Day 25: Domes of oysters

Well not really but we did a hike to a rocky summit called Oyster Dome in Washington state. The border crossing was loooong: almost an hour to get to the border kiosk, then nearly as much again inside waiting to get visa waiver cards. Still, it turned out to be worth it as we took in a bit of historic Fairhaven (and tasty lunch at the Colophon Cafe) before driving south on Chuckanut Drive. We stopped off at Larrabee State Park and explored the eroded sandstone shoreline before continuing the scenic drive down to the trailhead for a hike up to Oyster Dome.

Not long after setting off up the hill, Maria spotted a fairyslipper orchid, the first one we'd seen since our backpacking trip in the Okanagan almost two years ago. Of course, no sooner had we spotted one than we saw another, and another. So, yeah, I had to take photos of them all :-) After that we found trillium in full bloom. We continued on our way up to the top of Oyster Dome and enjoyed the views over Samish Bay and the San Juan Islands. A great little hike, and not as steep as it looked on the map.

We made it back to the car just in time to catch sunset over the San Juan Islands before making our way through the flat fields to Mt Vernon and the Skagit River Brewery for a tasty way to end the day.

Oyster Dome orchid