It was cold and raining in Morristown when we visited the site of the Continental Army’s winter encampment. In late October, the weather helped give us the perspective of what the soldiers had to deal with.

This year we went back to New Jersey to see fall foliage. We were planning a trip to the East Coast for a while, and we thought autumn would be the best time to visit.

Phoenix is home to a few great museums that might make the city worth even a summer visit. Or not. I admit; this might be an exaggeration. I think nothing can make Phoenix a summer destination. With temperatures reaching the 120s, and never lower than 105, the city feels like an oven. Yes, it’s a dry heat, but so is inside an oven. Though we are finally experiencing some cooler temperatures.

It’s the wettest October on record in Phoenix. And we, desert dwellers, love it. Sure, we’ve seen the desert after rain, it is always beautiful. But after as much rain as we got in the past two weeks, it’s not just green, it’s vibrant, it’s when I remember why I live here in the first place.

Cholula is home to the largest pyramid known in the world. Don’t worry if you didn’t know this, a few months ago I didn’t either. Most people think of looking in Egypt if they want to find the largest pyramid in the world. But the Great Pyramid of Cholula, with a base of 450×450 meters (1480×1480 feet), a total volume of 4.45 million cubic meters and 66 meters tall, it’s not only the largest pyramid base but also the largest monument constructed anywhere by any civilization on the planet. Yes, it’s in the Guinness Book of records.

Xochitécatl, meaning “Place of the Flower Lineage” is Cacaxtla’s sister site, another set of ancient Mesoamerican ruins near Puebla City. It was dedicated to Xochitl, the Goddess of flowers and fertility. (Joyce Kelly, An Archaeological Guide to Central and Southern Mexico).
Open to the public since 1994, and close to a major city, it still stayed off the beaten track. When we stopped, I realized that, as in Cacaxtla, we were the only visitors.

For years I’ve been reading about the murals of Cacaxtla, but I never paid much attention to it. If it’s not in the Yucatan it can wait, I thought. So it waited, didn’t go anywhere, and we finally got to it on our recent trip to Puebla City.

Kukulcan, the mythical feathered serpent of the ancient Maya, still shows up every year on the pyramid named after him in Chichen Itza. At least his shadow does. I can attest to it, I’ve seen it.
It happens during sunset on and around each equinox.

Puebla city has been a place I wanted to visit for some time now. A couple we met in Tulum got me interested when they told us about it as a place they considered moving to.
When I looked into it I realized that an ancient site I wanted to see, Cacaxtla, was close by. Adding a few volcanoes, one active and smoking, the largest pyramid in the world in nearby Cholula de Andrés, and the first and largest library in the Americas made this city I didn’t even know existed before one of my top destinations.

Puebla city has been a place I wanted to visit for some time now. A couple we met in Tulum got me interested when they told us about it as a place they considered moving to.
When I looked into it I realized that the ancient site of Cacaxtla I wanted to see, and its sister site, Xochitécatl, were close by. Adding a few volcanoes, one active and smoking, the largest pyramid in the world in nearby Cholula de Andrés, and the first and largest library in the Americas made this city I didn’t even know existed before one of my top destinations.

Though easy to reach if you know where to go, Aké Ruins of the ancient Mayan city escaped the tourist crowds so far. Chances are, if you go, you’ll be the only visitors, just like we were. True, the site is not as spectacular as some well-known ones, but it has a few structures that made the drive worth it for us.
Being the only visitors, we got the rare feeling we were explorers who stumbled on an unknown site. It felt like the Yucatan of the old days when few people were interested in visiting ancient structures.

If you look at the cinder cone volcano of Sunset Crater as the sun’s last rays illuminate it, you’ll see why it got its name. The top of the volcano seems to glow in the gold and orange colors juxtaposed to the black lava around its bottom.
This gorgeous view stays even during the day when the bright sun washes out most colors. It might not be as bright, but it still showcases the same combination of colors.

Though the place is named Aztec, the people who built these structures and inhabited them have nothing to do with the Aztecs of Mexico. They were ancestors of the Pueblo people, including present-day Hopis and Zunis. The ruins are in New Mexico, in fact in the Four Corners area of the US.

Cobá is one of the largest and oldest ruins on the Yucatan peninsula. It is also one of the better-known ones. Thousands of people flock to the site to climb the famous Nohuch Mul and walk around the rest of the ruins.

To spend more time in a forest, we set off for Silverton, Colorado, the coolest spot within driving distance from us. It’s not the Pacific Northwest, my favorite spot for old-growth forests. But it is still forested. At least it was before a good chunk of it burned down.

I don’t think I’ve ever known of my fear of heights until I walked on Deception Pass bridge. Climbing pyramids and standing on top of them high above the jungle canopy, climbing lookout towers on rickety, open stairways didn’t bother me much. It wasn’t always easy, but I always managed without feeling too scared.

180 feet above the water, walking across Deception Pass Bridge is scary if you have a fear of heights.

But walking across Deception Pass Bridge was terrifying for me, made much worse because hundreds of people kept walking across both ways,  chatting, stopping, laughing, at ease. My girls stopped to look down and take tons of photos.

View from Deception Pass Bridge

I ended up screaming at my younger one when I saw her bending over the rails. “This is why your hair is grey, mom,” she told me. “You worry too much about everything we do. I was fine.” Easy for her to say. Though I knew she was in no danger, the image scared me to death. She might be right, I probably aged another few years in those moments.

The views from the bridge made the scary walk through worth it.

It seemed like I was the only one worried about anything among hundreds of people crossing this bridge back and forth.  Embarrassed, I was trying hard not to let anyone notice I was shaking inside as I walked. I even stopped in the middle to take a few photos.
The views on both sides were gorgeous, breathtaking (literally, in my case), worth the walk. Even if you’re scared of heights.

The view from Deception Pass would take my breath away

Where Is Deception Pass Bridge?

The steel bridge, one of the scenic wonders of the Pacific Northwest, connects two islands, Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands, in Washington State. The two-lane bridge, with pedestrian walkways on both sides, is one of the most photographed landmarks in Puget Sound, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

View of Deception Pass Bridge from the beach on Whidbey Island

Before the bridge, travelers used a ferry to cross between the islands. Since the ferry wasn’t on a schedule, they would have to call it. In an era before cell phones, they banged a saw with a mallet – I guess that sound travels far – and sat back to wait.  It was a slower pace of travel.

With cars and people wanting to travel more and in a more convenient manner, the State of Washington built this bridge between 1934 and 1935.

The steel bridge at Deception Pass took a year to complete. View from the trail below.

Its height from the water is about 180 feet, more or less depending on the tide. Doesn’t seem extreme, but looking straight down, it’s a lot of height. It comprises two bridges, connecting the two larger islands through a tiny one, called Pass Island. The total length of both is 1487 feet or 0.45 km. Not bad, but long for a high and narrow bridge. Still, spectacular.

Deception Pass Bridge was built between 1934-1935

You can’t get a true feel for it from the car though, so they set up parking lots on both sides, so travelers can stop, walk through this marvel of architecture and enjoy the views.

Why the Name “Deception Pass”? A Bit of History

If you are like me, you wonder who named this place Deception Pass and why? I had to find out. Turns out that Captain George Vancouver gave it the name “Deception” because the pass deceived him into thinking Whidbey Island was a peninsula.

The area was home to people of different Coast Salish tribes for thousands of years before Vancouver saw it, and I’m sure they had a different name for it, though I could not find out what it was.

The first Europeans who saw Deception Pass were Spaniards, members of an expedition set out in 1790 by Manuel Quimper on the Princesa Real. They named the pass Boca de Flon.

Deception Pass Bridge was called Boca de Flon by the Spaniards who first found it

The Vancouver expedition, sent by the Royal Navy that lasted four years, between 1791 and 1795 was mapping the area. A group of sailors from the expedition, led by Joseph Whidbey, found Deception Pass. But they didn’t find it on their first attempt. After exploring the area the first time, Whidbey returned thinking Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island were a long peninsula attached to the mainland. Only when they returned later, they found out that in fact, these were islands.

Deception Pass is connecting islands.

Exploring the Area Today

As hard as it was to explore the area for members of the early expeditions, roads and trails make it easy today. Yes, you can just stop in one of the parking lots and walk on the bridge, enjoy the views and continue on your way.  But when you look down to the beach below, you might feel you’ll want to stop and stay awhile. At least that’s how we felt.

The perfect opportunity for this is the Deception Pass State Park, with the entrance close to the bridge. Considering it is the most visited state park in Washington, I suspect that we are not alone in our quest to explore the area beside the bridge.

Ocean view from the North Beach of Deception Pass State Park

The Park comprises areas on both Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands and includes three lakes besides the gorgeous ocean shoreline and trails in old-growth forests.

In the forest of the Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island

Spending A Day In Deception Pass State Park

After driving through the gate at Deception Pass State Park, I felt like we were in a maze, with narrow, small roads leading in all direction in the middle of a forest. I’m not good with maps, every time I am a navigator, we end up getting lost. Not that it mattered in this case, we wanted to explore the whole park, but the map once again confused me. So, to start out with, we took the road that led to North Beach.

A short walk through the forest got us out onto the beach, with a gorgeous view of Deception Pass Bridge and the surrounding islands. The weather was perfect, a pleasant breeze accompanied us as we made our way to the far side of the beach.

North Beach in Deception Pass State Park

The tide was coming in by the time we went back, so it was more difficult to pass around one of the outcropping rocks without getting wet, but we managed.

The tide was coming in by the time we were making our way back

Later in the day, we drove towards the West beach, taking the road through the campsites and around Cranberry Lake.  We parked at West Point and walked around.

A sunny day in the Pacific Northwest brings people outside. As much as we hide from the sun, people here love it and enjoy it. With plenty of amenities for picnics, boat rentals and campsites, this part of the park was most crowded.

The beach at West Point was filled with people

We didn’t stay long, just enough to notice we had a better view of Deception Island from here, though none of the Bridge.

Just Another Beautiful Day in the Pacific Northwest

By the time we left the park, we felt that we spent another perfect day in the Pacific Northwest. In one park alone, we walked on the beach, across a historic bridge, and in an old-growth forest. I don’t know of many places where we can do all this in one day.

I felt lucky to be able to visit this place.

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Emese Fromm is the editor and the main writer for Wanderer Writes. Some of her travel articles have been featured in publications like Matador Network, GoNomad, DesertUSA, MapQuest Travel, among others. She loves to travel the world with her family, trying to find the less-traveled path anywhere she goes (sometimes she succeeds).

As we walked into the Visitor Center in North Cascades National Park, a ranger greeted us with two bear hides laid out on a table in front of her. Guess which one was a black bear as opposed to a grizzly. While it was a no-brainer for my daughter, she played along and pointed out the differences.

To cool down in the summer we didn’t go to the Southern hemisphere. Instead, we flew a few hours to Seattle, then drove to beautiful Mt. Baker.

The MIM, Musical Instrument Museum, is one of those places that might make even Phoenix a summer destination. Or maybe not. With temperatures above 110 degrees on a regular basis, I don’t encourage anyone to visit Phoenix in the middle of the summer. Still, if you have to be here for any reason, this is the place to spend a great day. Not to mention “travel the world” by learning about music all over.

One afternoon on the Oregon Coast we were looking for a new trail to explore, something we haven’t done yet. We’ve done some tidepooling in the morning, but we still had plenty of sunlight and weren’t ready to call it a day yet. By chance, we found one of the most beautiful trails I could imagine, a Nature Conservancy trail, between Otis and Neskowin.

Lighthouses stand sentinel on rugged coasts, helping ships navigate the dangerous cliffs, reefs, and rocks. They served as a beacon for navigation, marking dangers close to shore. They each had their own signature flash, acting like a GPS, helping sailors understand their location.