Ken Wood, Owner-Broker |
Invest In Your Dreams!
Orcas Island Real Estate and Homes
San Juan County WA Houses
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Kate Wood, Co-Owner |
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Summer mornings come early to the Pacific Northwest, as early as 4:30 am. Shortly after dawn, the first ferry leaves the dock at Anacortes for the San Juan’s. It winds its way through a maze of islands shot like stars in the clean waters of Puget Sound. The sun breaks over Mount Baker, you can see a seal and her pup hauled up on a small rocky outcropping, an eagle calls.
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The air is clean and salty, and it’s quiet. There is a feeling of mystery and solitude and magic. You relax. You’re headed for Orcas Island. If you are one of the lucky ones, you are headed home.
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You know you’re at Orcas when you see the red roof of the old Orcas Hotel. Roses climb everywhere, and the hollyhocks and foxgloves grow 9 feet tall. It takes less than a minute to leave the hamlet of Orcas, and you find yourself winding along Horseshoe Highway toward Eastsound. On your left is an old orchard, and a sweet meadow that leads down to the water, in the distance you can see the ferry.
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Soon you’ll be in Crow Valley, the most pastoral part of Orcas, where
farmers are raising sheep, horses, hay, cattle and you’ll find organic
vegetables and fresh flowers. In the distance you can see Mount
Constitution, rising 2400 feet, the highest mountain in the Islands.
The mountainsides are clad in firs, hemlock, pine, salal and madronas. In Moran State Park, which covers twenty percent of Orcas, there are old growth firs, mountain lakes full of trout, miles and miles of trails for hiking.
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The views from the mountains on
Orcas are extraordinary offering vistas from
Mt. Baker to Mt Rainier, the Olympics
and Cascade Ranges, the Canadian
Islands, and lights of Vancouver!
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Twelve minutes from the ferry landing is the quaint village of Eastsound. There you will find picket fences, clapboard houses, the old Episcopal Church, the beach, and of course, flowers are everywhere. Some years the roses bloom in December!
If it’s Saturday, visit the Farmer’s Market for fresh, organic berries, home-baked pies, and hand knitted hats. Stop at a local cafe for a latte and warm chocolate chip cookie. Everything you need for Island life can be found in Eastsound. We have a modern well-stocked grocery store, pharmacy, medical center, alternative healing arts center, banks, fabulous restaurants, and delightful shops. While you are in town, stop in an see us, we are on North Beach Road past Teaser’s and Wildlife Cycles, our office faces the street – OrcasDreams – Island Properties. |
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It’s still early, and you have a day of adventures ahead of you: kayaking the Whtml Islands, sailing in West Sound, whale watching, hiking, biking up Mount Constitution, swimming at Cascade Lake. In the evening you plan a picnic at Obstruction Pass, and watch the ferries glide by in the distance, you take in a musical at Orcas Center. You notice that everyone smiles and looks you in the eye, people are helpful, time moves more slowly. It’s rural and remote, but luxurious. It’s quiet, but never dull. The locals love gardening and traveling and politics. There are lots of artists, writers and musicians as well as retirees, tele-commuters, farmers and carpenters. The food is fresh, local and made with care. Orcas is very special.
Come see for yourself.
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