Looking At Deception Pass Bridge Takes Me Back To Fort Worth Again

Saw this that you see here, this Thursday morning, on Facebook. A look at a location I frequented frequently when I lived nearby.

Deception Pass State Park.

In this view we are looking east at the Deception Pass Bridge from the Rosario side of the state park. My favorite hiking venues were the Rosario trails, and the Goose Rock trails. Goose Rock is that which you see rising from the right side of the bridge.

Deception Pass Bridge was built in less than one year in the early 1930s. The bridge connects two islands, Fidalgo and Whidbey, crossing over another island between the two bigger islands, as in passing over Pass Island.

Whenever I see a photo of Deception Pass Bridge it puts me in mind of goofy Fort Worth, Texas. A town which has spent most of this century trying to see something called the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

A vision which took seven years to build three simple little bridges over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

Apparently, Fort Worth schools do not teach students what an island actually is.

One day it is hoped a cement lined ditch will be added under Fort Worth's infamous bridges to nowhere, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch, thus creating the imaginary island, which would never be called an island, in locations in the world grounded in sanity...

Visiting What Should Be Deception Pass National Park

A couple days ago I saw on MSN an article titled 10 State Parks That Are Even Better Than National Parks, Experts Say.

I have been to just about every National Park west of the Mississippi River. Along with a lot of various state's State Park.

It came as no shock to me that these supposed experts on this serious issue had Deception Pass State Park as their #3 on the list.

Deception Pass State Park is the largest State Park in Washington. About to get even bigger due to addition acreage acquisition.

For those reading this in Fort Worth, who have odd ideas about what an island is. That is Whidbey Island you see in the left, Fidalgo Island on the right. From this vantage point one would be seeing multiple real islands of various sizes, surrounded by real water.

Deception Pass Bridge was built in one year, during the Great Depression. Built over deep, fast moving saltwater. An extreme tide change at the Deception Pass location is an awesome sight to see. Water moving so fast boats can not navigate against the current.

Fort Worth spent over seven years to build three simple bridges over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

A few days ago, in Fort Worth's Bridgey McBridgeface Bridge Name Nonsense Boondoggle, we blogged about the bizarre effort to name those pitiful three Fort Worth bridges.

There has never been an effort to rename Deception Pass Bridge anything other than Deception Pass Bridge. And that bridge is an actual iconic bridge recognized as a symbol of the Pacific Northwest.

The blurb accompanying the MSN article sort of explained well what makes Deception Pass State Park so special...

Deception Pass State Park (Washington)

Taking up two islands in Northwest Washington, Deception Pass State Park "is absolutely stunning," Jessica Schmit, of the travel blog Uprooted Traveler, tells Best Life.

"The park is located along the waterway that connects the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Skagit Bay and thus, offers dramatic cliffs, views of turquoise waters, and craggy beaches," she says.

According to the park's website, you can explore 77,000 feet of saltwater shoreline and 33,900 feet of freshwater shoreline—the latter thanks to the park's three lakes. Getting from one island to the other is also made simple via the Canoe Pass and Deception Pass bridges, which create "a gateway for exploration," the website states.

Deception Pass is the most visited state park in Washington, and that may very well be because of all that it has to offer. "There are plenty of activities in the park—hiking, boating, and even whale watching—I've spotted orcas the last two times I've gone hiking there!" Schmit shares

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That first sentence is a tad dicey. Deception Pass State Park does not take up two islands. The park does not cover all of Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island, just the north end of Whidbey and the south end of Fidalgo.

The only island the park totally takes up is the island the bridge crosses between the Canoe Pass span and the Deception Pass span.

Deception Pass State Park was likely my most frequent go to place when I lived in the neighborhood. On my last visit before moving to Texas, at the Rosario Beach area of the park, I saw a HUGE whale slowing moving along the shore, just a few feet out. Biggest whale I'd ever seen...

Spencer Jack's Deceptive Howdy To FUD & Fort Worth's Bridge Boondoggle

Four photos from Spencer Jack and his dad, who is also my Favorite Nephew Jason, arrived last night in my email inbox, with no explanatory text.

I assume there was no explanatory text because no explanatory text was needed once I got past the first photo you see here.

In that photo Spencer Jack is on what appears to be a sandy beach on which the message "HOWDY FUD" has been etched.

FUD is a short way of saying Favorite Uncle D, with me being the Favorite Uncle D.

After perusing all four photos it was obvious Spencer Jack had driven his dad a few miles from their home location in Mount Vernon to Deception Pass State Park.

Deception Pass State Park is the biggest state park in the state of Washington.

The description of Deception Pass State Park from the state's state park website...

Deception Pass is Washington's most-visited state park for a reason. Mysterious coves, rugged cliffs, jaw-dropping sunsets, and a stomach-dropping high bridge make this park a go-to for locals and international travelers alike.

Families can fish and swim in Cranberry Lake. Beach explorers look for shells along miles of Puget Sound beachfront. Hikers can trek through forests and out along bluffs. And birdwatchers fill their field guides with notes. You may see a whale or a family of seals as you gaze on the wild waters that once challenged early explorers.

Your inner explorer will delight in learning Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) history at Bowman Bay. The CCC was Franklin D. Roosevelt's Depression-era "Tree Army;" it employed nearly 3 million men and built many of America's state and national parks. An extended stay at Deception Pass will have you peering into tide pools at Rosario Beach, boating at Cornet Bay, strolling on North and West beaches and gaping up at Hoypus Forest, one of Washington's largest remaining old-growth stands.

For most of my existence on the planet I was one of those locals referred to in the first paragraph from the state park article. With Deception Pass being such a short distance from where I lived it was my year round go to place for hiking, or just communing with nature. Hiking to the summit of Goose Rock is a hike I have probably done more than any other.

Now let's look at the other photos sent last night by Spencer Jack and his dad.

Above Spencer Jack is on the Fidalgo Island side of Deception Pass, looking down on Bowman's Bay. To the left of Spencer, if the photo extended that far, we would see the cliffs of Rosario.

About a month before I moved to Texas I was at Rosario Beach where we were startled to suddenly witness a HUGE whale, of what variety I do not know. We speculated a Great White, but all we knew for sure was it was HUGE and it was slowly moving along the shoreline, only about ten feet out.

This hike from Rosario to Bowman's Bay and then to where Spencer is, was one of my favorites. Trails take one all around a large tree covered rock, with views such as the one seen by Jason and Spencer below.

That is the Deception Pass Bridge you see in the background. This bridge was completed in about a year's time, opening on July 31, 1935, built over deep, swift moving actual water, connecting two actual islands, Fidalgo and Whidbey, with a third, Pass Island, being the go-between between the two bigger islands.

What a concept! A real bridge connecting real islands over real water!

Above Spencer Jack is on the Whidbey Island side of Deception Pass State Park. If I remember right this location is known as North Beach. West Beach is to the left of Spencer, on the other side of a bluff with steep cliffs. On a hot summer day West Beach is packed with a lot of people.

Mehinks it is growing up knowing of things like the Deception Pass Bridge, actual islands, and real waterfronts, why I react so annoyed when I see a town like Fort Worth, unable to build three simple little bridges over dry land, with those responsible conning the clueless locals that the reason it is taking is so is because those bridges are real difficult feats of engineering.

While anyone with a lick of common sense knows how ridiculous such a claim is. Particularly when you add in the fact that these simple bridges are being built over dry land, with those same sorts who are responsible adding to the con by claiming this was done to save time and money, when there never was an option to build over water until a cement lined ditch was dug under the bridges, with polluted river water added to the ditch.

Save time? It has been over four years and those bridges are still mostly giant seesaws further blighting the already blighted landscape.

And then we have a bridge like the one across Deception Pass, built in a fraction of the time Fort Worth has been boondoggling in dawdle mode.

The photo you see below coincidentally also showed up last night, on Facebook, showing the Deception Pass Bridge under construction. This feat of engineering does look a bit more complicated, doesn't it, than those Fort Worth bridges which look like freeway overpasses?

Let's take a look at what Wikipedia had to say about Deception Pass and that actual water this actual signature bridge was built over...

Deception Pass is a dramatic seascape where the tidal flow and whirlpools beneath the twin bridges connecting Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island move quickly. During ebb and flood tide current speed reaches about 8 knots (9.2 mph), flowing in opposite directions between ebb and flood.  This swift current can lead to standing waves, large whirlpools, and roiling eddies. This swift current phenomenon can be viewed from the twin bridges' pedestrian walkways or from the trail leading below the larger south bridge from the parking lot on the Whidbey Island side. Boats can be seen waiting on either side of the pass for the current to stop or change direction before going through. Thrill-seeking kayakers go there during large tide changes to surf the standing waves and brave the class 2 and 3 rapid conditions.

I have multiple times eye witnessed the tidal change at Deception Pass, joining a lot of others also marveling at the dramatic spectacle.

I wonder how many decades, or centuries, it would take a town like Fort Worth to build a bridge over actual swift moving water, like Deception Pass?

Likely no one would have the vision to do so, even with the unqualified help of a local congressperson's son....

Mountain Biking Gateway Park While Maxine Makes Me Homesick For Goose Rock

Since today is Saturday I did what has become my Saturday habit of late, as in I took my handlebars to Gateway Park to do some mountain bike pedaling.

I had myself a fine time pedaling today, rotating my wheels for over an hour.

And then it was on to Town Talk where my treasure hunting was not too successful today.

This morning I got an email that made me a bit homesick. The email was from Maxine. Maxine lives upriver in the Skagit Valley of my old home zone. Maxine is in training for her annual hike over the Cascade Mountains to Stehekin.

Maxine's hiking training today is taking place on Goose Rock in Deception Pass State Park. The trails of Deception State Park, including Goose Rock's trails, were sort of my Tandy Hills equivalent when I lived in Washington.

It was a longer drive to get to Goose Rock than the 4 mile drive from my abode to the Tandy Hills.

If Goose Rock existed at my current location I think it would likely be called Goose Mountain. And it would be a major tourist attraction because there would be nothing like it for hundreds of miles in any direction.

In about 3 hours the Tacoma Wedding of the Century will be taking place. Two  months ago if you'd asked me I would have said I would be at this event. I also got invited to a Train Wreck today in my old home town of Burlington.

This morning Betty Jo Bouvier asked  me which event I was going to be attending, the Train Wreck or the Wedding. I told Betty Jo I would be attending both in spirit.

I think I made the right decision in deciding not to fly north to Washington at this point in time. I got an email  this morning that reminded me of what a hotbed of crazy Tacoma is.

The temperature in Tacoma right now is 69 degrees. Transpose those two numbers and you get the temperature right now in Fort Worth, as in 96 degrees.

I believe today's Tacoma wedding is an outdoor deal at something called the Japanese Pavilion in Point Defiance Park. At 69 degrees I would have been a shivering mess.

Getting HOT On The Last Day Of July In Texas While Thinking About Deception Pass

We are looking down at my pool, from my patio, in the picture. As you can see the sun has not yet arrived on this last day of July. I think I'll head down to the pool in a bit for a moonlit skinnydip.

We are scheduled to hit 101 today in the temperature department. But right now, before the sun shows up to heat up the place, it is only 80, so I've got my windows open and cooling this place.

If I were up in my old home state of Washington today I would be heading out to Whidbey Island to Deception Pass State Park for the picnic party celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the opening of Deception Pass Bridge.

Deception Pass State Park was my Tandy Hills when I lived in Washington, either hiking from Rosario to the lighthouse or parking by the bridge and hiking up Goose Rock. Great hiking with great scenery the likes of which I've not found in Texas.

I hear the birds starting up their morning salute to the arrival of the sun. It's like each morning they are so surprised that the sun has shown up again that they burst into a chirping celebratory cacophony.

It's time to go join the birds and chirp at the sun while I swim.