San Juan Trip: Lopez

The weekend after the Enchantments was Labor Day, so we were on the move again. We had planned a trip to the San Juans. Last year we had visited San Juan Island, so this time we'd be staying one night on Lopez, and the next two on Orcas.

Clint owns a KLR motorcycle which I've ridden on a couple times before, so we thought it'd be fun to drive that up there. Plus, it helped with the ferry lines on a busy weekend since you get to cut to the front! We went and got me outfitted with a new helmet, boots, jacket, and gloves, so I was ready.

We ditched work early on Friday so we could get a head start. We had to pack all our things into the motorcycle bins (including our camping gear), so that meant my hair dryer didn't make the cut, boo. Once the bike was loaded, we were off to Anacortes.

The drive up was long and nerve racking. Riding on the back of a bike on the freeway for two hours had me pretty tense as I clenched onto Clint and didn't move a muscle, but we made it safely.

getting ready to go

Anacortes ferry line

bikers

Our ferry came shortly after, and we were on our way to Lopez Island. We drove straight to Lopez Farm Cottages where we'd be staying for the night. We found our key in the check-in shed, and grabbed a wagon to haul our stuff to our cozy little cottage. The place was adorable. There are 5 cottages all in a row, equipped with your own little kitchen and bath. There's even a hot tub that the cottages share that we lucked out with it being empty for the night.

cottage #3

even a fireplace!

After getting settled in our cottage, we took the bike back out to explore and grab something for dinner.

lots of animals on the islands

We ended up grabbing some food at the market and took it to the beach for a picnic to watch the sunset.

mmm, chicken

pretty sunset

We headed back to the farm, took a dip in the hot tub before being utterly grossed out by how dirty it was (no wonder it was empty), showered and went to bed. The next morning, we explored the place. They have about 15 camping spots for tents, a common area with an outdoor fireplace, grills for barbecuing, and a bocce ball court. We never saw anyone who worked there, but everything seems to run smoothly without them being seen. We'd definitely be happy to go back, maybe try out real camping next time.

bocce ball

maybe the owner's house?

oh hai

We went back to the cottage to pack up our things. It had been a short stay, we had places to be! That day, we made a loop around the island before heading to the ferry to get over to Orcas.

geared up and ready to go

checking out the marina

Clint constantly pointing things out I already saw

artsy

cool house in the middle of nowhere

There are quite a few art studios on the island, and signs directing you off the main road to them. We decided to check one out that happened to be a stone work studio. We walked around the property first, through the gardens and around the house, then checked out her outdoor workshop.

sculpture garden

I ended up buying 3 smaller prints of
these, thought they were cool together

Clint wanted this sculpture -
definitely too heavy for the bike

crazy looking truck

the artist (on the right in the blue) chatting
with some customers

where she does all her work and even teaches classes

I came across these stepping stones, and Clint insisted I needed one (he was right!). The only thing was, it was super heavy, so I worried it would be too much weight on the motorcycle. Clint said we'd make it work, and I'm so happy he did.

good woman cat

I talked with Tamara Buchanan (the artist) and told her I wanted a cat stone, and she told me the story behind them. Apparently during the depression, hobos would have markings they would draw on the fence posts of houses they had been to. They served as a way to communicate with other hobos about their experience at the house. A cat meant that a good-natured woman lived there. After hearing the story, I really wanted it! So, Clint carried it to the bike and strapped it down...all 50 pounds of it.

We left the studio, and continued on our tour of the island.

moo

After a little ways, we heard a strange noise. When we got off, Clint noticed the license plate was grinding on the back tire. The extra weight from the stone had caused us to ride lower. He fixed it pretty quick, and we were on our way.

We came across the Shark Reef Sanctuary, and heard that if you hiked along the trail you'd come out to a cliff where you could overlook the sea lions. We stopped and got ready to "hike", but after just hiking the Enchantments, this was nothing. Maybe a quarter mile at best.

hiking with our new friend, Boston

sea lions

so fat, so lazy

After being disappointed there weren't any sharks at the shark reef, we turned back and got back on the bike.

Clint checking out this cool tree

wildlife!

posing with my kitty stone

pointing...again

stopping for gas

Lopez Island is very bicycle friendly since it's not very big and relatively flat. We saw quite a few groups of bikers out doing the loop. We also kept coming across these little water stations the locals would set up for them, so cute!

water break

ice cold bottled water

we thought from the map that maybe this road went through -
nope, dead end

Mt. ...Baker (?)

checking out the library in honor of
Clint's mom the librarian

cool little café

We ended our loop by stopping in town to check out the farmer's market. We lucked out it was a Saturday when we were visiting, and got there just in time before they were shutting down.

chickens for sale

this was the most amazing thing ever - a wood fired
pizza oven on a trailer hitch - I so need this!

noms

the lady built it herself!

some cool artwork

no, thank YOU

cute little wine shop

fun outdoor seating

rawr - these were screwed into the tables

made a new friend

Clint being a helicopter nerd

Before leaving the island we checked out the state park, Spencer Spit, which is just before the ferry line. It was a pretty cool campground. We cruised around making note of the best camping spots just in case we want to reserve one in the future.

After that, it was off to catch the ferry to Orcas Island.

map of the island at the state park

ferry line in Lopez