Whales – Parks & Lex

Finally made it to the 9th (in terms of my visits) National Park in California in November. Little guy was super excited to take a Boat to an Island (possibly because his hero is Moana…), and Santa Cruz seemed the most accessible for families and this time of year. We took the Island Packers excursion to Scorpion Ranch. Although the primary purpose of the trip is the crossing to the islands, they do stop if possible for wildlife, and we were rewarded for stopping a few minutes mid-trip to see two humpback whales surface near the boat. At Scorpion Ranch, we had a delicious picnic lunch I had ordered from Channel Island Provisioners (all packed up in re-useable/sustainable packaging and delivered to the dock in Ventura prior to our outing — a great option for traveling!). We immediately got to see the Channel Island Foxes, sadly because dumb people (like the kid old enough to know better at the table next to us) don’t heed the warnings about not feeding them, but they were still pretty cute if not totally wild. From Scorpion Ranch, we hiked the Cavern Point Loop up to the bluffs above the ranch, extending the hike a little by walking part of the way to Potato Harbor. The walk offered great views of the cliffs and caves down below as well as a few more whale sightings.

Crossing to/from Santa Cruz:

Channel Island Foxes:

Hiking Around Scorpion Ranch:

Passport Stamps:

Sun setting behind Santa Cruz Island from Santa Barbara:

I realized I never posted Park #7 from 2016, a visit to San Juan Island National Historic Park on San Juan Island in WA last Sept. This was the final unique park I visited in 2016, but if I count repeat visits to Golden Gate National Recreation Area and NPS-affiliated sites (such as the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience in Seattle where we saw a temporary Bruce Lee exhibit on this same trip), I think I could claim to have met my goal of 12 parks last year 🙂

After visiting some friends in the Seattle area and visiting the local volcanoes, we hopped a ferry to the San Juan Islands. The ferry rides alone provided awesome scenery, and we arrived in Friday Harbor on a picturesque day — and were greeted by a friendly harbor seal, who I suspect makes a regular appearance near the fish market.

The historic park commemorates a mid 19th century stand-off between British and American garrisons on the island involving the matter of a pig. The two sections of the park encompass the English Camp on the north end of the island, and the American Camp further South. We first stopped at the English Camp on a drizzly afternoon. We walked up the officer’s hill, checked out the recreated English garden, and watched some more adventurous hikers head off around the point.

We next drove down to American Camp, of course spotting a bald eagle along the way. Spent some time checking out a red fox foraging on the side of the road as well. Our little dude fell asleep in the car and it was still raining, so I popped into the visitor center to get my passport cancellations and watch the video about the incident of the pig. We decided to come back the next day to explore the rolling hillsides and reconstructed camp, a lovely walk with some great views.

I had read that nearby Salt Point State Park is a good place to spot orcas from shore, so we decided to head there before returning to American Camp. We noticed a few cars stopped at a pullout on our way into the park, and sure enough, there were several orcas active in the water, just offshore, close enough that we could hear the snorts and splashes as the surfaced! Don’t tell little guy, who slept through the whole thing.

After that, it was appropriately time to hop the ferry to Orcas Island, where we made a brief stop in Moran State Park, before heading back to the mainland. We had great views of Mt. Baker from the ferry.

This site had several passport stamps, including some bonus stamps which are cool except when you’re rapidly using up all the extra space in your passport book!