Kayak, Bike, Nature and Travel

At the start of last summer some of us were brought together to discuss the possible closure zone being proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of the Orca Whale Recovery Plan.  The San Juan region is in the travel and foraging range of the Southern Resident Orca Whale population.  A population that has been suffering from either increased pollutants in the oceanic system, the lack of salmon which they feed on, or various other reasons. Southern Resident Orca Whales obtained the status of endangered and part of that status is for a recovery plan to be put in place to help increase the survivability and increase the population.  In part of the Recovery Plan, which has not been released to the public yet, there has been talk of closing a section of the west side of San Juan Island.  The zone would be from Mitchell Point to Eagle Point and from shore to 1/4 mile offshore.  This would be a NO GO ZONE to all water craft, motor or non motor craft (KAYAK...

Today has been washed out with gray skies and rain.  I did not even attempt any images today as low level clouds and fog kind of made it impossible to see much.  But the forecast for this weekend looks pretty good.  I am teaching and overnight kayak skills clinic and it looks like we might see a bit of sun and not much wind.  So that should be perfect for the clinic. The island is pretty quite and I guess there are just not many people that want to come to Friday Harbor to kayak in the rain.  Though paddling in the rain is a very nice experience and since Discovery Sea Kayaks offers tours all winter, why not get out there and enjoy the elements of the Pacific Northwest.  Plus the winter is a great time to kayak if you like birding.  San Juan Island is a wintering ground for a host of seabirds. Hope everyone out there in the world is having a productive and happy day.

Lots of wind in the forecast for the night and for the next couple of days.  I hope it dies down before my trip this weekend.  But I will have to wait and see, as I do not really trust a forecast around here unless it is with in 24 hours. So I went for a walk with Guinness (my dog) and took a few pictures.  It was pretty funny because I have a really nice tripod from when I use to shoot images more seriously and I had my little point and shoot mounted on it.   LOL ..  I am sure people driving by thought it looked a bit strange.  But I am one who really does not take much stock in what other may think I am up to. The walk was pretty cold.  The wind has died down compared to this morning.  But the rain has not started really so that was nice.  A few of the images look pretty nice.  Hope you enjoy. Remember you can click on image for large view. Not the best image in the world.  But it is me hanging out with Guinness.  Two old buddies. Looking along South Beach.  It was great standing on...

Today the mission was to go to Anacortes and get new tires for my van.  I got the ferry at 11am and headed off.  It was pretty funny with all the strange looks I was getting when I was airing up my tire with a portable compressor in the ferry line.  More funny when I was doing it on the ferry when we were crossing to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal.  But hey you got to do what you got to do. The end result was new tires and that is what I wanted. While in Anacortes I went to my buddies, Matthew Ross, kayak shop.  You can visit his website at  http://seakayakshop.com/  .  We basically hung out at his shop and caught on what has been going on and tossed around some ideas roaming through our heads.  It was truly a good time.  In front of the shop he had his company van parked and on top was a TideRace Xcite.  A beautiful kayak and one I cannot wait to paddle.  I have paddled the TideRace Xpolre but not he Xcite.  So I have to get back to Anacortes and paddle the Xcite.  The lines of the kaya...

Last night I walked to town to get some dinner and took my camera with me.  Why you might ask. I do not really know.  But it was fun to have along.  I took a few night pics as I walked to town and after dinner.  So I just wanted to post them because I think they are fun.   To update my tire situation, well it looks like I have to buy 4 tires instead of just two.  Since my car is all wheel drive, you have to replace them all at the same time. My tires were damaged due to mischievous behavior.  Someone decided to poke small holes in the sidewalls. So tomorrow I get to go off island and buy new tires.  I wanted that last sentence to sound fun, since that is as far from what it will be. Hope everyone is doing well and I hope to get some island photos up soon.  I know I will be on the water soon and I have a new pod that attaches to my kayak that I can mount my camera to. So I hope to get some nice images. The ferry as it departs the Port of Friday Harbor. This is my favorite image of the n...

To add to my streaming bad luck, today was just another walk in the park for my bad luck streak. On Thursday I went to Seattle to see Mason Jennings play at the ShowBox .  It was a great show and hung out with some great friends.  We got to Seattle early and hit some guitar shops and had lunch. Made out way though traffic to Chris and Wendy's house.  We staged there for the show and headed downtown to find parking.  Like I said it was a fun show.  My friend needed to be back on island early as he had family duties to tend to.  So we woke around 530am and we were aiming to catch the 935am ferry.  As we took off something was just not right.  We had a flat tire in the back right side.   AHHHH ...  It is pouring buckets of rain.  Well the tire iron was not with the tool set. AHHH !  Jesse found a tire iron to use, at 530am that is impressive.  But again the tire iron did not fit the lug nuts.   AHHH !  So we struggle and struggle but can only get two of the five off.  Finally we ...

It was sunny and cold most of the day.  But by days end the clouds were regrouping and moving back in.  I took  advantage of the sun today and did a bunch of work where we have all of our kayaks and gear stored.  I got things pretty well set for the winter.  We hold some gear out for our winter tours, but for the most part things get put away. After that I came home and before I knew it the sun was setting.  So I grabbed my camera and took off to get a few pictures.  I wish I had  a DSLR because the mountains were amazing.  Mt. Baker was so beautiful, but I kept driving so I could get a picture of the Olympic Mountains.   I will be off island tomorrow as I am heading to Seattle to see Mason Jennings .  But I will be back on island this weekend.  Plus it looks like we have kayak tours going out next week.  Hope it does not rain. Olympic Mountains in the distance. I just wanted to take a picture with the kayaks on top of my Previa .   Calm water on the straits and snow in the mountain...