Sometimes I love Facebook! When I saw Thomas Kelly mention he was heading to the Pacific Northwest with kayaks, I responded asking him where he was going, and if I could fly in and meet up with he and David Brown, his paddling partner.

I’m pretty sure I invited myself…..but hooray for me! I got to tag along on their paddling odyssey!

It’s so easy to forget how stunningly beautiful our archepeligo of San Juan Islands truly is! Re-visiting the islands after my long hiatus, updated my very out-of-date recollections. Damn! The San Juans are well appointed! And well Loved!

We arrived to Sucia on a Tuesday, and we were the only tent in our camping area. We paddled over to Patos on Thursday, and found we had the camping area again, to ourselves. On Friday, when we returned to Sucia, wow! Every camp site had a tent. This was the third week of September. What must the summer be like?

The camping areas are lovely, with fresh water (not on Patos), composting toilets and well maintained trails covering the islands we visited. The park asks you to take out your own trash, so there are no garbage cans. I didn’t see any trash on the ground. There are two docks on Sucia for boats and probably sixty or so campsites on the Island.

On Patos there is a working light house. The camping area on Patos is small, but it’s grassy, flat with views into Canada and the Haro straight.

There is an organization called Washington Water Trails Assoc. who has, over the years, laced together the Cascadia Marine Trail, which includes campsites exclusively for human powered water craft. Talk about feeling special!

We visited only two islands, (Thomas and David paddled from Anacortes to Orcas, so visited more) and covered every inch of both, on foot and circumnavigating. We saw tons of wildlife: otters (many), sea lions, harbor seals, birds, birds, birds, owls, and a few spouting whales.

What a lovely surprise and what a lovely week! Our next trip will be many more days and islands. Getting re-acquainted with the San Juan Islands by kayak was a great gift from Thomas and David. Thanks guys!