- photo by Martin Lynn

This is the end of Waterspot1.

It's the end of a long chapter for us.  I have raked up my last pinecone. We were lucky to have had this unique experience, and will treasure our happy memories. 

Wild burros at Lake Pleasant.​

ETC GALLERY

Sticker Mania has taken over the power box for the streetlight on Commercial Avenue. Yes, that is singular, we only have one in the downtown area. Such a great town! 

Which brings me to the main purpose of my trip to town, which was the Sidewalk Sale! The downtown merchants had to be as glad as I was to see the sun today since it definitely brought out the lookers and shoppers. And none of their stuff on the sidewalk got wet.

These are San Juan Island mugs, featuring a map of them that were in one of the shops.

There must be lots of knitters in town to support  this yarn shop.

The Pelican at Pelican Bay Books, and the sale booktruck.

Monday June 30 we headed south and out through the Skagit Valley to see an old school house.  Google Maps says it is 23 miles from the condo and a 37 minute drive, but it seemed both longer and further than that. We traveled down empty two-way roads through open farmland and across Fir Island for a long way, hoping our friend Google wouldn't let us down. 

We got this view of Mt. Baker out there on Moore Road, showing its snowier side.

Hollyhocks and daisies downtown. And a shopper-in-training at the sidewalk sale. 

This is what they call a partly cloudy day up here. And a shot of the old snag in the park which remains, again, after the winter tides, wind and rain. Oh yes and the tourists who climb on it for some reason.

Oars by Les Eelkema

Fidalgo Fudge, where sniffing the air makes you gain weight. 

Doggies of the day - two Huskies this time. Dressed for the cold, as usual, and their owner who has to be a local is dressed for summer. We however are still in our layers of clothes and socks.

Mt. Baker and the boatyard. Still quite a bit of snow up there. 

Tile coasters by Jennifer Bowman.

I also stop and look at Little Free Libraries whenever I see one, and there are many in Anacortes. This one is on 9th Street.

Anchor Cove Marina

Map showing the former site of Skagit City, south of Mt. Vernon at the point where the Skagit River forks and flows around Fir Island and out into Skagit Bay. The School House is here.

The wind on the water was good for the sailboats but not so much for the kayaks. And everyone avoided that fog bank.

July 1 was a sunny day except in Skyline where the fog moved in and out. Down at the park, the fog was breaking up and moving out. The sunshine brought out a lot of boaters. 

Stuff growing and blooming.

First Heron sighting of the summer! We were wondering where they were. And a walker on the trail.

We assume there was a bell in the bell tower on top, but we couldn't see if there is one now. 

Plus the first slimey slug of the season! 

We passed the historic Fir-Conway Lutheran church on our way to Mt. Vernon on Fir Island Road.  It was built in 1888. There are several old wooden Lutheran churches in the area, but this is one of the nicest we've seen.

It is quite dramatic standing out in the surrounding farmland. It has also been well cared for. We didn't go inside but a photo I saw of the interior looks very much like the Catholic churches I knew growing up.

There are two very nice upscale dress shops here, both featuring matching upscale prices.  It is the land of the $82 t-shirt (sale price!) so I look but don't buy. But someone must! 

Just to compare, this is a photo taken the same day in Scotland with left to right, a ferry, a super yacht, and a racing boat. We have all of those and the same gloomy sky here.

This is a photo from 1937, and the school operated until 1940. The building has undergone significant restoration, although the interior remains much as it was when the school district closed.

The Skagit Valley is very rural and covered with farms. Many of them also have historic old barns; this was just one of many we saw.

Last year June was sunny, but this year we've had a month of gray.   We finally got some sunshine the last few days of the month.  We haven't done much so far but we are walking further, sleeping better and feeling more energy. 

At the very wacky Red Snapper Shop. 

Inside O'Donnell's Irish Pub.

There is a fabric shop here that looks just like the ones I went to in the 60's.  Jam packed full of colorful bolts of cloth.

This is the end of waterspot5. Go to Waterspot6 to  continue.

Old Cannery Dock by Anchor Cove Marina, with welcome sign.

Owls at the Wishing Rock.

Waterspot5

The overlook at the highest point in the park, with Skyline off to the left. This tree is another ancient survivor. And the 2-mile marker!

And there was a great band of strummers and singers who played terrific music! They looked like seniors to me - Go Oldies!  Hearing them play and sing so well set a festive mood for us.

The Chelan, arriving in Anacortes.

Sunday June 29 was a no-yoga day so in celebration of the sunshine and our new stamina level we went to walk the Guemes Trail. It starts close to the ferry landing, which had two boats there today.

My first stop was Scott Milo Gallery, where they showcase local artists.  It's also a framing shop. This artist is Cathy Schoenberg.

We saw a new transport boat, the San  Juan Charger today.

The colorful bright purple lavender is blooming in front yards all over town.

I even found this variation on the "free library" theme.  But it was sadly empty.  Too many "takers" and not enough "leavers" I guess.

Anacortes: End of June

June 28, on my way to town, the RAV and I stopped by Anchor Cove Marina where we used to own a slip and where we kept the boat.  I always liked coming back here and still do for the view.  Plus the sun was finally fighting its way out from behind the clouds.

Plus D Dock where we kept the boat. Whoever has our slip now was out to sea, since the space was empty today. 

The giant leaning maple made it through another winter.  It is so big and heavy we think one of these years it will fall, but we're glad it is still there.

All the windows were covered so we could not look in, so that was disappointing. The place is run by the Skagit County Historical Museum and only opened on a few occasions.

Maple leaf in the forest and a couple of snails, who probably also enjoy the wet, overcast weather.

Bruce's Cheeseburger!

This is a great used bookshop.

Skagit City School and Fir-Conway Lutheran Church

And then we were there! As they say, "you have arrived at your destination." Thank you, Google Maps! 

This was a two-room school built in 1902 with and addition added in 1907. Skagit City is no more, but once was a bustling place in the 1870's located between forks of the Skagit River. It was as far as boats could travel upstream at the time.  Once snag boats cleared the river, Mt. Vernon became the population center and Skagit City declined. 

More Washington Park

Empty slip D134 at Anchor Cove.

Views of blue water and blue sky! It's about time! 

And its sister store, Watermark Book Company -for new books - was also full of people.

Handmade soaps.

Sidewalk Sale

And some local coastline humor (I guess).

More stuff from The Red Snapper.

Entry to Pelican Bay Books, which was full of people!

Lost Cap! This must belong to a veteran. The River Rats was a group of aircrew members from all branches of the military serving in the VietNam war. They organized in 1967 to devise more effective tactics for airstrikes. I hope this guy comes back for his hat, which looks pretty cool! 

The Barista from The Hub, the coffee shop next door. 

We finished up our trip with lunch at O'Donnells, an Irish pub on the highway back to Anacortes. These are their many beer taps and very large selection of Irish whiskeys.

June 27 was a notable day because we walked the whole 3 mile loop around the park, which includes some serious hills! And it was 8,025 steps per my iphone. This is a view you get at about the half-way mark.

O'Donnell's used to be The Farmhouse Restaurant for many years. There is still this sculpture of a farmer there, since the place is surrounded by farms.

Guemes Channel Trail

Seen along the way: an orange  Columbia Tiger Lily, A purple "heals-all" flower and some kind of mushroom.

It was low tide and I was glad to see the old dock shed is still there. This used to be part of a now long-gone cannery. This is our 11th year in Anacortes and I have surely taken pictures of this dock and shed annually, and many times over the years. It was across from our dock.

June 27 doggie photo of the day. These looked like a couple of bears from a distance! They are Bernese Mountain Dogs, a shaggy breed from the Swiss Alps, and average 100 pounds when full grown.  With two of them someone has a lot of brushing to do. They are described as mellow easy going guys bred for farm life.

Washington Park

But if the people don't care for the weather the plants seem to love it. This is Thimbleberry which grows along the roadside in the park.

June 27- July 2, 2025

Marine Supply and Hardware is closed but a lot of their stuff was still for sale - today only! at Alley Cat Antiques.

New this year - or perhaps just new to me, is Wild Hemlock, which sells stuff made in the Pacific Northwest.  Where we have Orcas and Bigfoot.

The Wishing Rock is a garden shop that also sells lots of art pottery and decor, like these sweet bunnies!