Category Archives: San Juan Islands & Vicinity

Delightful Decatur Island

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Deb Garland

My first impression of Decatur Island, upon spotting a sprawling farmhouse, cherry trees in full bloom with black-faced sheep grazing beneath them in sunny Sylvan Cove, was pastoral. And inviting! Homes, some of them built by award-winning architects, peek at … Continue reading →

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Tranquil Blakely Island

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Deb Garland

Steep hills, forested with evergreens, surround two pristine lakes, Horseshoe Lake and Spencer Lake, nestled in the middle of this private island. Its residents, many of them wealthy, enjoy the convenience of electricity, a general store, cafe, and post office. They travel … Continue reading →

Posted in Blakely Island, San Juan Islands & Vicinity, Writing | Tagged Blakely Island, Blakely Island Marina, Crowley Maritime, Horseshoe Lake, Samish Indian Tribes, San Juan Islands, Spencer Lake, Thatcher Bay, Thomas Crowley Sr. | 2 Comments

What’s on Waldron Island?

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Deb Garland

Waldron Island is one of the outer primitive islands that is a bit “off the grid” and its full-time and seasonal residents like their independent, self-sufficient lifestyle. Most of the families, some of them fourth-generation homesteaders, retrieve their water from … Continue reading →

Posted in San Juan Islands & Vicinity, Waldron Island, Writing | Tagged diesel generators, Farrar and June Burn, Fishery Point, Living High: An Unconventional Autobiography, Morton Lauridsen, Pigeon Guillemots, San Juan Islands, Sandy Point, solar panels, Waldron Island, Waldron Island Post Office, Waldron Island School, wind generators, wood stove | 9 Comments

Matia Island’s Hermit

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Deb Garland

Anchorage at beautiful Matia Island is enjoyable, yet it depends on favorable weather in Rolfe Cove. In 1792, Spanish explorer, Francisco de Eliza, accurately named the island Matia, meaning “no protection.” Exposed to northwest and west wind, waves can build and … Continue reading →

Posted in Matia Island, San Juan Islands & Vicinity, Writing | Tagged Deb Garland, Deb Garland's Scripture & Story, Double-crested Cormorant, Elvin H. Smith, hermit, Matia Island, Matia Island's Hermit, MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, National Wildlife Refuge, Pelagic Cormorant, Pigeon Guillemots, San Juan Islands, U.S. Coast Guard, Washington State Marine Parks, www.blog.debgarland.com, www.debgarland.com | 2 Comments

Light on Patos Island

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Deb Garland

Zipping through Active Cove, a cozy anchorage, in our neighbor’s 16-foot Safeboat gave me a glimpse of Patos Island. And a desire to return someday soon to one of the most scenic islands in the San Juan Islands. Sandstone walls ring … Continue reading →

Posted in Patos Island, San Juan Islands & Vicinity, Writing | Tagged barge, Federal Wilderness Reserve, halibut, Keepers of Patos Light, Patos Island, Patos Island Lighthouse, salmon, San Juan Islands, shipwreck, tugboat, Washington State Marine Parks, Zodiak | 2 Comments

Gift of Sucia Island

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Deb Garland

Smugglers on Sucia Island? Following our first sail to the island in the early 1980s, I read about a man who’d settled on South Finger Island in Echo Bay the prior winter. He believed that he’d found a remote spot to … Continue reading →

Posted in San Juan Islands & Vicinity, Sucia Island, Writing | Tagged boating, camping, Echo Bay, Ewing Cove, Fossil Bay, Fox Cove, hiking, Puget Sound Interclub Association, San Juan Islands, scuba diving, Shallow Bay, Snoring Bay, Sucia Island, Washington State Marine Parks | Leave a comment

Gem of Stuart Island

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Deb Garland

We squeezed our first sail to the San Juan Islands into Christmas vacation in the middle of my third year of teaching. Weather proved to be windy and wet, so we donned our foul weather gear. And when we arrived, … Continue reading →

Posted in San Juan Islands & Vicinity, Stuart Island, Writing | Tagged Lovers Leap, Orca Whales, Prevost Harbor, Reid Harbor, San Juan Islands, Stuart Island, Stuart Island Marine Park, Stuart Island School, Turn Point Light Station | 2 Comments

Ferryboat Islands – Part 2

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Deb Garland

Lopez Island is the first island on the Washington State Ferries route into the San Juan Islands from Anacortes. It is the third largest island, looks like the letter “L” from the air, and is known as the “friendly” island. Residents … Continue reading →

Posted in Lopez Island, San Juan Islands & Vicinity, Shaw Island, Writing | Tagged kayaking, Little Portion Store, Lopez Island, San Juan Islands, Shaw Island, The Little Red Schoolhouse, Tour de Lopez, Washington State Ferries | Leave a comment

Ferryboat Islands – Part 1

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Deb Garland

San Juan, Orcas, Shaw, and Lopez islands beckon to visitors sailing aboard the Washington State Ferries from Anacortes, WA and Sidney, BC, Canada on Vancouver Island year around, with the exception of no ferry service from Canada during the cold … Continue reading →

Posted in Orcas Island, San Juan Island, San Juan Islands & Vicinity, Writing | Tagged bicycling, boating, Mt. Constitution, Orcas Island, San Juan Island, San Juan Islands, Washington State Ferries | 1 Comment

Jewel of the Pacific Northwest

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Deb Garland

Sail or fly into the San Juan Islands of Washington State and you are immediately struck by the rugged beauty of the archipelago’s shoreline. Twice daily tides, sometimes rising 13 feet, splash the 479 miles (769 km) of rocky headlands … Continue reading →

Posted in San Juan Islands & Vicinity, Writing | Tagged Bible, birds, islands, Israel, sailing, San Juan Islands, sea mammals, tides, Washington state | 1 Comment