Sunday, July 14, 2013

Simeon Camping 2013

Simeon and I went camping this past week at Ft. Casey State Park.  Ft. Casey was a battery created to protect the Admiralty Strait from foreign attack – and a very cool place to visit, complete with a glorious lighthouse.

We took a ferry to get there:

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The Admiralty Head Lighthouse:

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The lighthouse was not only open, we were able to climb steps to the very top:

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And it just gets better: after the lighthouse, we toured the big guns – 10” anti-ship artillery pieces:

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He was fearless about climbing all over the guns:

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Some emplacements didn’t have guns any more, so Sim pretended to fill in.  He’s angled and ready to fire:

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What targets might present themselves?  Why, a Washington State Ferry:

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And our campsite was, literally, a stone’s throw from the ferry dock:

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We slept fine anyway, after a traditional campfire and s’mores.  Friday morning, we drove up to Deception Pass and went kayaking:

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There was one other family with us, along with the instructor:

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The blue of the water was just incredible – the whole thing was beautiful.  I had never done sea kayaking before, and it was amazing.

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The kelp was growing quickly – a foot per day, our guide said.  She also said it was edible.  Sim wasn’t interested, but I tried some.  It was like a salt-flavored Fruit Roll-up.

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  • “Having fun, Sim?”
  • Thumbs up, Dad:

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I was pretty tired after 90 minutes of kayaking, but Sim was quite happy:

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One more ferry ride made the trip home complete:

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It was really a blast to get away for a night, and by the time we arrived home, it seemed like we’d been away more than a day.  The ferry-side camp site was a little weird, but I’d definitely go back to Ft. Casey.

- Michael

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