(+8 insets with larger versions below) (please view this main image large for more cool details!)

WE ARE BACK!!! :D

Steve and I are finally home from our epic adventure to Vancouver Island, Canada! How strange it is to be back in a place that doesn't move. And after living in our comparatively tiny RV (Recreational Vehicle if you don't know), the house is GIGANTIC! We keep wondering why we ever chose such a big home for just two people. (It has a master bedroom and two smaller ones plus a large den/game room, three bathrooms, a kitchen, dinette, laundry room, large living room and a sizable one-car garage.) Downsizing is definitely in our future! :D

Our Canada trip was six weeks in total, longer than any trip either of us has ever been on, and included countless amazing experiences that were mostly wonderful but also a number of bummers along the way. What a crazy, life-changing ride!!

Today I'm sharing a series of pictures from one of our very last stops, which happened to be in the United States. This incredible place is called Deception Pass and is located on the northern border of Washington. It was named by the famous explorer, George Vancouver, when he mistakenly thought Whidbey Island was a peninsula. There is a lovely pair of bridges that cross from Whidbey, over the small Canoe Pass and Deception Pass just next to it, connecting Whidby to Fidalgo Island which lies just north.

Returning to the United States, we took the enormous Washington-BC ferry from the charming southwestern Vancouver Island town of Sidney to the busy Washington island port town of Anacortes, Washington, situated on Fidalgo Island. We drove south over the Deception Pass Bridge and then to our 3-night stay at an RV campground on Whidby Island.

On our first of two full days we decided to incorporate a walk across the fabulous bridges we'd driven over to get to our campsite. We simply could not believe the jaw-dropping views we saw and knew the bridges would make a fine adventure out of this day.

Along with a picture-laden walk over the bridges, we also went on the gorgeous Goose Rock perimeter hike along Cornet Bay, including a climb to the top of Goose Rock Summit. There we sat and enjoyed a yummy picnic as we looked out over the bay with a view of the pretty little uninhabited marine sanctuary, Strawberry Island.

My main picture is a panorama of the view westward out to the Pacific Ocean with Deception Island off in the distance.

Inset 1: Next are a couple of boats passing by. There was a fairly constant stream of boats buzzing under the bridge, really fun to watch!
Inset 2: The third inset is a vertical panorama! Steve was taking one of his million panorama pictures with his phone one day and decided to try doing a vertical version. The results are so cool that he turned both of us into panorama junkies! This picture shows the view looking eastward toward the northern side of Puget Sound and you can see Strawberry Island in the distance.
Inset 3: look at the water going under the bridge! A huge volume is squished into this tiny space and the power and speed are incredible. I am afraid of heights but push past it when I must…looking down at this churning, roiling water was shocking when you understand what exactly is going on!
Inset 4: a view of the bridge from below, we just loved the construction of this masterpiece!
Inset 5: a map to show the area called Dire Straits (the band didn't name it for this place, btw) and shows the fascinating jumble of islands and waterways in the area. I've put a large version of this image at the end so you can look more closely.
Inset 6: a vertical panorama showing part of the Goose Rock Perimeter Trail that we hiked. We just love the way these pictures turn out and think a series of super cool bookmarks is in order! :)
Inset 7: another panorama, though it's not obvious, which shows a very long, fallen tree which lay just next to the trail. The lush vegetation here was just captivating. (By the way, I will upload a video at one point, which shows me walking down this log…it's pretty silly!)
Inset 8: This is our Goose Rock Summit picnic lunch view! You can see little Strawberry Island at near-center-stage!

I have many other pictures of our bridge walk and hike but I think eight pictures is more than enough for now! :D

Pam, we thought of you so often along our long trip--as you know--and hope that our pictures will be fun for you to experience as I roll them out! Would have been so nice to have you with us, even though logistically it just couldn't have happened…still it was fun to think about, if only something like that were a possibility! I sure do hope that you have a wonderful day--I'm sending *BIG HUGS* your way!

Thank you so much for coming by while I've been away, it's been wonderful to see your comments and support!

Explored on September 5, 2019. Highest placement, #1.