You the reader will wonder what happened to my blog. Ten days ago when I was at a island with no ferry, my computer died. I got a new one just two days ago and am dealing with the Windows 8.1 differences. After 48 hours I have not yet learned many basics, including transferring photos to this site, so please excuse the limits.
I spent two days again in the San Juan Islands re-connecting with some of the people and sites discussed in my book, San Juan Islands: Into the 21st Century (Caxton Press, 2013). Roche Harbor teems with boats and car tourists, too. Summer weather in the NW is usually bone dry for about three months and the temperatures have been ideal at 75-85. Kayaking is getting ever more popular and rentals abound. At Friday Harbor or Bellingham whale watching boat trips begin, because several pods of orcas live year-round in the islands. All boat traffic must obey rules about keeping a distance from pods to avoid annoying them, but still they are often just hanging around.
One day I was on a small commuter boat between Bellingham and San Juan Island when we encountered a pod just playing around in the sea between Sinclair and Cypress islands, jumping out of the water, babies and parents having fun. We complied with distance restrictions but watched them for at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, at the site of my most recent book, The Columbia River (doing VERY well, by the way and on Kindle a well as print), residents expect a huge sockeye salmon run this year, arriving pretty soon.
Did I ever mention that an older book of mine, Stevens Pass, is still very much in print? It has been praised by visitor and train buffs (and their magazines) for its coverage of the effort to get through the formidable North Cascades Mountains in the late 1800s. Also by Caxton Press. It also deals with the renovation of popular Leavenworth town with a Swiss or European look from its one-time importance as railroad center..
Back to the instruction manuals for me, so I can continue to send photos of this scenic Northwest.
