24-Feb-06: A high pressure weather system arrives on the heels of a Winter gale resulting in a clear and calm, albeit chilly, sunny day. Time to play hooky from work and take an impromptu vacation day. We decide to go check out Blake Island, a Washington State park eight miles across Puget Sound from Seattle. We’ve heard that this boating destination is extremely popular due to its proximity to Seattle but we arrive to find its harbor virtually empty on a Friday in February. The East end of the island, where the harbor is located, is dedicated to picnic areas and Tillicum Village, a tourist attraction offering salmon dinners and Native American dances. The rest of the 475 acre island is forested and home to a lot of wildlife. While walking Freya on the beach, we spot raccoons prowling around, Canadian geese, bald eagles and many other birds. We walk into the trees and find deer and elk droppings everywhere but none are spotted, most likely due to the black, wolf-like, creature on the end of the leash we’re holding. We wander a bit through the woods but we soon turn back as sunset is approaching and we have a 14 mile ride to get back to our marina.
We hop in the boat, fire up the diesel and cast off. As we slowly head out of the harbor in the narrow navigation channel, we spot three otters swimming into the harbor. Once clear, we circumnavigate the island. On the North end of the island, massive Washington State ferries are running through Rich Passage on their way between Seattle and Bremerton. We’re tempted to follow them into Bremerton to catch a glimpse of the Navy yard but again, as the sun is heading for the horizon, we resolve to save such exploring for another adventure. On the South end of Blake Island, we slow down to let a tug towing a barge pass by that is coming North out of the Colvos Passage and heading for Elliott Bay. Then we dodge the two ferries that are running between Fauntleroy on the mainland, Vashon Island, and Southworth on the Kitsap Peninsula before heading for home, feeling very satisfied with our Winter excursion. — Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)
Casa Dunthor 