San Juan Islands Sea Kayaking from Anacortes

A stretch of beautiful days gave us the inspiration to get Taiga's grandmother up here to babysit so that we could go sea kayaking with some friends.
Yesterday morning was so perfectly beautiful that we piled into the car just after sunrise and drove down into the Skagit Valley to witness the waking flights of the Snow Geese. These geese collect in masses just past the dikes of Fir Island and spend the night on the bay. At daybreak they take to the sky in long graceful skeins, heading to green fields for the day's feeding. Watching 10,000 geese flying overhead in the morning sun is something I would prescribe to anyone suffering from mid-winter cabin fever. The fresh air renews the body, the flight of the geese renews the soul. We followed the geese to a field where they congregated in a huge, noisy flock.
After watching this spectacle for a while we drove back to Anacortes to begin the active part of our day.

On a weak flood tide we launched into Guemes Channel and pointed our kayaks toward Cypress Island. The kayaking across was quiet and peaceful. We encountered rafts of wintering sea birds in Bellingham Channel. Guillemots, murrelets, Golden-eyes, and scoters were just a few of the many species enjoying the calm water between Guemes and Cypress islands. We landed at Cypress Head, one of the primitive
campgrounds managed by the Department of Natural Resources. Trails from the campground lead up and into the interior of the Biological Reserve. We took the trail that climbs through a beautiful forest and goes up to the abandoned airfield in the Cypress Highlands. Years ago they put this airstrip in to create better access to Cypress. It was a good plan, except for the 500 foot sheer drop on either end! In the best of conditions this was a risky place to land a plane, taking off was even more adventurous. If the wind was blowing it could be downright dangerous. Eventually the risks outweighed the benefits and the airfield was shut down. Now it serves as a great picnic spot with fantastic views.
The days are still short in February so we couldn't stay for too long. We retraced our steps back down to the beach where our kayaks were waiting. Sea kayaking in the waning light of a San Juan evening is one of the more sublime experiences a person could ask for. We made it back into Anacortes just before dark.
Sea kayaking, hiking, and the San Juan Islands....what more could we ask for. This was a great day!