Seeing Real Islands From Summit Of Washington's Mount Erie

Saw that which you see here, yesterday, on Facebook. The view from the summit of Mount Erie, looking south. Mount Erie is public park land owned and managed by the city of Anacortes.

Mount Erie is on an island. Fidalgo Island to be precise. 

Seeing this photo put me in mind of a town in Texas called Fort Worth. Fort Worth has been trying real hard to have itself an island, where no body of island-providing water exists.

This attempt to make Fort Worth, what would amount to being an imaginary island, has been going on for over two decades.

During those over two decades the main progress towards having that imaginary island has been the building of three simple little freeway overpass type bridges, built over an astonishing seven-year time span, over dry land, intending, eventually, hopefully, to connect Fort Worth's mainland to that imaginary island.

I have long opined that apparently most people in Fort Worth have zero clue as to what an island is. Yes, it is a chunk of land, surrounded by water, but an island is not a chunk of land, rendered to be an island, due to digging a cement-lined ditch and diverting river water into that ditch.

In the above photo you see several real islands, in addition to the one the people in the photo are standing on. They are looking down on Lake Campbell, with that lake having an actual island at its center.

That island on Lake Campbell is an island on an island. 

Looking south from the top of Mount Erie ones sees several other islands. Those islands are in Puget Sound, located to the east of Deception Pass. Deception Pass is to the right of the photo, with that big chunk of land towards the upper right being Whidbey Island. That being another actual real island. A really big actual real island.

Wikipedia has an article about Mount Erie, which I found interesting. A blurb from that article...

On a clear day, Mount Baker, about 43 miles (69 km) to the northeast, and Mount Rainier, about 117 miles (188 km) to the southeast, can be seen from the summit.

I have been at the summit of Mount Erie countless times. I do not recollect seeing Mount Rainier and Mount Baker from the summit. I likely do no recollect seeing those two volcanoes, from that vantage point, because it was not unusual to see those two volcanoes from various Washington vantage points.

The one sighting of Mount Rainier that I do remember as unusual was seeing that volcano whilst on the Skagit Flats, with the mountain being a distant white pimple on the horizon.

If you ever get to travel to Washington, and to Fidalgo Island, you'll want to visit Anacortes and the famous Fidalgo Drive-In, operated by my nephew Jason and his first born, Spencer Jack. After having a cheeseburger and blackberry milkshake, make your way to Mount Erie. It is a fun twist and turning drive to the summit, where you'll find a maze of trails and bridges across chasms. 

Mount Erie was one of my favorite go to places when I lived in the neighborhood...

A View Of Deception Pass Takes Us To Fort Worth's Boondoggle

I saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook. A bird's eye view of Deception Pass in my former home zone of Washington state.

That straight line you see connecting the land mass on the right with the land mass on the left is Deception Pass Bridge. 

Deception Pass Bridge was built almost a century ago, in less than one year, over deep, swift moving saltwater.

All the land masses you see above are islands. The large land mass on the right is Fidalgo Island, connected to Whidbey Island by the Deception Pass Bridge.

I think being familiar with the concept of actual islands may be why I have long found Fort Worth's imaginary island to be so idiotically annoying. For years now a desolate chunk of land north of Fort Worth's downtown has been referred to as Panther Island.

Where there is no island.

This chunk of desolate land is referred to as Panther Island because of a ridiculous slow motion project which has been limping along since the current century began, known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

Referred to by many Fort Worth locals as The Boondoggle.

Many years ago Fort Worth had itself a TNT explosion celebrating the start of construction of three simple freeway overpass type bridges, over dry land, connecting the Fort Worth mainland to the imaginary island.

It took over seven years for Fort Worth to build those three simple little bridges. Over dry land.

The Trinity River Vision hopes to one day see a cement lined ditch under those three bridges. Ditches in which Trinity River water will be diverted, thus creating that imaginary island, which will never be an actual island in the rational meaning of the island word.

Fort Worth has a long history of this type of hyperbole. Starting with the town's name. There is no fort in Fort Worth. There once was a Camp Worth, back in the early days when the native population was still in the neighborhood.

When I first moved to the D/FW zone, myself and my fellow transplants, were perplexed by directional signage in downtown Fort Worth pointing to Sundance Square. There was no square in Sundance Square, confusing the town's few tourists.

And then, after confusing those few tourists for a few decades, an actual square was added to Sundance Square, called Sundance Square Plaza.

And now, in 2023, Fort Worth's few tourists are confused by signage pointing to Panther Island, where there is no island... 

Moon Over Homesick Mountain With Many Real Islands

I saw these two homesick provoking photos on Facebook this morning on the You Know You're From Anacortes When page.

The one above is a bit of a hyper realistic view of the full moon rising over the Mount Baker volcano.

The one below is more accurately depicting what the view looks like when viewed only through ones eyes.

Anacortes is the second largest town, population wise, in Skagit County. Anacortes is on Fidalgo Island.

Fidalgo Island is a real island, not an imaginary island such as what some in the island-free town of Fort Worth, Texas think is an island. There are two bridges which connect Fidalgo Island to the mainland. These are real bridges over real water, one of which, the Rainbow Bridge, in La Conner, is an actual iconic signature bridge, not an imaginary iconic signature bridge of the Fort Worth type.

One can take a ferry from Anacortes and Fidalgo Island to the San Juan Islands. One would think the San Juan Islands would be in Island County. But, instead the San Juan Islands are in San Juan County. There are no bridges to any of the San Juan Islands.

A blurb courtesy of Wikipedia about San Juan County...

San Juan County is a county located in the Salish Sea in the far northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, its population was 15,769. The county seat and only incorporated city is Friday Harbor, located on San Juan Island.

Fidalgo Island connects to Whidbey Island via the Deception Pass bridge. Two ferry routes also connect Whidbey Island to the mainland.

A blurb courtesy of Wikipedia about Island County...

Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, its population was 78,506. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor. The county's name reflects the fact that it is composed entirely of islands.

I do not know why Fidalgo Island is in Skagit County instead of in Island County. Or why the San Juan Islands are not in Island County.

It's very perplexing.

But not nearly as perplexing as that town in Texas which has built three little bridges over dry land, hoping one day to put a cement lined ditch under those bridges, and then divert Trinity River water into the ditch, creating an imaginary island, which is only going to further confuse the town's few tourists...

Spencer Jack Celebrates Graduating 2nd Grade Making His Uncle Homesick For Washington

There seems to be a conspiracy afoot to make me homesick for Washington today.

Incoming email a few minutes ago from FNJ (Favorite Nephew Jason) with several photos, including the two you see here.

The text in the email said...

Spencer Jack explores Cap Sante after finishing the 2nd grade today.

Cap Sante is a Gibraltar-esque rock monolith in Anacortes. Anacortes is on a real island, called Fidalgo. In the photo above FNSJ (Favorite Nephew Spencer Jack) is sitting atop Cap Sante. In the distance behind Spencer Jack, on the left, is another island.

People reading this in Fort Worth, this is what real islands look like. They are surrounded by a large body of water. Not a dry ditch.

Below is a view looking west, at the Cap Sante Marina and downtown Anacortes. Many a time I helped launch a boat with my mom and dad from the Cap Sante Marina.

I don't know if we can see it, but on the left side of the above picture is where Spencer Jack's dad's Fidalgo Drive-In is located.

I Googled Cap Sante to see if there was a Wikipedia article about it. There is not. But I found a blurb on Yelp that was a fitting description, once I fixed the grammar and typo mistakes....

From the majestic trees draping precariously over the bank, to the beautiful sweeping view of Anacortes and beyond, Cap Sante Park is a must-do on your next trip to Fidalgo Island.  There are plenty of vantage points for photography, and usually there are at least a few yachts, sailboats, and/or large ships within view. If you're in an adventurous mood, hike down the easy path to the beach below, or just stay on top and admire the surroundings.  

That is true, there are often large ships to be seen at this location, called supertankers, bringing oil products to and from the Anacortes Refinery complex, located on the east side of Padilla Bay, on Marsh's Point, in the direction Spencer Jack is looking.

Time flies way too fast. Hard to believe that Spencer Jack is now a third grader....

A Little Mountain Hike With Spencer Jack Seeing Real Non-Fort Worth Type Islands

Yesterday Spencer Jack took me on a hike up Little Mountain in my old Mount Vernon hometown.

Little Mountain is a little mountain which is within Mount Vernon's city limits.

Little Mount Vernon has a park like Little Mountain near its downtown, whilst the little town I currently call home, Fort Worth, has a park near its downtown called the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Having been in both town's parks I can tell you that Mount Vernon's Little Mountain Park is much more natural than Fort Worth's Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Well, there are those hang gliders who launch from the top of Little Mountain. That is not too natural.

No hang gliding was taking place on Little Mountain yesterday, due to weather related issues in the Skagit Valley and all of Western Washington, with those weather related issues causing large bodies of water to stand where usually there is not water. We shall see some of that documented in the photos which follow.

Above we are behind Spencer Jack, looking slightly northwest. That water you see in the distance is not the result of flooding. It is saltwater. Padilla Bay, I think. Near where I first met Spencer Jack, over six years ago, at Bay View State Park.

In the next picture we have zoomed in for a closer look.

In the foreground above you are looking at I-5. That straight line across the flooded land is the railroad track which on the left heads towards Seattle and on the right heads towards Canada. The land which you see on the other side of Padilla Bay is Fidalgo Island. Fidalgo Island is a real island, not an imaginary island of the sort that grows in Fort Worth. Fidalgo Island is where you will find the town of Anacortes and Spencer Jack's restaurant, the Fidalgo Drive-In. Click the link and you will soon see Spencer Jack with a root beer float.

In the next picture we are looking at another island in the distance.

That lump in the distance is known as Lummi Island. The Lummi are a Pacific Northwest Native American Tribe. The Lummi's Tribal Lands are on the mainland north of Lummi Island. A ferry will take you from the mainland to Lummi Island. Lummi Island is also a real island, not a Fort Worth style imaginary island. In other words, no ferry will be needed to take you to any of Fort Worth's imaginary islands.

Below is a section from informational signage about Mount Vernon's Forest Reserve Little Mountain Park. There are a couple things I found interesting about the information on this sign.

One thing I thought to be interesting was the fact that the sign is bi-lingual, both in English and Spanish. Now in Texas one would expect signage to be bi-lingual, what with Texas being so close to Mexico and once having been Mexico. Mount Vernon is only about 40 miles south of the Canadian border. If a Mount Vernon sign was going to be bi-lingual one would think the information would be in both English and Canadian. Or French.

However, just like Texas, the Skagit Valley, and Mount Vernon, has a large number of former Mexican nationals and their descendants, who have long lived in the Skagit Valley. Way more Mexican-Americans live in the Skagit Valley than Canadian-Americans. I do not think I ever knew a single Canadian-American whilst growing up in the Skagit Valley. I knew many Mexican-Americans.

The other bit of information on this sign, which I found interesting, was something you would never read on a Fort Worth sign in a Fort Worth park. That which I found interesting is in the first paragraph on the sign. I will copy that paragraph in its entirety. See if you can spot that which one would never read on a Fort Worth sign.

At its founding in 1877, Mount Vernon stood in a vast forest of giant trees. The idea of saving areas for public enjoyment would have seemed crazy then. But later, when the popular Carpenter Creek area was cut, the need became clear. On January 16, 1924, citizens of Mount Vernon voted overwhelmingly for the city to buy a park site.

Did you spot the part you would never read on a Fort Worth park sign?

Citizens voting on something to improve their city. What a revolutionary concept. A real vote, not a childish make believe vote, like having voters vote on Three Propositions with those propositions being things like voting to approve charging $1 to rent a livestock stall, rather than a straight up vote on whether or not to build a small arena for almost a half billion bucks.

I wonder where Spencer Jack is going to take me hiking next? A hike to the top of Goose Rock in Deception Pass State Park used to be one of my favorite things to do. Goose Rock is also on a real island.

To get to Goose Rock one takes a short drive west, to Fidalgo Island, crossing to Fidalgo Island on a bridge which spans the Swinomish Channel. That bridge was built over water in far less than four years.

One continues on Fidalgo Island, driving by Lake Campbell, which has an island in the center of the lake. One of the world's rare instances of an island on an island. Again, real islands, not Fort Worth type imaginary islands.

A short distance past Lake Campbell one comes to another bridge, Deception Pass Bridge, it being one of the Pacific Northwest's iconic images, built in less than a year, over very deep, swift moving water, back in the early 1930s.

Deception Pass Bridge takes you to Whidbey Island. Yet one more real island. The trail which leads to the top of Goose Rock begins at the south end of Deception Pass Bridge. From the summit of Goose Rock you can look in just about any direction and spot a lot of islands, some big, some small, none imaginary....

Spencer Jack Caught In A Web Got Me Thinking About Fort Worth's Imaginary Islands & Bridges Over Nothing Boondoggles

This morning my favorite nephew Jason emailed me some pictures, one of which is the one above, another of which is below, where Spencer Jack is caught in a tangled web.

The text in the email...

Fall is in the air. Foggy mornings. And pleasant afternoons with the day time light shrinking. Spencer Jack suggested hanging up Halloween decorations on the "to do" list. We did such in his lego/train room.

Seeing the above picture amused me when I realized I was looking at something I don't see in my current location.

No.

I am not referring to beautiful scenery.

I am referring to islands. Real islands. I am losing memory of Washington place names, but I believe in the picture we are looking north across Padilla Bay. In the distance I believe that is Guemes Island. I don't know what the small, closest island is named. To the right, if the picture were wider, we might be seeing part of Samish Island.

Samish Island is like islands in Fort Worth, such as Panther Island, due to the fact that Samish Island is not really an island. It used to be an island, but early farmers blocked off the saltwater with dikes so as to create more fertile farmland and put an end to Samish Island's island status.

Spencer Jack and his dad drive by the view above every time they drive from their home zone in Mount Vernon, 15 miles west to Anacortes, where Spencer Jack's dad's Fidalgo Drive-In is located.

Fidalgo Drive-In is so named because it is located on Fidalgo Island, which leads me to another interesting thing that occurred to me when I thought about that drive to the Fidalgo Drive-In on Fidalgo Island.

To get to Fidalgo Island on Highway 20 requires driving over the Duane Berentson Bridge. As you can see this is a twin bridge. The picture only shows you part of this big bridge.

The body of water this bridge crosses is called the Swinomish Channel. The Swinomish Channel was not dredged as part of any sort of demented flood control, economic development scheme.

The dual  bridges replaced an antique draw bridge which caused bad traffic jams whenever a boat needed to head into or out of the channel.

I remember when the Duane Berentson Bridge was built. It did not take four years to build. And it was built over existing water. What a concept. The Duane Berentson Bridge is a much bigger bridge than the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Three Bridges Over Nothing, which are scheduled to take four years to build.

Near where we are standing in the bridge picture is the Swinomish Casino & Lodge. I believe in addition to the lodge and casino there is also now an RV park and marina. The Swinomish are a Pacific Northwest Native American tribe. Their casino has a restaurant with my all time favorite seafood buffet.

The Swinomish Casino & Lodge, with its restaurants, did not come about due to any sort of sweetheart deals from something called the Padilla Bay Swinomish Channel Vision. The Swinomish have done a good job of economic development all on their own, with maybe a little federal help, just like the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, only with something to show for it a bit more elevated  than music venues, imaginary pavilions, a drive-in movie theater, a brewery and a wakeboard lake.

I do not remember ever reading, in any Skagit Valley media source, regarding the Duane Berentson Bridge, that it was a "Signature" bridge that would become an iconic gateway to Fidalgo Island.

Now, those of you who have seen artist's renderings of what the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Three Bridges Over Nothing are going to look like, which of these bridges do you think might leave a more lasting impression in a visitor's memory, the Boondoggle's Bridges or the Duane Berentson Bridge?

Well, enough of that.

And now the aforementioned photo of Spencer Jack stuck in a spider's web in his Legoland Monorail Train Room.....

The 17th Morning Of 2012 Dawns Dark & Warm While Snow Covers My Nephew's Restaurant In Washington

As you can see, looking through the bars of my patio prison cell, the 17th morning of 2012 is very very dark, with just a little illumination provided by a sliver of the moon directly overhead.

Seeing a sliver of the moon directly overhead would seem to indicate at least a partially clear sky.

Currently, in the outer world at my location, it is 58 degrees. Yesterday's high got into the 70s.

I think I will see if swimming is doable this morning.

Changing the subject from the sublime to the ridiculous.

I watched last night's Republican debate.

Changing the subject from the ridiculous back to the weather.

My old home zone is bracing for what the weather predictors are predicting may be a record breaking snowstorm, arriving on Wednesday, with possible accumulations of well over a foot of the white stuff all over the Puget Sound lowlands.

In all my years of living in the Puget Sound lowlands zone I can only remember one time the snow got over  a foot deep. That was in December of 1996. That particular snowstorm had me trapped on the hill my house sat on for almost a week. I could only travel by cross country ski til the snow melted.

Spencer Jack's Dad's Fidalgo Drive-In

It was a Winter Wonderland. The steep cul-de-sac that my house was on became a sledding mecca well into the night, with night sledding illumination provided by the street lights.

This morning Spencer Jack's dad, my nephew Jason, sent me a picture of what his restaurant, the Fidalgo Drive-In, was looking like yesterday.

My nephew's restaurant is in Anacortes, on Fidalgo Island, hence the name of the restaurant. Anacortes is a port town. It is where you hop a ferry to get out to the San Juan Islands, or to Victoria, up in British Columbia.

A cold front is moving in today at my current location on the planet. I see no snow in the forecast.

Up Late On A Hot 84 Texas Morning Thinking About My Nephew, Anonymous Relatives & Adult Diapers

The August 12 sun got up before I did this morning. I was up late indulging in Happy Birthday related activities suitable for a 68 year old geezer.

I think I'll be skipping swimming this morning. I believe as one slowly declines into ones Golden Years physical activity gradually slows til one barely moves at all and rides one of those electric carts when shopping in Wal-Mart.

Speaking of Wal-Mart, I was in one yesterday, in Hurst, across the street from the ALDI Food Market. I was in the Pharmacy area, looking for a bottle of Vitamin D, among other things, when I was subjected to a disturbing conversation.

This lady, maybe 70, or older, in shorts too short for one of that age, with just about the spindliest, scrawniest legs I've ever seen, and with a Texas accent as exaggerated as something you'd hear on Hank Hill, was asking a hapless Wal-Mart employee, a guy about 18, questions about adult diapers, which she was buying for her mom. The spindly legged lady was quite graphic about the extent of her mom's incontinence. Eventually I'd heard enough and walked away.

My mom guessed that my Anonymous relative who commented on my blog, yesterday, from Oak Harbor, was my eldest sister. This particular sister lives in Kent. But, over the weekend she'd been in Anacortes for the annual Anacortes Arts & Crafts Festival. Anacortes is on Fidalgo Island. Oak Harbor is on Whidbey Island. Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island are connected by the Deception Pass Bridge. My sister owns property on Whidbey Island, near Langley, which is south of Oak Harbor.

I discounted my sister as an Anonymous possibility due to the fact that she has told me she does not read my boring blog. However, last night my sister sent me an email in which she said....

"That is good news about JR, he is way too young for health issues but sounds like is going to have them if he does't listen to the Dr........When did you skip the 60's and go straight to 70 y/o? Lol...."

The fact that my sister referenced the 68 years old thing, indicates she'd seen my blog, thus shooting her to the #1 suspect spot as my Anonymous Relative.

The good news about JR that my sister is talking about, was yesterday's best birthday present in years. Nephew Jeremy got the results of the tests on his heart and the results were good. Jeremy has a very very low resting heart beat rate. This somehow makes his heart very vulnerable to even a minor stimulant, like caffeine. Jeremy was a drinker of those awful high caffeine energy drinks that have other stimulants in them as well. Ever since the first doctor visit Jeremy has not consumed anything with a stimulant in it and he has not had any more heart incidents.

Well, I have way too much to do today and way too little time to do it. So, I must cease wasting time on this blog right now and go do something constructive.