Matt left early on Sunday morning and Amanda and I spent the afternoon in Seattle. We hit up the rock climbing gym and I was able to get up a V3-rated climb. I was fairly pleased with myself. That is the toughest climb I have done so far.
We ran some errands in the northern part of town and we drove another hour or so toward Smokey Point. It’s densely populated here and camping wasn’t easily accomplished. We found a trailhead east of town and that was enough for us.
Monday was Labor Day so we had an extra day to bounce around and check out a few things. We went up to Camano Island. There were a few public beaches there and we walked the beach and got some fresh air.
Some of the trees that are washed up onto the beach here are absolutely enormous. A consistent theme here in the Pacific Northwest. It’s amazing how the water can carry trees this large. The beach is littered all over with logs and other tree parts. It’s definitely a unique look. Every so often you will find a little shelter or teepee that people have built using the logs.
We spent a lot of time looking for rocks as we walked around. The beach was filled with small pebbles of all different colors. Little treasures. Every fifteen steps or so we’d stop and point out a cool rock we had found to each other. It felt like being a kid again.
We drove around the island for a bit and checked out a few other parks. There was this really small one. It literally was twenty feet by fifty feet. A fairly decent size for an apartment. One picnic table. The view was alright, though there was a bit of vegetation blocking the view of the bay.
We met this man there and he asked about us and our travels. He told us all about the cross-country road trip he and his friend took in the seventies. It was fun to exchange stories and see how things have changed. Or haven’t changed.
The last beach we went to was by far my favorite. Great views of the Cascade Mountains in the distance. We could see Mount Baker clearly from the beach. Very few people too. And the service was good there. So I was able to post up until around dinner time and bang out a few fantasy football drafts. Priorities, ya know?