A San Juan Island Sampler - April & May 2022 - Part Two

 

please remember you can click on a photo to see a larger version & highlighted text are links to additional information

Please click here to go to - Part One

 

Comfort Food And A Pig

 

Ted and I had an ongoing conversation about fish & chips. We were on the San Juan Islands. We should do something special. I mentioned it had been years since I've had fish & chips. Ted said it would be his happy chore to find me good fish & chips in Friday Harbor..

 

We woke Thursday morning to beautiful weather. The sky had scattered puffy clouds. At dawn Ted joined the Lady and I under the big fir on the point. Pigeon Guillemots - a new waterfowl species for us - were busy in the small cove to the north, both on the water and on the rocky cliff. The Olympic Mountains were visible far to the southwest. In the center of the campground was the Lewis Brann Cabin, built in the late 1800's and shared by Brann and his daughter. He got the downstairs and she got the upstairs. A couple of old apple trees still stand near the cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

A group is working on the restoration of the cabin.

 

Our plan for our one full day on San Juan Island was to visit and hike the American Camp area - San Juan Island National Historic Park - on the south end of the island.

 

 

 

 

 

It's a good idea to learn about the pig before visiting this area. In 1859, an American farmer grew tired of a pig belonging to the Hudson Bay Company getting into his potato patch. Farmer Cutler, one of only 18 Americans on the island claimed by Britain, shot the pig. After he calmed down, he offered to pay for the pig. He was told the price for the pig was $100, an offensively high amount. Legal action was threatened. Tensions rose. American army Capt. George Pickett arrived with soldiers to protect the Americans. The British Naval commanders on warships wondered why the American encampment was set up in the open, an easy target for the ships' cannons. A quick Google search would have told them that Pickett graduated last (59th) in West Point's Class of 1846. When word of this dispute reached higher levels, cooler heads prevailed and the United States and Great Britain did not go to war over a pig. More information can be found here - The Pig War.

 

There is a conspiracy theory that the U.S. military was pushing for a confrontation with Britain as way to unite the North and South - fast heading toward the American Civil War - against a common enemy. This, of course, is hogwash. I read recently that conspiracy theories are best defined as "comfort food for the ignorant," and I agree. Enough said.

 

It's far too easy, as I did above, to poke fun at Pickett, who as a Confederate General in the Civil War, led the infamous "Pickett's Charge" at the Battle of Gettysburg. Take a look at the biography I linked above. His story is far more nuanced.

 

Until the ownership of the San Juan Islands was decided by an arbitrator (Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany) in 1872, the two country's militaries peacefully occupied San Juan Island with the British Camp at the north end of the island and American Camp at the south end.

 

 

The Teds (Mrs. Ted) graciously drove us all in their Tiger. It is equipped with two sets of seat beats in the back. We first stopped at the American Camp Visitors Center and learned a bit more about "island time." It was closed. We parked at the Jakle Lagoon Trailhead that overlooks Griffin Bay.

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Ted joined the Lady and I on a walk. Ted took it easy and stayed back at the Tiger.

 

 

 

 

 

We found access out to the east shoreline. The large cobble beaches were gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two girls still tolerated my photography.

 

 

 

 

 

The cobble had turned to coarse gravel as we reached Third Lagoon.

 

 

 

 

 

We needed a guide, which we did not have, to help identify the spring wildflowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are Chocolate Lilies. The sign at the trailhead said to look for them.

 

 

 

 

 

As we climbed the timbered lee side of Mount Finlayson, we came upon a Banana Slug.

 

 

 

 

 

We topped out on the summit of Mount Finlayson at 299 feet above sea level.  This low elevation air was almost too thick for us mountain folk. The view south at Cattle Point with its small lighthouse was very nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We used the windward side of the Mount Finlayson Ridge to circle back to the trailhead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ted joined us for lunch outside the Tiger. He had napped and answered other hiker's questions about their rig.

 

Mrs. Ted, the Lady and I returned to the trail to find Jakle Lagoon. We had missed it on the first hike. The lagoon is around the corner to the right in the photo below.

 

 

 

 

 

The Lady was delighted with all the driftwood providing balance beam after balance beam to prance down.

 

 

 

 

 

Ted checked on fish & chip opportunities in Friday Harbor on his Smartphone. We wanted to walk about Friday Harbor and have an early dinner before things got busy or crowded.

 

Friday Harbor is the heart of San Juan Island. I loved the spring banners hung along the streets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I took photos, the others checked on real estate.

 

 

 

 

 

The harbor is the center of town.

 

 

 

 

 

The yellow caution tape on the roadway is left behind from the tragic arson fire that took place April 7th.

 

Here's some of damage.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my views of Friday Harbor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do not know who stole the old sailor's lantern. 

We found a nice open restaurant overlooking the harbor. They had exactly what Ted was recommending for me - Fresh halibut fish & chips. The Lady ordered fish tacos. We enjoyed our special dinner in Friday Harbor. Fish & chips are a great comfort food. Ted really savored his samplings of four small servings of special beers. It was a good time but we especially enjoyed the fine company of our friends, The Teds.

 

The talk of the town was the ferry accident where an anchor damaged the hull. With one of the four ferries now out of service, schedules were off with longer wait times and other problems.

 

Returning to camp, we wandered and hoped that the sun, at sunset, would poke out below the clouds and virga and give us a nice display. 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday morning we returned to Friday Harbor for our ferry ride to Orcas Island.

 

 

 

 

 

Schedules were still behind and we were turned away 3 times from entering the parking lanes for Orcas Island. We were patient and walked around town. I wanted to drive around and around the roundabout until I got dizzy but Ted, the retired traffic engineer, said that would be frowned upon. We don't have a roundabout in our small town, nor do we have a traffic light. On one of our trips though the roundabout we waved at the fellow in the right hand drive Toyota van we saw in Alturas, California. He gave us a smile and a honk.

 

 

Finally it was our turn and it was on to Orcas Island!

 

 

 

 

The adventure continues, please click here for - Part Three.