The "One Hour" Hike

The last weekend in August turned out to be a gloriously busy one for us. It was The Mr.'s scheduled 4-day weekend and not only did we get to go boating on Friday, we were also going boating on Monday! What a treat to have out of town guests twice so close in succession . We went to Kirkland on Lord's Day and brought Brooke and Mom J home with us that night with plans of boating the next day.

On Monday morning, we took off once again with no plans as to where we were going. I love the spontaneity of our boat trips. No matter where we end up, we've always had a blast. This time, we gave Brooke the map and a book about the San Juan Islands and let her choose. She ended up choosing something that we had been interested in for a while. At Rosario Resort on Orcas Island there is a 15 minute hike to a lake and 45 min hike further to reach a beautiful waterfall. You can also hike to more waterfalls as well as a look out point that is famous for amazing views.

If you add up the numbers in the paragraph above, they add up to hiking for one hour. Well, unfortunately for us that is not true! Unless there is some secret path somewhere that leads you on a magical short-cut, the hike from Rosario Resort to the first waterfall is at least 2 1/2-3 hours!!!! We couldn't believe how long it was. It was a very pretty hike, but we were totally unprepared. We had no water or snacks and Brooke was wearing flip-flops! All we could say was that we were glad that Mom J had decided to turn back after 15 minutes because it was a long and hilly hike.

In the morning it was cloudy but we soon saw blue skies peaking through! The further into the day we got, the clearer the skies were.


A couple hours into our day, the skies have cleared! Here is the ferry at the Orcas Island terminal.


I just can't get enough of this calm water.


The Moran Mansion at Rosario Resort complete with it's copper roof.




Starfish clinging to the pier.


Why is such a nasty plant so beautiful?


Mmm, blackberries!


Has anyone ever seen a deer this color?! According to this forum post, there is a breed of pure white deer on the islands and this little one must be a mix. Check out the link, there are photos of some strange looking deer!


I think this is Cascade lake? It is walking distance from Rosario resort.






Isn't this a beautiful place to camp? It is always kind of frustrating to see civilization during a hike though! When others are driving to the destination that I am hiking to, it makes me a little crazy! We passed several roads on this hike. The camping area was a nice thing to run in to though, because by then we were in need of water and bathrooms.


A deer was helping itself by licking off some dishes at a campsite nearby. I hope they brought antibacterial dish soap!


During the hike, we would see these massive old-growth trees. There really isn't a way to describe to you what it was like standing at the base of this tree. It was the hugest thing!


Finally, HOURS later, we reached Cascade Falls.




This is actually a series of falls, but we only had time to see the lowest one.


When we got back to the resort, the deer had moved in for dinner.


You can get really close to these deer and feed them out of your hand if you have something yummier than grass.


We took off from Rosario and decided to try someplace new for dinner. We headed further up towards the tip of East Sound and came to Eastsound village. There is a small public dock there with room for about 4 boats, and we were able to find a spot to dock. It is about a 3/4 mile walk into town but well worth it even if you are tired of walking! There are tons of neat stores to visit, coffee shops and restaurants. There is also an organic and specialty foods market there that has an astonishing amount of gluten-free products.


Right now the tip of East Sound has water the color of a brown beer bottle. It is an algae bloom! Thankfully it doesn't smell.


We ate dinner on the deck at Vern's Bayside restaurant, it was really good!




Our dinner view.




Orcas Island Historical Museum


On the way home, we watched the sky turn so many colors!






The colors got so bright that they were neon.


Don't the clouds look like fire?


These photos are blurry, but the colors were so amazing that I have to share them anyways.

Watch the video below to really get an idea of the beautiful colors we saw.








Local fishermen bringing in their catch.