Day 96 Seattle to Orcas Island

Monday 23rd August
Daily mileage 24miles Average Speed 9.6mph Ride Time 2hr35min
Total Mileage 3880

We loaded John’s car up with the bikes and left Emerald City at 8.30am on our way to Anacortes ferry terminal with a quick stop at Starbucks for coffee to go and a sausage and egg muffin. Unfortunately we just missed the 10.15am ferry and so had to kill a few hours until we hopped on the 12.30pm ferry to Orcas Island. We were joined by a group of 22 cyclists on an organised tour of the islands which appears to be very popular.
We pretty much slept the entire journey and luckily just about woke up as we arrived in the harbour. The sun was shining and we soon realised that the island is extremely hilly. We headed for Eastsound market and grabbed some lunch which we took to the beach to eat and have a skimming competition. A quick wander around the gift shops and we kept cycling toward Moran State Park via Cascade lake. We climbed up mountain road and arrived at Mountain lake where we were camping.
The lakes were gorgeous and extremely picturesque set in amongst a lush green forest backdrop. I set up camp while Kris continued to ride up the mountain to the summit to photograph the sunset. He was set a challenge to ride the distance in as many minutes as his age. He managed 30mins and 26 sec which is amazing considering the steepness of the road. Unfortunately the trees were too high and blocked the perfect sunset photo but the view of Mt Baker and Mt Rainier were perfectly clear and impressive. Despite not being able to see the sunset, watching the full moon and the colours change on the snow capped mountains was well worth the climb.

On the way down it was quite dark and the deer were out and not scared of humans. They were in the middle of the road and stood still as he approached as they cannot hear the bike coming. Kris arrived back at the tent at 9pm just in time to watch a movie before sleep.