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...

Hot Martin Luther King Day At Lucy Park

Summer has returned, again, on this third Monday of 2023.

With the outer world temperature in the 70s, the vehicular air-conditioning was back on, with the car's pilot wearing warm weather shorts and t-shirt, to return to Lucy Park, for the first time in days, for some peace and solitude and nature communing via walking the Lucy Park backwoods zone.

I was not alone in the backwoods today.

What with it being a federal holiday, Martin Luther King Day, kids were not in school, with a lot of kids talking their parental units into taking them to the park for a picnic and to play.

The Wichita River is running low and slow, as you can sort of see via the photo documentation. This area is currently under Level One Water Restrictions due to the drought.

I don't know what that means. Maybe don't water the lawn or add water to the swimming pool.

Fort Worth's Bridgey McBridgeface Bridge Name Nonsense Boondoggle

Yesterday a blog comment from Fort Worth's renowned Stenotrophomonas which pointed me to some fresh Fort Worth embarrassing nonsense I had not previously known about...

Stenotrophomonas has left a new comment on your post "Mark K's Make Me Homesick Mount Baker Photo":

Meanwhile, in the wannabe city

Fort Worth appears ready to move ahead on naming Panther Island bridges. White Settlement Road, though, still stalled.

Not much imagination here.

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Excerpt from the article about the stalled bridge naming...

From the names of notable Fort Worthians to the classic “Bridgey McBridgeface,” Fort Worth residents submitted over 1,700 suggestions to rename the three bridges connected to the Panther Island Project.

Henderson Street bridge, North Main Street bridge and White Settlement bridge are all unofficial names. The city solicited suggestions to rename the bridges in February 2022. Submissions closed in March.

Residents submit over 1,700 suggestions to rename three Panther Island bridges

The renaming on Panther Island bridges presents an opportunity to elevate notable figures of Fort Worth’s past, said Peter Martínez, a history professor at Tarrant County College. 

“I think that would be huge,” Martínez said. 

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For those not familiar with Fort Worth's multi-year bridge building embarrassment. Fort Worth has had an ongoing pseudo public works project limping in slow motion for most of this century. Originally called the Trinity River Vision, eventually to be referred by most as The Boondoggle, whilst adding names to the original official name til it became the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

Part of that myopic vision was the building of three simple little bridges, over dry land. The building of these three little bridges took over seven years, way longer than it took to build the Golden Gate Bridge over actual deep, swift moving water.

One day it is hoped that cement lined ditches will be dug under the three bridges, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch, creating an imaginary island, already named Panther Island.

Nope, not making this up. Google "Panther Island" and you will find a lot of documentation about Fort Worth's ongoing embarrassment. 

Why would any sane city waste time and money on soliciting name suggestions for something like these three simple bridges, currently crossing dry land, connecting the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island?

Here is a look at one of the simple little bridges, and the dry land under it, awaiting a cement lined ditch...

Isn't that a stunning feat of bridge engineering you are looking at here? Those buildings you see in the background make up the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

Yeah, it is easy to see why naming these bridges would be huge, just like that Tarrant County College professor suggested...

Floating Washington Ferry With Spencer Jack To Downtown Seattle

Incoming email from my Favorite Jason Nephew this morning, with three photos, including the photo above of Spencer Jack at the foredeck of a ferry heading for downtown Seattle, along the following text...

FUD-

GNSJ and I took an afternoon cross sound boat ride today in unseasonably warm weather.  60 degrees in January.  The PNW is forecasted to get a drenching over the next few days.  

Also, learned today that the area’s Dungeness Crab harvest has been postponed and may be canceled altogether.   

The same restrictions have been in place for most salmon species for years.

Didn’t Al Gore predict all of this decades ago?

Anyway, hope you enjoy the photos.

-FNJ

The email did not detail which ferry route Spencer Jack was floating his dad on.

My guess would be that that second photo shows Spencer Jack about to dock on Bainbridge Island. The other cross sound destination from Seattle is Bremerton. That does not look like Bremerton where the ferry is heading.

And the final ferry photo again looks like we are either leaving or heading towards downtown Seattle.

Seems like only yesterday Spencer Jack was a little kid. He does not look like a little kid anymore...;

Mark K's Make Me Homesick Mount Baker Photo

The make me homesick photo you see here I saw on Facebook, this morning of the second Wednesday of 2023.

Skagit Valley photographer, Mark K, took the photo after he saw multiple looky-loos parked roadside gawking east at the extremely colorful sunset.

Below is one of the Mark K sunset photos.

For those reading this in Fort Worth, those bumps on the horizon are actual islands, surrounded by real water of the saltwater sort, not imaginary islands of the Fort Worth sort, where there is no surrounding water of any sort, but one day may be sort of surrounded by water, if a cement lined ditch ever gets dug, with dirty river water diverted into the ditch.

In the Mark K photo at the top, that big white bump is a volcano, known as Mount Baker. Washington has five active volcanos. In addition to Mount Baker there is Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens and Glacier Peak.

I have been invited to a birthday party taking place next summer at the Mark K estate on the Skagit Flats.

I have been told if I make it to the Mark K birthday party there will be blackberry pie and strawberry shortcake. I think it was Miss Carol BD who promised me blackberry pie and strawberry shortcake if I showed up.

Currently I would say there is less than a 50/50 chance I will make it to the Skagit Valley this coming July.

I think I have mentioned previously that from the living room of my abode in Mount Vernon, when the leaves were not on the trees, I could see the Mount Baker volcano. 

From my current living room, no matter what window I look out, I see pretty much nothing...

HOT January Lucy Park Walk With Lingering Japanese Pagoda Mystery

With the outer world scheduled to get heated to 81 degrees HOT today on this second Tuesday of 2023, it was to Lucy Park I once again ventured for some nature communing in the Lucy Park backwoods, former jungle zone.

I have still not learned why there is the Japanese pagoda-like structure, you see above, in Lucy Park. Seems as if there must be some reason behind it being there.

There were oodles of disc golfers enjoying the balmy weather today. I avoid the need to dodge incoming discs by doing my nature communing in the backwoods zone where there are no disc golfers.

Curry chicken is on the lunch menu for today, followed by a bike ride in the late afternoon.

It is being a mighty fine thing having summer return in the middle of winter...

Birds Of Different Feathers Not Flocking Together At Sikes Lake

It was back to Sikes Lake I ventured the morning of the second Monday of 2023, for a somewhat balmy walk with the flocks of geese, ducks and seagulls.

As you can see via the photo documentation, at Sikes Lake, birds of different feathers do not flock together, but they do flock close to each other. 

The flock of seagulls look like they are almost surrounding whatever the darker feathered birds are. This may be a territorial dispute, with the seagulls trying to intimidate the darker birds into flying somewhere else.

The bridge at the west end of Sikes Lake is still in being repaired mode, so a walk around the lake was not doable today.

The coyote that I came upon at Sikes Lake last Friday, is no longer in residence. Did someone poach the coyote? Or was it moved to another bird scare station?

The temperature is scheduled to get into the 70s by late afternoon, so I see a bike ride in my future today...

Nature Communing At Shrinking Lake Wichita

This first Saturday of 2023 saw a temperature drop at my Texas location.

Yesterday, when I nature communed at Lucy Park, the temperature was in the 70s. Today, when I nature communed at Lake Wichita Park, the temperature was barely in the 50s. 

As you can see, Lake Wichita continues to shrink.

Normally, most of what you see in the foreground is covered with water. The water-less area has been water-free for so long that vegetation sprouted up and has turned brown due to being frozen.

It has been a long time since I have hiked to the summit of the closest thing in the area to Washington's Mount Rainier, known as Mount Wichita.

There are four or five trails to the summit of Mount Wichita. The trails have all turned a bit rough. Making the trails potential ankle twisters, best avoided. Or so I have decided...

Sikes Lake Bike Ride With A Coyote

 What with my New Year's Resolution to try and get more exercise of the outdoor activity sort, today pre-noon I did some fast walking at Lucy Park. 

And this afternoon, as the sun was beginning its slow descent my bike took me on a ride for the first time in a long time. That would be my bike's handlebars, looking west across Sikes Lake.

As you can see the outer world is looking serene. No wind and heated into the 70s.

When I got to the bridge at the west end of Sikes Lake I found I had to turn around, due to some sort of repair being done at both ends of the bridge.

And then when I got near the bridge at the other end of Sikes Lake I came upon what you see here.

A coyote.

Coyotes began showing up several months ago on the grounds of the MSU President's mansion. The coyotes arrived to encourage the flocks of geese to seek elsewhere to flock. The husband of the MSU president regularly moves the coyotes to new locations, so as to keep the geese thinking they are real, and not harmless manmade coyotes.

Today marked the first time one of the fake coyotes has shown up at Sikes Lake.

I rather enjoyed the bike ride. I was a bit wobbly at first, but the wobbliness soon abated. 

Miss Chris Shares Close Look At Mount Rainier Which Takes Us To Cabela's

One of my favorite Washingtonians, Miss Chris, currently located in Lacey, previously located in Kent, with both locations providing closeup views of Mount Rainier, when clouds are not blocking the view, shared that which you see above, on Facebook this morning.

With explanatory text saying, "Mount Rainier was so clear today. Got a shot as we were heading south on 167."

Lacey is a town west of Tacoma, east of Olympia. Lacey has one of the three Cabela's locations in Washington. 

People in Fort Worth, who are subjected to Fort Worth Star-Telegram propaganda, may remember when Cabela's courted Fort Worth for a Cabela's location, conning the local politicians with the false claim the Cabela's sporting goods store would be the #1 tourist attraction in Texas.

That #1 con was used to convince those local politicians to give Cabela's tax breaks and other perks. No one seemed to realize it was rather insulting to Texas to think a sporting goods store would be the state's #1 tourist attraction. 

It was not long after the Fort Worth Cabela's opened that another Texas Cabela's came to be, competing for that coveted #1 tourist attraction spot. That second Cabela's is south of Fort Worth, in Buda, near Austin. And then a third Cabela's opened, on the east side of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, in Allen.

When Cabela's proposed opening a store in Lacey, they tried to get tax breaks and other perks. They did not try that #1 tourist attraction con, obviously being a ridiculous thing to claim in the shadow of Mount Rainier. Cabela's was told if it was not economically viable to open a store in Lacey, without tax breaks and perks, then don't open a store there.

Cabela's went ahead with the Lacey store without tax breaks and other perks. And soon thereafter, just like Texas, Washington has three Cabela's. The one in Lacey, one in Tulalip and one in Union Gap.

Tulalip is about 20 miles north of Seattle, close to Marysville and Everett. Union Gap is in Eastern Washington, by Yakima.

Thank you, Miss Chris, for providing the make me homesick photo of the day...