Trip 8: The San Juans (9/29 - 10/1)

I usually don't like to play favorites, but I'm not sure if there are two other parks I've enjoyed more than Moran and Lime Kiln in the San Juans. I had some concerns about ferry logistics, weather and our new camping gear, but everything worked out perfectly in last weekend's trip to arguably three of the state's most beautiful parks.
We left for Orcas Island Friday afternoon and found a camping spot in Moran State Park on the shore of Cascade Lake. At more than 5,000 acres, Moran is a monster of a park with several different campground options, an extensive trail system, two large accessible lakes and one of the most stunning views in the state from the summit of Mount Constitution. The park scores high on the wildlife scale as well, with what seemed like a deer around every corner and enormous herons encircling the park's many streams and lakes.
On Saturday morning we drove up to Mount Constitution around sunrise and then back to the Orcas ferry terminal and walked on the inter-island ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan island. We caught a taxi to Lime Kiln State Park on the eastern shore of the island and walked around for a couple of hours exploring the trails, lighthouse and the old kiln. Lime Kiln is supposedly one of the best (if not best) land-based spots in the world for spotting orcas. It turns out we missed them by about an hour, as the pod that frequents the area had passed by before our arrival. Even though we missed the main attraction, the park and its views across the strait to Victoria was well worth the trip.
Sunday morning we packed up and caught an early ferry eastbound to Lopez Island and Spencer Spit State Park. Although not as visually stunning as the previous two parks, Spencer Spit has some great secluded camp sites away from shore and a handful of walk-in sites right on the beach. The park is a great place to beachcomb or try your luck with clamming or crabbing during the season.
Moran, Lime Kiln and Spencer Spit were #97, 98 and 99 in the quest for 120.

Trip 8 by the Numbers:

Number of deer sightings: 50 (or so)
Number of roads on Orcas Island not named after a deer reference: 0 (or so)
Number of raccoons looking to pillage our campsite: 3
Number of adjacent campsites blaring Bob Marley: 1
Number of different ferries ridden: 4

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