Stuart Island

Taken from inside the teacherage

Yesterday, eleven of us Senior Trailblazers took a trip with Island Opportunities water taxi again, this time to Stuart Island, the farthest from Bellingham Bay. It was a fine day, high overcast but no rain, a little on the cold side, but the taxi has a nice heater that kept us quite comfy on the way. I was enjoying watching the waves when everyone jumped up to see the whales!

What a beautiful creature! (Terry's picture)

We saw this large Orca to our right, and on the left was a pod of female Orcas. The skipper said these are not local whales, but a migratory pod, which are much larger than the local ones. The skipper did not want to move between them, so he went out to the open waters and we continued on our way to Stuart Island. Nevertheless, it was really exciting to see these magnificent wild creatures up close.

Arriving at Reid Harbor at Stuart Island

Our crew members left us here at Reid Harbor, where we made our way up to the trail that leads to the road that we would follow to the old schoolhouse and teacherage, and then to Turn Point Lighthouse. We walked a good distance while we were out, somewhere around seven+ to eight miles altogether. And not much of it was flat, either.

Huge madrone tree

We walked on until we came upon the old schoolhouse and teacherage (sort of like a parsonage for teachers).

Teacherage on the left, schoolhouse on the right

Both of these buildings are open to the public, and you could purchase books or pamphlets by leaving some money in a little box. I took some pictures while inside, but didn't buy anything myself. The school is closed because eventually all the children grew up and because it's mostly all privately owned land, there are no longer any students. We walked farther, finally reaching the Turn Point Lighthouse.

Turn Point Lighthouse

From here, you have a magnificent view of the entire surrounding islands, with amazing vistas out across the water. We stretched out on the green grass and had lunch here. We saw two big container ships pass through this area, as well as some seals that either wanted to play or have something to eat.

Got anything to eat?

We were serenaded with lots of grunts and roars from these fellas, before they finally gave up and went elsewhere, looking for food. You don't realize how big these guys are from just seeing their snouts peeking up from the water. We did, however, early on seeing lots of them lounging around on cliffs. We also moulton sheep, yaks, deer, and eagles everywhere. It was wonderful to be so far from civilization where you don't hear anything but the sound of nature.

Lighthouse behind us

When we returned  back to Reid Harbor, there was our trusty water chariot waiting to take us back to Bellingham Bay. Before then, however, we were treated to a scene of the lighthouse from the water, with all of us together again, tired and happy to have had such a wonderful day on Stuart Island. I am tired enough today that I didn't even go for my usual walk and am having a well-earned day of rest.

:-)