Author: Cat Ianni-Schlecht

Sunday June 22nd

Whale Watching

We knew when we were planning this trip years ago, that we wanted to make sure that we did a whale watching tour when we were in Anacortes. I waited until we would know what the weather was going to be for this week and booked the tour. We went with Island Adventures after reading about them in a few blog posts and reading their reviews. We settled on a 3-3.5 hour tour, even though they do offer 6, 8 and 12 hour tours. We woke up and dressed in a lot of layers after reading the email that warned how cold it could get on the boat and headed to the port. Another reason we went with this company, was that they sailed from Anacortes, so we did not have to hop on a ferry for the tour. We drove less than 10 minutes down the road and we were there.

We boarded their boat and it was really nice! They had an indoor section with tables at the bottom with a store that sold merchandise, food and drinks. The next floor had seats in the front and back outside and an indoor section, and then there was a top level that was outside. We settled on some seats in the back on the second floor. The tour had a guide who talked throughout the ride who was very knowledgeable and entertaining. He also took pictures with a nice camera that you could buy on a memory stick at the end of the tour. That was really great because then I did not have to worry about trying to get a ton of pictures, instead I just enjoyed the ride. As we left the port, we saw some really pretty starfish, seals and porpoises.

It was beautiful at the back of the boat, but it was COLD. Even in all of our layers, we got really chilly, so we headed inside and grabbed some hot chocolates and warmed up a bit. Pretty soon after that, they heard on the radio that a pod of orcas was spotted and the captain headed towards them. We went back to the second level of the boat and were able to see the whales. The guide was able to look at the markings of the whales and determine exactly who they were and tell us all about them. It was a group of four whales, a mom and her three sons. The oldest son was huge, but he was not even close to being full grown. We learned that these were mammal eating orcas called Bigg’s or transient whales.

We enjoyed watching these whales for another 30 minutes or so and then sailed off to see if we could find anything else. We stopped by two sea lions that were hanging out on a buoy and spotted a few more porpoises.

Not having any luck finding more whales, we went back to the original pod and watched them for awhile. We then sailed back to the port and disembarked. It was an incredible experience and even though it was really cold, I would do it again in a heartbeat!

It was too late to catch a ferry to one of the islands and still pretty cold and gloomy outside, so we decided to have another slow day. We took the dogs on a walk along the water and spotted another one of our little seal friends. I can’t get over how cute they are and they seem to like watching us and the dogs walk by. We went back to the RV and watched the last of our Harry Potter movies and cleaned up the RV so that we would be ready to move to our next spot the next day.

Saturday June 21

Pride Parade

The town of Anacortes was having a Pride Parade while we were there, so we of course had to go and watch. I dressed up in the brightest color I had because I did not remember to pack anything rainbow (and I unsurprisingly own a lot of rainbow), popped in my pride earrings and we drove downtown. We parked down the street and walked to the parade. It was cool to see this tiny town all come out for the parade. Churches were there giving out flags, so I got my flag to wave and waited for the parade to start. The parade was super cute and had a lot of participants! It could have used a lot more music, but I was impressed with how many community members and organizations participated. My favorite part was all of the dogs that walked the parade. After the parade was over, there was a pride celebration at the local park, but Tyler and I decided to get some brunch.

Brunch

Our brunch was amazing. We went to a restaurant right on the Main Street called Anacortes Calico Cupboard Cafe and Bakery. We started with a fresh maple bacon cinnamon roll, which might have been the best cinnamon role that we have ever eaten. I got a hash with local potatoes and local butternut squash that was so good and Tyler got French toast made with some of those amazing cinnamon rolls. I also had a lovely chai tea latte. It was all incredible. Happily stuffed we headed back to the RV to have a lazy day because it was raining and gloomy. We spent the rest of the day getting caught up on blog posts, napping and watching Harry Potter movies. We have found that it is so important for us to have lazy days, even though we want to always be out seeing everything, so we don’t burn out on travel.

Friday June 20th

Orcas Island

Today we decided to explore another island, Orcas. This was the island that had been recommended to us the most. Because we had gotten in so late the night before, we decided to sleep in and have a slow morning. We ate some breakfast at the RV, took the dogs for a walk and then headed to the ferry. We had reservations and got there about 30 minutes before they started loading. We drove on, parked and went up to the passenger deck to find seats. The ride to Orcas is a little bit shorter than San Juan and we landed right around 12:15.

Lunch Time

The first thing we needed to do was grab something to eat. A lot of the places that I wanted to eat, only served dinner, so we drove to a spot that served brunch. It closed at 1:00, so we went to another restaurant. That one did not have any seating and was pretty busy so after a quick google we found our way to the White Horse Pub. This was an irish pub that was right on the water. We got seated at a window with a great view. I enjoyed a mango mule and fish and chips and Tyler got Corned Beef.

Shopping and Snacks

We spent some time exploring the shops in Eastsound. But first, I had to stop in a local coffee shop! I went to Brown Bear Bakery and got a delicious almond latte. The pasteries all looked amazing, but we were stuffed. With coffee in hand, we went to the shops. These were all really cute, full of locally made items. I found an San Juan Island shirt at a local print shop, where you could pick out any shirt, sweatshirt, bag, etc and they would print one of their designs onto it. After shopping, we went in search of an ice cream shop where I had spied someone eating a flight of ice cream earlier in the day. We found Clever Cow Creamery and ordered a flight of 7 different ice creams.

Moran State Park

Orcas is known its beautiful nature, so we had to do a hike while we were there. We drove to Moran State Park and found an easy hike where we could see 4 waterfalls. Overall the hike was a little less than 2 miles and super easy, but incredibly beautiful. We decided that hiking in the jungle like forests is our favorite so far.

I absolutely loved Orcas Island and could have spent the entire day there. However, after being away from the dogs for such a long day the day before, we decided to head back. We got back to the ferry terminal with enough time to hit a few shops and buy a few souveniers. Once we got back to camp we took the pups for a 2 mile walk around the harbor and spotted a few seals! They were adorable!

We made some dinner and settled in to watch a movie. We are watching all of the Harry Potter movies again so that we are ready for our Universal Studios trip with my family in a few weeks!

Thursday June 19th

Deception Pass

Today was going to be some of the best weather that we were going to have at this stop, so we decided to spend the day outside! Our first stop of the morning was driving to Deception Pass. Deception Pass is a strait separating Whidbey Island from Fidalgo Island. It is a Washington State Park, so you normally need a Discover Pass to get in, but because it was a holiday, it was a free day! We drove across the bridge and got lucky with a parking spot. We walked across the bridge and enjoyed the wind in our hair while we took in the views.

We then went under the bridge where Tyler “pondered the phsyics of it all”. It was really crazy to see how it all was held up!

We wanted to take the path down to the beach, so Tyler ran back to the car to get his sweatshirt. While he was at the car, I heard someone from the bridge shouting that they saw whales. When Tyler got back, we walked quickly down the path and were able to get a good view of the water. I could not believe it, but there were two orcas swimming around! It was our first full day here and we already saw whales!

We walked down the path surrounded by giant trees. Tyler had to find a tree to hug and a kind hiker offered to take a picture of both of us, so I hugged my first tree of a trip!

The beach was a beautiful rock beach, with great views of the bridge.

Tide Pools

The hike back to the car was pretty steep, but we handled it well. I can tell we are getting stronger each day of this trip! We then drove over to Rosario Beach. This beach is well known for having tidepools. We walked around admiring all of the tiny crabs and other sealife in each pool.

We drove back to the campsite to take care of the pups, grab some lunch and head to the ferry for our next adventure!

The Ferry

Per usual, I did no research on the logistics of our stop and made 0 reservations. I learned that if you want to drive your car onto the ferry to take it with you to one of the islands, you should make a reservation way in advance. If you don’t make on in advance, they release some reservations 2 days before at 7:00 am PST. If you don’t have a reservation, you can get to the terminal a few hours early and hope you get on with standby. Well we did not even think that far enough head and did not want to risk stand by so we grabbed a late afternoon reservation to go to San Juan Island. We got to the ferry terminal about an hour early and parked in line. The ferry arrived and we were directed to drive up a ramp onto the second level of parking. Once parked, you can hang out in your car or get out and go to the passenger level. We got out and explored the decks. They have a few outside areas, chairs, tables and a cafeteria where you can buy food. They made an announcement that we were arriving at the island, so we headed back to our car and waited to dock. They directed us to drive off the boat and we were there! The whole process from arriving at the port and getting to San Juan Island took about 2.5 hours.

Friday Harbor

The ferry docks at Friday Harbor, a cute little town on the island. We spent some time walking around and looking in all of the shops. We had to try the local ice cream, and both went with the huckleberry cheesecake ice cream. It was amazing! It was cash only, so if you want to enjoy this treat (and a few other things on the island), make sure you bring cash! Now it was time to explore the rest of the island.

Lime Kiln Point State Park

We drove across the island to Lime Kilm Point State Park. The drive out there was through some beautiful farm land and through some forests. We had bought a Discover Pass for $30 while we were in Spokane, so we were able to park. This park is known for its cute little light house and as a good spot to see whales. We did not have any luck with whales, but we enjoyed the views and got back in the car.

South Beach and Cattle Point

We drove across the island to South Beach where we had heard you could see wild foxes. We did not see any wild foxes (at least not there), but we did see 5 bald eagles within seconds of each other. It was absolutely incredible and I could not stop talking about it.

We drove down to Cattle Point and walked to another little lighthouse. There were also some great views of the other islands, Canada and the Cascade mountains.

Dinner Time

Our only two options for taking the ferry back to Anacortes were 6:30 or 9:50. We did not arrive on the island until about 4:00, so we did not think the 6:30 ferry would give us enough time on the island and we decided on the later trip. That being said, we had a lot of time to kill and most things close pretty early on the island. We decided to eat at the San Juan Brewing Company. We grabbed a few beers along with our dinner. The beers were pretty good and I really liked my fries, but my cheesesteak and Tyler’s pizza were just okay. After the brewery closed, we still had almost two hours until the ferry, so we went to a wine and cider bar. We did a tasting and tried two wines and two ciders. It was unique to try wines and ciders that were made by fruit grown on the island, but they were all unsweetened and just not our taste.

A little buzzed from the beers and the tasting, I treated myself to another scoop of ice cream. This time I went with something super chocolately and it was so so good.

We parked in the line for the ferry and waited. The ferry was running late, which we learned is pretty common, so we did not even get on it until 10:30. We parked on the ferry and decided to stay in our car. We arrived at the Anacortes terminal after midnight and drove back to the RV. It was a good, but long day, so we both crashed pretty hard.

Saturday June 14th and Sunday June 15th

Saturday

River Walk

This stop was mostly a chance to relax after being on the go for the first two weeks of the trip. We slept in and then made a late breakfast of french toast with some of the huckleberry topping we had bought in Glacier.

We decided to take the pups on a walk along the centennial trail that goes right along the river. Woody was desperate to swim, so we brought the dogs down to the water and Woody jumped right in. Emmie surprisingly walked in and stood in the water! This is a huge change from the first time we brought her to a lake and she stood as far as she possibly could from the water. I am hoping that we will turn her into a water dog! We walked about two miles and then went back to the campground to relax.

Ice Cream Time

After hanging around the RV for the afternoon. We decided to head into the city to go to The Scoop, an ice cream place that we had read about. I got a scoop of chocolate cupcake and a scoop of giants milk and cookies (vanilla with biscoff cookies) and Tyler got a raspberry ice cream with sprinkles and animal crackers. I love all ice cream, but I was not a huge fan of this. It was kind of icey and left a weird taste in our mouths.

We walked over to the River Front Park and I was blown away. Two giant rivers run through the center of the park and go down into a waterfall. We stayed there for a while and got to see the “No Kings” protest. It was beautiful to see so many people coming together to support each other and the pride outfits were great! We drove back to camp and made our go to lazy dinner of bread, cheese and sausage and watched a few movies. 

Sunday

Coeur D’Alene

We had another lazy morning before heading to Coeur D’Alene, a lake town in Idaho about 30 minutes away. We walked through the shops and then along the water. We were jealous of all of the people enjoying a nice lake day and wished we had brought our swim suits.

After hanging by the water for a little bit, we walked and found a place to eat lunch. We decided on Crafted Taphouse. I am a sucker for a soft pretzel, so we started with a giant pretzel with a beer cheese and a sweet chili dip. It was delicious! We discovered that we were back in huckleberry territory and both got a huckleberry beer. I got a goat cheese, fresh berry salad that was amazing and Tyler got a burger on a homemade pretzel bun that was pretty good.

We skipped dessert there and walked down to the Bear Paw and got some big cookies, including a cookie for the dogs. We headed back home and spent the rest of the evening napping and relaxing. 

Thursday, June 12th

Johnston Canyon Hike

We woke up early to head to the Johnston Canyon for a hike because we read that it gets really busy. Banff is super dog friendly, so we decided to take the dogs with us and see how Emmie did on her first hike. We drove about 30 minutes to the trailhead and started off. We got to the trail around 8:30 and there were only a few other people there. The plan was to hike to a waterfall and see how we felt and how the dogs were doing and then maybe hike to a second one. The path was paved and pretty flat, so it was a super easy hike. The only challenge was there were a few bridges that went over the river and Emmie did NOT like walking on those.

She was brave and after about .5 miles we made it to the first waterfall. It was beautiful, and you could walk into a cave and get right up against it. It is amazing to feel the spray from a raging waterfall, especially after a hike. 

The pups were doing great, so we decided to hike to the next one. This was still a paved trail, but went up a little bit so it was more of a challenge. After about another mile, we made it to the second waterfall. You had to stand on a bridge to see this one and Emmie was not happy.

We did not stay too long and turned around to make the hike back. There were a lot more people on the trail when we headed back. The trail, especially the bridges, is really narrow so it is a little hard to hike when it is crowded. This was an absolutely beautiful hike, along a river with tons of rapids in an enchanting forest. At about 3.4 miles round trip it was just challenging enough for us. I would highly recommend it! 

We drove back to the campsite to drop of the very tired dogs, and ate a quick lunch of sandwiches. We then jumped back in the Jeep to head off on our next adventure.

Beaver Tails

But first, we had a very important pit stop to make on the way. We drove into town and each got a Beaver Tail. Beaver Tails are fried dough that they cover in all sorts of goodies. Tyler got a maple one and I got one that was covered in Nutella with brownie and chocolate chunks. Beaver Tails are incredible and a must have when you are in Canada. 

With our treat in hand, we got back in the car and started our long drive to Jasper National Park. There is a road called the Icefields Parkway that connects Banff to Jasper and it is full of amazing views, hikes, waterfalls and lakes. In total the drive is about two hours, but you can spend anywhere from 2-8 hours on the drive if you stop for hikes and sights. We had somewhere to be, so we mostly enjoyed the views as we drove, but we did stop for a few waterfalls that you could see from the road.

Athabasca Glacier

We made it to our destination, the Columbia Icefield, where we were going to get to walk on a glacier! After putting on lots of layers, we hopped on a bus that drove us just a few minutes up the road. We then got off the bus and got on a massive Ice Explorer vehicle that brought us straight onto the Athabasca Glacier

. We got out and walked on the ice. Tyler brought his water bottle and filled it straight from the glacier stream. Our guide introduced us to the “glacier facial” where he dunked his face into the stream. I couldn’t resist and I gave it a try. It was COLD but really refreshing. It was better than a cup of coffee to wake you up! 

We got back on the Ice Explorer and drove back to the buses. A bus then took us down the road to the Skywalk. The Skywalk is a glass floored walk that hangs over the side of the mountain. It was pretty cool, but I would not have done it if it was not included with the Glacier.

We got back on the bus and went back to the visitor center. It was time to start the drive back to Banff. We made one stop on the way at Peyto Lake, and it was incredible! The water was a gorgeous color and there was a beautiful view of the sun behind the mountains. It started to rain, so we only stayed for a minute and then ran back to the car.

We got back to the campsite late, and packed up as much as we could because we wanted to leave early to avoid a line at the dump station. 

Wednesday June 11th

Brunch

Today we decided to spend the day around town and take it easy. We slept in and had a slow morning getting ready before hopping on our bikes and biking to town for brunch. We ate at Tooloulous, a Louisiana themed restaurant. They had so many breakfast options, it was hard to pick! Pretty much every style of pancake, waffle and french toast you could think of! I went with a strawberry and chocolate waffle and Tyler got french toast coated in Cinnamon Toast Crunch and deep fried. They both were amazing!

Shopping and the Banff Sign

After brunch, we hit the town and went shopping for some souvenirs. The town of Banff is so cute and we loved just walking around. We made sure to buy a new bottle of Ice Wine from the Wine Store and then got back on our bikes. Our plan was to bike to the Banff Gondola and take a ride. However, after two attempts, we realized that even with E-bikes, we were not going to make it up the steep hill you had to take to get there. We changed gears and biked along the river to the Banff sign to get some pictures. A few people were there in line, which worked out great because everyone was helping to take each other’s pictures.

We then headed back to our campsite to get the jeep to drive to the gondola. In total we biked about 14 miles, so our easy day was a bit more work than we planned. 

Dog Park Break

Tyler was smart and checked if there were any tickets available before we left and lucky he did because there were not any for a few hours. We decided to buy tickets for later and in the meantime take the dogs to a local dog park. This dog park was the most fortified dog park I have ever seen! I am guessing that they take extra precautions to keep the animals out. It was also one of the nicest dog parks we have ever been to. It had beautiful views, trees, and grass covered hills. It had a walking path around the whole park.

Banff Gondola

We tired out the pups and then drove back to the campsite. We dropped them off and headed to the gondola. I was really excited for the gondola, because everything I had read said that it was incredible. Unfortunately there were some wild fires in the area, so it was really smokey and visibility was not great. Tyler and I decided to make the most of it and hopped in the gondola and headed up the mountain.

While the views were not great, it was still really cool to be going up the mountain like that. We got to the top and went to look around. They had some interesting history about Banff that we read through and then we walked the boardwalk to look at some big horn sheep that were hanging around. We also saw some very well fed chipmunks, that were so big, I thought they were squirrels at first!

We had to wait a little while before we could head back down the mountain so we got a snack and a drink. I got a Maple Chai Latte which was incredible and I need to find a way to bring them to the US. We explored the rest of the building and then it was time to take the gondola back down.

I am not going to lie, I was really disappointed that we did not have good views, because I would imagine it is absolutely gorgeous up there on a clear day! It is on my list to try again the next time we come to Banff. By the time we got back to the campsite, I had a really bad headache, so I went to bed pretty early, wanting to rest up for our last day. 

Tuesday, June 10th

Today was our first day in Banff and our agenda included the things that I was most excited for. We were going to hit two of the famous lakes in the park and one in Yoho National Park. We got up early and drove about an hour to our first stop, Emerald Lake.

Emerald Lake

This lake was stunning! At Emerald Lake, we were going to do more than just sightsee, our plan was to canoe on the lake. Neither one of us had canoed in years, so Tyler was convinced we were going to fall into the glacier lake. We even packed a change of clothes just in case! We walked around, took some pictures and then got in line to be one of the first ones in a canoe. They were doing some video taping of some people canoeing and I thought that is why we had to wait. Turns out we just got there so early it wasn’t open yet. Once we got on the water, I was in heaven. It was easily one of my favorite things on this trip so far.

It was easier than I thought it would be and so serene out on the water. We paddled around for about an hour and then went back to the dock. We grabbed a picture of Tyler’s water bottle with his new Yoho National Park sticker and then hit the road for Lake number 2. 

Lake Louise

Our second lake of the day, Lake Louise, is considered to be one of Canada’s most famous lakes. Parking is really limited so we bought tickets through Park Canada to take a shuttle bus to both Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. We drove to the Lake Louise Ski Area and parked and were able to get right on a shuttle. After about a 10 minute drive, we were there! Lake Louise is beautiful!

I will say that some of the beauty was taken away by just how many people were there. It was really crowded and just not the peaceful nature sight you expect.
Wanting to escape the crowds and get a different view of the lake, Tyler and I decided to hike to Fairview Point. It was only .7 km, so we figured it would be easy. Boy were we wrong! After going straight up hill for a few minutes, Tyler found a bench and said he would wait for me. I was determined to make it to the top. I was fighting for my life, going straight up hill and stopping every few feet.

But I made it! Luckily the view was absolutely worth it. Once I could see again through all of the sweat and sunscreen, I took some pictures and then headed back down to meet up with Tyler. We got back on a shuttle bus and headed to our last lake of the day, Lake Moraine. 

Lake Moraine

We were on the bus for about 20 minutes until we got to the last stop. This lake was a little less crowded, but just as beautiful. It was not completely full, so we were able to walk right on the rocks by the water. We found a log to sit on and just enjoyed the lake for a few minutes.

After relaxing for a bit we walked back and took the shuttle back to our car. Our plan was to do the Lake Louise gondola at the ski area, but the restaurant at the top was closed, so we decided to head back to camp to take care of the dogs and go into town for some dinner. 

The first restaurant we picked was closed for a private event, so we went to our second choice, The Maple Leaf. The inside of the restaurant looked like the inside of a fancy log cabin, complete with a big wood staircase you went up to find your table. Tyler ordered the half duck with risotto and I got teriyaki bbq ribs with sweet potatoes. They were both delicious, but we agreed that Tyler makes much better risotto. We order a maple crème brûlée for dessert and it was incredible.

I have replaced all things huckleberry with all things maple now and I am in heaven. We got back to the campsite and were treated with three beautiful elk coming to visit. After they scampered off, we set up a campfire and relaxed for the rest of the night, enjoying a bottle of Ice Wine that we had bought in Canada last year. Ice Wine is a super sweet wine that they make in Canada from grapes that have frozen on the vine.