27 Jul Island Hopping

As the end of my summer internship comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect on all that I have done while being in the Pacific NorthWest. Setting up the control network with Jeremy, my NPS sensei, has been our number one focus, but being lucky enough to have the weekends free, I have also had opportunities to discover the areas outside the park. Lime Kiln State Park for example, is located on the western side of the island. This is the best area for Orca sightings and has some of the best sunsets in all of the  San Juan’s.   The San Juan archipelago is impressive. I have visited Orcas, Waldron, and Lopez. Orcas is by far my most favorite. The views are incredible. The highest peak of the archipelago is located there, Mt. Constitution. This place is beautiful. When my roommate and I reached the top, we were able to see Mt. Baker and Mt. Reiner in the distance. It’s as if you are looking at a painting or postcard. It doesn’t seem real at all. Another peak called Turtle Back mountain. It is given this name because it looks like a turtle. The hike is beautiful and gives you 360 views of all the archipelago. Lopez was a great experience. The island is more agriculture. It is filled with beautiful wild flowers, homestead gardens and farms, and a tiny and cute little town. A friend of mine started her own ice cream company on the island, specializing in flavors inspired from her botany background. We spent most our time in the herb labyrinth, constructed by employee’s of the BLM. below are some images of black and champagne currants. We also went to a beach filled with agate pebbles. Lopez was so relaxing and beautiful.                 We ventured to the mainland quite a bit. I talked about going to Canada on the last post. We got to visit Mt. Baker which was epic! there was 15 feet of snow at the peak still. It was an incredible experience to play in the snow mid- July! These are only a handful of experiences i’ve has on the island and there is still so much more to talk about and every more to explore. I wish i had more time here. Who know, grad school in the PNW doesn’t sound too bad!