Anacortes Internship Special! Part 3 - Tommy Thompson Trail

Around the east end of town is the Tommy Thompson Trail, connecting the Anacortes Marina to the nearby refineries that are a fundamental economic core to the community. It's a flat, level, mostly paved trail that follows an old railroad bed.

The trailhead is conveniently a mere block away from where I am interning, too! Parking is near 21st St and R Ave (just south of the roundabout), and I also strongly suggest visiting Penguin Coffee nearby at 22nd and Commercial either before or after you enjoy the walk.

Tommy Thompson Trail

City of Anacortes

Parking Permit: none needed

Distance: 6.6 miles round-trip for total trail

Distance I did: 5.8 miles round-trip

Elevation gain: none

The trail officially begins at 11th and Q street by the marina, but after heading from the parking to the refineries and back I was running late because I took too long taking too many pictures.

Trail is anti-horse, but apparently quite dog friendly.

From the parking I headed south past a skate park and boat storage.

From a distance, the seagulls on the path just look like patches of seagull poop. Then you get closer and realize they are painted birds, and then you're like "Oh. Ohhhhhhh!"

"If you need me, I'll be in the office..."

There's a mural project to prettify the backs of some of the industrial buildings the trail passes by and to give them some color:

I figure the reddish boat in the foreground is likely the sort of yacht that might be in my price range!

You, too, can have a yacht!

There are a few signs at some of the street crossings that hint to the trail's history of a railroad, but for the most part you only learn of it through the trailside signage.

There's an old plywood mill that's currently undergoing environmental clean-up.

All along the trail you can find hints of former industry in addition to what's currently there.

Re-bar filled concrete along the beach.

There's also more art! Anacortes is a small city, but it has a strong and vibrant art scene!

"Ska-atl the Otter"

Once you pass the plywood mill, you get to actually enjoy some coast and some cool woods for a bit.

You'll come out of the woods past a fancy house, and some fancy apartments. The undoubtedly uber-expensive apartments overlook an RV park, which just seems like an interesting dynamic to me.

"Look at those beautiful views of the bay?"
"But...is that a trailer park?"
"Ignore it. Look at the water. LOOK AT THE WATER!"

The park stays classy with an old-school totem pole.

Fun fact: on many poles, the most important figures were actually carved at the base to be at eye level, so if you were at the "top of the totem pole", you were least important.

Interestingly, the RV park has road names in both English and Salish. So it really does try to stay classy I guess.

Past the RV park, you start approaching the trestle area and pass some more of Anacortes' vibrant art scene.

"Let's take a bunch of driftwood and nets and hammer it to a board, and call it art! We'll put it right in front of a port-a-potty to make it extra-classy!"

My cell phone camera is not nearly close enough to capture the wildlife, but there are just so many birds here. I saw a female blackbird get assaulted by a male blackbird, and I saw a female chickadee get gang-raped by two male chickadees. Nature....nature can be kind of awful sometimes.

As you begin to cross the bay you also notice lots of broken shells. The paved path is perfect for birds to drop shellfish against to crack open. This is not a good path for barefoot runners.

As you get to the trestle, the refineries remind you they are serious about their security.

Big Brother is watching...

More art as you get to the trestle, with a gate that says "We" in many different languages.

I was told the trestle is a popular place to view sea lions, and that I should bring anchovies to feed them. I did not bring anchovies, nor did I see any sea lions. Would there have been some if I had brought food? Maybe?