Written by Jessica —
Perhaps it was the name “Deception Pass” that seemed so appealing, or maybe it was because one of my favorite games growing up was “Nancy Drew: Danger on Deception Island” which honored the area using a fictional place that combined the San Juan Islands with Deception Pass.
Really it was that it was a park neither of us had been to before and it was within a reasonable driving distance from two of our close friends.
Connor had never been camping before, outside of a test run we did in the backyard one night, but he took to it like a champion.
While we definitely overpacked, our wares include a manual coffee grinder and a camp stove my parents have been using since the 80s (with replacement parts my grandfather crafted and installed himself). When all is said and done, as long as Connor can get coffee in the morning he’s a pretty happy guy in any situation.
We specifically stayed over in the Quarry Pond campground at Deception Pass – a beautiful location where we saw several people fishing in the calm waters. It’s a popular spot, so if you intend to go, be aware you will always have neighbors, but the middle of the week revealed a few empty sites whereas the weekend was fully booked.
The roads are paved and we saw hordes of children riding bikes, skateboards, and scooters fly by on a semi-regular basis.
Tucked behind some trees that separated our campsites, we could regularly hear a very good mother shouting to her children 15, 5, and 1-minute countdowns to come in for meals or to prepare for hikes. Her voice carried to all corners of the campground, which was honestly impressive, and would make Connor jolt like he had been hit with electricity every time she called for her son of the same name. We found this to be particularly charming, harkening back to my own childhood when my sister and I would run off into different corners of the woods without concern for what the adults feared might find us out there.
It warmed my heart to see kids of all different ages enjoying nature – enjoying it so much, in fact, that there were at least two full-blown meltdowns of screaming “I DON’T WANT TO GO HOME” as check-out time neared for various families.
The park itself covers a wide area with many hikes available – of which we did none. We found managing our campsite and wandering the paved paths with Aviva to be pleasant enough.
When we did go on a hike, it was with our friends from Anacortes who asked to meet up in Concrete, along the Skagit river, about 20 minutes away.
The Skagit river is stunning, and we were blessed by the light of golden hour as we wandered along the river bank and into a valley tucked between the rolling mountains.
We spotted Connor’s first woodpecker out there – two more would show up at our campsite the next morning – along with a plethora of robins and songbirds, such as Swainson’s Thrush, who makes a call like it’s casting a spell. And trust me, we were spell struck getting our first real glimpse at nature’s majesty.
The next day we chose to walk the iconic Deception Pass Bridge – a truly stunning view that is a definite must-see. I will caution readers, however, it’s not the kind of walk you should take your dog on, and it is insanely busy with foot traffic, at least in the summer. Connor got hit with mild vertigo looking out at the sight, and I started having a mild panic attack from the constant foot and car traffic with not nearly enough space to let people pass by.
As breathtaking as the sight was, it was perhaps too breathtaking – we turned around, bought the sticker, and returned to our campsite feeling mildly embarrassed.
On our final night, we made a campfire and cooked hotdogs on pokers and peppers in our cast iron skillet over the flames.
I am particularly proud of that as, since growing breasts, I’ve had this unfortunate recurring experience of boys and men taking over building any campfire I try to start myself – but not this time. I asked Connor to find and chop the wood, but I constructed the best damn cooking fire, with low flame and coals radiating so much heat it was actively uncomfortable to stand nearby.
That being said, having our friends with us was the real warmth of the evening, bringing a comfort we desperately needed after the chaos of our move and the lives we had been drifting through before that.
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