Fossil Bay to Reid Harbor

Fossil Bay, Sucia Island to Jones Island: 10.8NM 

Jones Island to Reid Harbor: 7.1NM 

Our last full day on the boat. Sigh. 

We decided to explore Sucia a little, so we walked some nice trails over to Shallow Bay, where I had initially wanted to overnight.  

Karen_with_sucia_island_sign  

Karen and the park sign listing the yacht clubs that bought the island and gave it to the park service. 

Bot_in_fossil_bay  

Best of Times in Fossil Bay, Sucia Island. 

But we were on minus tides, so Shallow Bay just would have been too shallow for comfort. It looked like a great place for sunsets. 

Karen_overloook_shallow_bay  

Karen overlooks Shallow Bay. Lots of mud at low tide. 

Spur of the moment, I suggested we head for Jones Island, another Marine Park that was about an hour way. I had read that it was a nice place, and we had nothing better to do. 

As always, the park dock was full, so we got another mooring ball and went ashore in the dinghy. What a lovely place. The island is well kept and has great “lawns” on both the north and south ends of the island with picnic facilities and campsites. The island suffered a major blow down of large trees in a 2000 storm, and many have been left to decompose in place. It makes for an eerie sight.  

Karen_with_dead_trees_jones_island 

Karen poses with uprooted trees from the "big blow" on Jones Island. 

We took the southwest trail, which was a gorgeous walk along the southwest side of the island. A narrow but nice trail, it stayed very close to the water with some precipitous drops. I had read that Jones Island had tame deer, but didn’t expect to see one. We saw a small doe that came right out of the forest to greet us and walked within 10 feet of us. I was torn between wanting to make friends and wanting to shun it for all the damage its brethren do to our trees and plants back in Philadelphia. 

Deer_on_jones_island  

Tame deer on Jones Island. 

We had a quick lunch, and then left for Stuart Island and Reid Harbor, our last anchorage for the trip.  

It was a quick motor to Reid, we snagged a mooring ball, and spent most of the evening packing and cleaning up the boat. Bob made shrimp scampi for dinner with prawns from Canada….another great meal. 

Karen_reading_in_pilothouse  

Karen settles in for an evening of reading in the pilothouse.  

Sunset_in_fossil_bay  

Sunset in Reid Harbor.