Full day!

We made plans for our day trip which started with a ferry ride, so we got an early start to take the ferry from Mukilteo to Clinton, on Whidbey Island.  We got on with only a five minute wait and enjoyed  the short ride.  It reminded me of ferry rides when I was a kid.

We rode up Whidbey Island and saw lots of lovely waterfront homes.  On one lightly-travelled road, we saw two eagles sitting on poles about 50 feet apart.  They are probably a mated pair.  I just stopped in the middle of the road and took pictures.

We went through Fort Casey and saw their lighthouse and several young black-tail deer munching grass by the roadside.  Then we stopped in the picturesque town of Coupeville and walked around.  It was not quite 10AM on a Sunday, so not much was open yet, but at least the town wasn't crowded.

We rode through more waterfront communities and stopped at Deception Point where there's a high bridge over the inlet.  It wasn't crowded when we got there, but by the time we left, cars were parked way down the roadside.  The lady at the information booth recommended a "short" hike to the top of the point and we took her up on it.  I think it was longer than she said and most of it was very steep, but we got good exercise.  The dogs got a workout, too!  I was just worried that Baxter would make me slide on the way down since he wanted to pull.  At that same park, we also drove down to the beach below the bridge and picked up some nice round speckled pebbles.

From the "beach" we headed to the mountains and rode into the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.  (I have no idea how to pronounce that second word!)  We could see some snow-capped mountains, but national parks don't have many cleared overlooks.  We stopped at the Big Four picnic area, and there was a trail to some ice caves.  It didn't say how long the hike was and people were coming down and going up, so we leashed the dogs and started up.

I didn't time our ascent, but it took us 30 minutes to come down, so I'm sure the climb took longer!  The first part was on a boardwalk over a boggy area and then the path started up among HUGE fir trees. There were a lot that had fallen or been pushed over and we don't know why.  It was a pretty steep climb.  The end was at the base of the mountain where there was a large snow field.  The water was melting under it which formed a cave, and cold air was gushing from the cave.  We were hot and sweaty, so it felt good, but was really too cold to stand in front of for long.

Our little car with the "bunny ears" on the ferry

Welcome to Whidbey Island!

One of the two eagles.
I wish I had more than a 10X lens!

Young black-tail deer

Downtown Coupeville

One side of the pass

Looking straight down off the bridge

Don't you love the graphics?

Other side of the pass

Weird red barkless trees

View from the top of our hike

Same island viewed from the beach

Us on the beach with the bridge in the background
I keep a jacket...it's hot in some places and cold in others!

Tall fir trees in Deception Park

View from Big Four picnic area.
The chimney is all that remains of a popular lodge that was once there.

Lots of weird trees on the hike to the ice caves

Live trees and dead trees

More clever graphics!

Tommie and Brucie looking in an ice cave

Look at that crack in the mountain!

Baxter was HOT when he got to the ice!
He rolled around on it and lay down to cool off.
This is the first frame of a video....I don't have good enough Internet to upload a video.