, this time to Orcas Island.

Is it just me or does it look like someone misspelled "Mt. Constitut(i)on"?

We stayed at the Indian Island Suites in East Sound with a beautiful view of the bay and the namesake Indian Island.  At low tide you can walk out to the small island where you'll see all sorts of tidal pool critters like colorful sea stars. 

This trip's featured bike ride was to the top of Mount Constitution -- a route considered one of the best climbs in Washington.  After renting bikes from Wildlife Cycles (recommended), we rode east to Olga Road and then south to Moran State Park.

Halfway up

Just past the park entrance, at a beautiful mountain lake, Cascade Lake, is where the climbing starts.  And climbs it does!  Total elevation gain is 2,600 feet with a maximum gradient of 12%.  

At the top!

The effort is well worth it as the views are breathtaking.  We had lunch at the summit looking out over the Rosario Strait and down our noses at the visitors that drove to the top.

2,600 ft. climb!

On the descent, we stopped at Cascade Lake for a breather.  Lauren insisted on taking a swim in the frigid lake.  Jeff, always a good sport, joined her.  Afterwards, we tossed the Frisbee around and I think the day's exertions caught up to Jeff as he suffered a severe leg cramp.  We fed him the last of our Gatorade as we still had 5 miles of riding.  He said he was OK, but he was riding slow so I wasn't sure about his condition until I saw him come out of the Corner Market chugging the largest bottle of Gatorade available for retail distribution.

The next day we rented Kayaks from Outer Island Excursions (recommended) for a self-guided paddle to Point Doughty.  There are plenty of excellent guided tours on the islands, but self-guided trips are much cheaper and, in my mind, more fun.

Jeff and Lauren at Doughty Point

We paddled to around Point Doughty to Freeman Island for lunch.  From a high point on the island, we took turns trying to hit a plastic container floating in the water below with rocks.  A fun pastime, but as we headed back I felt obligated to clean up so I pulled the floating jug out of the water only to discover it was attached to 50 feet of rope and other miscellaneous debris. 

Mt. Baker in the distance (note debris)

No good deed goes unpunished.  

State:	Washington
Date:	2017-06-11
Route:	Burke-Gilmann Trail and UW Campus
Distance:	18 miles

Date:	2017-06-12 & 2017-06-14
Route:	Friday Harbor to Cattle Point, Friday Harbor to Lime Kiln Point Park (San Juan Island)
Distance:	55 miles

Date:	2018-06-21
Route:	East Sound to Mount Constitution (Orcas Island)
Distance:	25 miles, 2,600 ft. +/-