Sunday, May 16, 2021
First camping trip of 2021 … let’s go!
What a delight to be heading out! This was my first camping trip of 2021, it was gorgeous spring weather, and I was sure looking forward to the week. Here I am (above) having just arrived at Fort Ebey State Park (on Whidbey Island) with my big white truck and Towhee the Trailer. Isn’t this beautiful? (click to enlarge photos)
Let me show you where I am.
On the map above … one RED arrow points to the northern section of Whidbey … another RED arrow points to the southern section of Whidbey. On the left side of the map above, there is a YELLOW arrow with RED dots on it that points to Fort Ebey State Park on the western-most point of Whidbey Island, and that’s where I went camping for the week, with friends there too.
To get there, I drove north on I-5 from home, through Tacoma, through Seattle, through Everett, through Marysville (it was a long drive, but easy enough on a Sunday morning). Then just a bit north of the town of Mount Vernon, I turned left off of I-5, then drove out to and onto Fidalgo Island and turned left again and eventually drove south across the Deception Pass Bridge and onto Whidbey Island. I drove through the town of Oak Harbor, then turned right just before reaching Coupeville … following the signs to the campground and then following the signs to my campsite.
My campsite was a pull-through so I didn’t even have to back in. Easy as pie (marionberry pie is my favorite). The campground and my campsite were magnificent!
Not 15 minutes after I arrived, friends of mine in their Escape trailer arrived. We had planned the camping week together, but we hadn’t coordinated our arrival time. Obviously, we were both right on time. 🙂 They backed into their campsite (right next to my campsite), and we were home!
We took time to set up our rigs, leveling, tidying, unhitching, etc.
And then we took off on foot to explore our surroundings. We started by following a short trail that led through some thick trees at the back of my friends’ campsite, and then that trail opened up onto this great path (below) along the bluff.
We were up on a bluff on the western edge of Whidbey Island. We had a view to the southwest out over the northern waters of Puget Sound and, in the distance, we had a view of the Olympic Peninsula and some of the Olympic Mountains. Turning to the right, we had a view directly west out the Strait of Juan de Fuca (towards Japan), and a view northwest to Vancouver Island in Canada.
Above … the view to the southwest, looking south down Puget Sound,
with the Olympic Mountains on the right.
Above … looking northwest, straight out the Strait on the left (towards Japan),
and with a bit of Vancouver Island off in the distance on the right.
As you can see, evening was approaching. The sky was darkening. A very pretty sunset appeared, but the trail back through the woods to our campsites was getting very dark. So we decided to head back to our homes on wheels for a bite of supper before bedtime.
I took the photo above as we walked back in through the trees towards our campsites. The trailer above is my friends’ Escape (ETI) travel trailer, very similar to mine.
I then walked just a few feet over into my own campsite.
I had inadvertently left the light on inside my trailer. But walking up to the trailer in the semi darkness, I really liked that the light was on. It felt warm and welcoming, just like home. 🙂
Adventures to come! Stay tuned. 🙂
Camping! Best thing ever. We’ve never been to Fort Ebey State park, though we’ve been to Deception Pass State park and loved it. Looks like you both snagged great campsites.
Great campsites, yes indeed! And I hope you folks can get down here and enjoy this area too, soon!
My husband and I were raised and lived in the midwest around the Great Lakes, never got over to the pacific northwest. Now we sure wish that we had. It’s so pretty there, and the islands are spectacular. Keep those stories coming Ann.
Will do Wanda. Stories will keep on coming! I hope to get back to the Great Lakes area one of these days, that would be terrific.
The islands are very interesting. Since I have been reading your blog postes, I have been looking at maps of the islands in Washington State. It seems as though it would take a lifetime to see them all. The area is so beautiful.
That’s so true, Henry, the waters and islands in the Pacific Northwest would take a lifetime (or more) to explore in detail. I’ve been a boater here for 28 years or so and have seen most of it, but still not all of it, even by water. And now I’m exploring by land and that’s an entirely new experience. All of it is beautiful, just like you say.
What a beautiful place to camp! Our state parks are so crowded, the sites aren’t nearly as seperated as these seem to be. Can’t wait to read more!
Some state parks here have campsites close together, but most of the campsites in all state parks are well separated. Maybe the state parks here were designed well before people started camping? Maybe yours were designed when there were lots of people already camping? I don’t know. Might be interesting to find someone who knows the history of development of state parks. Thanks Dawn. 🙂
Camping! Yay! 🙂
Hooray! 🙂
Wonderful to read your blog Ann! I love this area & have hiked all the trails and walked miles of coastline around Whidbey Island! Fun memories, thank you! Love ya, Melaine
Whidbey Island is so beautiful isn’t it? You and I still have lots of stories to tell/share about our adventures on Whidbey. Love you too!
Forest AND ocean in one fell swoop – what a ideal setting for camping.
And your photo of your little trailer winking hello to you with a glowing light,
how comfy.
And a beautiful quilt to warmly welcome me too. 🙂
Great to read your travel adventures and learn more about the Pacific NW. Thanks for sharing.