Cruising to Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island

Cruise to Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island

June 10 and 11, 2013

This little cruising adventure is a brief one, so you won’t have to suffer through pages as pages as you did during the last blog.

We cruised with Ardith Owens Platt and her brother and sister-in-law, Jon and Norma Owens to Prevost Harbor.  To appreciate the significance of this journey, I need to give you a little background.  

     Ardith Owens Platt was my best friend during K-12.  Our families lived on farms north of the little town of London Mills, Illinois, about 3 miles apart, and we rode the same school bus for 12 years.  It seemed like I was always “chasing” her in school.  She was always just a little taller than I (in my elementary school brain height was a big deal) and, being 6 months older, got to do all of the neat stuff

sooner.  During those K-9 years, when our class consisted only of London Mills students, John Shortness was always the top grade-getter, and Ardith and I fought for second place.  Our consolidated school district brought all high school students together for grades. 10 – 12, and we had more competition…aka Susan Donaldson and Jerry Woodall!  Anyway, suffice is to say that Ardith was a huge part of my growing up life.  In this photo we’re in 9^th grade.

     Jerry and I went away to school, married, and have never lived in our little hometowns since, but Ardith and I have remained friends for 61 years!  Cool, huh?  She still lives in London Mills but her brother Jon and sister-in-law Norma live in Renton, WA.  Ardith visits them often so we managed to schedule a visit with the three of them on Cosmo Place on June 10 and 11.  This was a very big deal for Jerry and I, so we wracked our brains, consulted maps of the San Juans, and debated the best possible short cruise.  We decided to take them to Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island, one of our favorite places.  The chances are good that if you’ve cruised with us in the San Juans, we’ve taken you here!

      Ardith, Jon and Norma drove up from Renton on Monday, June 10, and we were underway by 1030.  The conversation flew fast and furious as we wound our way through the San Juans.  Jon and Norma had spent a lot of time here fishing and knew many of the spots we cruised by.  We were just a few short miles from Canada, as we approached the island.  We kept our eyes pealed for the resident orca pod, as Boundary Pass is one of their favorite “hangouts”, but no luck today!  We arrived in Prevost Harbor about 3 PM and grabbed a mooring buoy…a first for us at Prevost Harbor.  We usually anchor here.

     We dinghied in to the little dock so we could explore the island.  Most of Stuart Island is private, but visitors can hike the trail from the dock to the county road, and go to the school and/or Turn Point Light.  It’s about 3 miles to the lighthouse, so we made that our destination.  The map, provided by “Boundary Pass Traders”, will give you an idea of our travels. 

     Once again we found ourselves in a temperate rainforest, as we followed the trail through the trees.  The trail travels along the bluff above the Reid Harbor anchorage, just across the isthmus for our moorage in Prevost.  Both of these harbors are popular destinations for boaters, kayakers, and campers, although the only way to get here is by boat.  No ferries stop on this little island.  In the photo you can see a private landing craft headed out of Reid Harbor, with two cars on board.  That’s how the locals “drive” to town for groceries, appointments, and entertainment.   “Running errands” takes on a whole new meaning for the inhabitants of this primitive island.

     The trail and road follow the contours of the island, up hill and down dale.  The steep flight of stairs, which drops down to the head of Reid Harbor, isn’t bad going down, but we knew on the return trip these stairs would be a challenge.  Jerry and I remembered being here three years ago with our daughter Jill and son-in-law Bob.  We watched Bob go running/jumping down these stairs.  It still gives my heart a chill!  This handsome group posed above the dock at Reid Harbor…Jon, Norma, Ardith, Jan (me), and Jerry.

     Just before we arrived at the schoolhouse, we came upon surprising scene:  T-Shirts for sale in the middle of the forest!  The Benson family has become known for this enterprising approach to tourist sales.  The samples are displayed on the clothesline, packaged shirts in a wide variety of sizes are in a chest, and payment is strictly on the honor system.  Of course we purchased 

one…for granddaughter Lauren.  (Jill says she’s growing like a weed and this 12-month size will soon fit her!)

     The original turn-of-the-century school building, now housing the museum and school library, was replaced by the award winning architectural one-room school built in 1980. As the number of school-age children has declined, residents struggle to keep the school open. As a fundraiser, the Benson family sells T-shirts that we had just seen on the trail. 
     The museum is a fascinating stop.  Pictures of early island life, photos of students attending the school, and the teachers who taught them are displayed.  Although only a handful of students attend each year, the teacher managed to take the kids on all sorts of adventures.  We read about students attending Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite and Death Valley, and Washington D.C.  Pretty amazing.  I discovered that the school is now closed, according to the website.  You might want to take a look at it…lots of interesting information:  http://www.sjisd.wednet.edu/Page/176

     Our 3-mile hike to the lighthouse quickly became a gabfest.  Jerry and Jon (those guys with huge left engineer brains) talked about who knows what, while Ardith, Norma, and I caught up on family, friends, and our busy lives of the past year.  One of Jon and Norma’s grandchildren had just graduated from high school the previous week…thus, the timing of Ardith’s visit.  Ardith’s 3^rd son (she has 4!) and his wife had just had a baby last winter, so she and I had lots of baby chat in which to engage.  Our conversations showed how our lives had diverged.  Norma, only two years older, has a grandchild headed for college!  Ardith’s oldest grandchild is learning to drive.  Yikes!!  Little Lauren seemed very little indeed.

     We soon arrived at a vantage point from which to view Haro Strait.  We are standing on a tall cliff above the wide expanse of ocean.  We could see Vancouver Island and the city of Sidney across the strait.  Just one more long descent and we arrived at Turn Point Light.  

The original lighthouse, keeper’s quarters and barn were completed in 1893.  Lighthouse service (1893-1939) and US Coast Guard (1939 – 1974) lived and worked on this headland for 81 years until the traditional light was replaced with an automated light in 1974.  The original foghorn is still in place and part of the operating equipment.

     I cannot find it stated officially anywhere but, judging by the map, this point must be the farthest NW point of the US.  The land in the distance in this photo is Canada and Haro Strait is a major route for cargo ships travelling back and forth between the US and Canada.  We sat and watched this big container ship go by, travelling at about 20 knots we figured.

     We didn’t get back to Cosmo Place until almost dark…close to 8 PM.  It was a little spooky walking down the forest trail at dusk.  Dodging rocks and roots on the downhill slope and panting our way up those long stairs was a bit of a challenge.  Of course, no one had brought a flashlight to guide our way!

     

     When we listened to NOAA weather Tuesday morning we learned that winds were predicted to be at 20 Knots in the San Juans!  Because we sit high in the water, our boat becomes a big sail and winds of that speed can make for a rough, difficult ride.  The weather report was in quite a contract to the beautiful sunshine and calm water we had at Prevost Harbor.  Rather than sit and wring our hands, we left the mooring buoy and were so glad we did.  We had a beautiful cruise back to La Conner.  We took an alternate route home and passed by Turn Point Light so we could see where we had walked. 

     As we cruised down Swinomish Channel on a falling tide, we were greeted by these many great blue herons.  It would seems that they are standing on top of the water.  However, they are standing on the mud flats, just inches from the surface.  More than one boater has chosen a short but across these flats and had to wait for high water to be floated off the mud!

     What a great visit we had with these old friends and we began making plans to connect the next time we are iin Illinois.  

The next time I write I’ll share with you our adventures in south Puget Sound.