Decortes,+Washington

Anacortes, Washington is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It is located on the northern end of Fidalgo Island and is one of the major launching ports to travel on to the San Juan islands, equally beautiful. The town is also the home of the Samish Native American people who still flourish today. They lived in one of the last long houses of the Native people. This town has towering old redwoods, mixed with feathered pine trees. This port town is a walking town with many restaurants, shops and art galleries.

There are many things to do from this town. You can go whale watching, go kayaking, go boating, or hiking. I did all of these things, except the kayaking. We departed in the morning for a half day whale watching excursion in a 12 person rubber dinghy. It was a beautiful sunny day with gentle waves.As we traveled further and further from the shore the waves picked up. After an hour we spotted our first whale. It breached a ways from us which was thrilling. Later in the day we had two whales sail right under our boat! They sped by like torpedoes, which was probably a good thing as they could have easily capsized our boat!

http://dougs.smugmug.com/Northwest-Hiking-Trails/Deception-Pass-Trails/1853085_AG2sP Another highlight of this island is Deception Pass, which is a high cliff overlooking the ocean. Its stark ruggedness is breathtaking as we look hundreds of feet below. There are many trails in this area. One of them leads to The Maiden of Deception pass, which is a huge wooden carving of a Samish maiden. Legend tells that there was a a great famine and all of the people wree starving. Along came a sea god who wanted to take the chief's daughter and in exchange promised food for the people. Finally, the girl agreed to this. She came to visit once a year, and each time she did she appeared to look more and more like a sea being. Finally, she did not come back any more. But the people continued to prosper.

http://www.samishtribe.nsn.us/cultural/cultural_1.html

===[|Images for //anacortes washington//]===

I would highly recommend this area, just a few hours north of Seattle. One could easily spend a week here, taking in all of thie sights.

Thank you for the feedback. [|Report another image] Please report the offensive image. [|Cancel][|Done]