Deception Pass

On Friday June 22 we left the Olympic Peninsula and moved 80 miles north of Seattle to Burlington. Rather than make the long drive down to Tacoma and back up thru the nightmarish Seattle traffic we chose to take the ferry from Port Townsend to Coupeville and continue on Highway 20 to Burlington. Those who followed our blog in 2016 when we traveled to Alaska and back may remember our adventures putting our motorhome and car on the ferry from Skagway to Haines. Not wanting to repeat backing a 40 foot motorhome thru the bow door of a ferry while turning 90 degrees into a narrow lane we did some research before taking this ferry. We received confirmation from several sources beforehand that this ferry was a drive on/drive off ferry.

The ferry ride was uneventful and we did not take any photos. We made a reservation for 69 feet in length and 13 feet high. When you check in at the ferry if you are longer than your reservation you are placed on standby and we did not want that to happen. We were told not to arrive more than 45 minutes before our reservation time because the previous ferry would be loading and we would have to queue up on the street. We arrived an hour early and expected to park on the street but the street was empty and the green light was on so we pulled up to the gate. The lady took our reservation and ask if we would mind going on an earlier ferry than our reservation and we gladly accepted. She measured us at 65 feet and only charged us for that length and told us to proceed to lane two. Soon we were on the ferry and, unlike in Alaska, we were allowed to stay on the motorhome. Pam was not even aware we were underway until I mentioned it.

The ferry from Port Townsend to Coupeville is part of Washington Highway 20 and after disembarking we continued on 20. This route took us across the Deception Pass bridge. When we crossed the bridge and saw the vista on each side of the motorhome we knew we had to come back. There was no parking available for our 65 foot length so we continued on to our destination. The next day, Saturday, we drove the car back to Deception Pass. Deception Pass was named by George Vancouver in June 1792 when he first thought Whidbey Island was a peninsula but then discovered the pass making it an island and named it Deception Pass.

Deception Pass looking west from the bridge

Deception Pass looking east from the bridge

When you walk out onto the bridge you feel like you are placing your life in danger because of the close proximity of the traffic zooming by in each direction. There isn't sufficient room for two people to pass on the walkway without one person turning 90 degrees and you are careful not to extend any body parts out into the passing traffic. While we were out on the bridge an 18 wheeler crossed and we could feel the frontal wave created by the truck.

Walkway on west side of bridge

The bridge is actually two bridges, one between Whidbey Island and Pass Island and the other between Pass Island and Fidalgo Island. The two passes formed between the three islands are Deception Pass and Canoe Pass. The narrowing of the waterways at the passes accelerates the water to 8 knots (9.2 MPH). In the first photo above you can see the turbulence created by the water flowing thru the narrow pass. The photo below is the outlet formed at the smaller Canoe Pass and the turbulence is clearly visible. I noticed that the kayaks soon abandon their attempt to paddle thru the pass.

Kayaks challenge Canoe Pass

The section of bridge between Whidbey Island and Pass Island