Blogs from Skagit Valley, Washington, United States, North America - page 2

There is a beautiful highway in northern Washington that roadsters like me see everyday in our imaginations but only sometimes confirm with our experiences. Washington State Highway 20 passes through the Cascades east of Burlington, in what can be described as a drive of gradual pleasures. The view east from Burlington is a hopeful one, with rolling hills inundated with trees full of life. The highway disappears quickly into this noticeably less flat terrain, and what emerges is a mountain chain of varied sights and sounds. I remember most the river. The Skagit River slowly appears to the south of the highway, revealing the gradually higher peaks of the typically snowy Cascades. But, the river was not the typical dark brown or blue color. It had a dark gray look that was striking to the eyes. ... read more

My first weekend of guide training was on the Skagit river, nestled into the western edge of the North Cascades an hour or so north of Seattle. As I had very nothing of import to do once my friends left Seattle, I showed up at the Blue Sky River House Bed and Breakfast around 1pm on the eve of our training. What I found was...nobody home, and nobody around. So I decided to drive further east and check out some campsites I had read about online that were free. Along the way I ended up doing a little hike to view the Gorge Dam which controls the Skagit rivers flow these days, and also got some neat views of mountains as the fogged parted ways occasionally. When I got back to the Blue Sky River House ... read more

After more than 30 hours of travel, we returned to the Pacific Northwest via Amsterdam. The Nairobi airport is not the best place to wait for three hours...but we made it through without resorting to buying more souvenirs...We arrived in Amsterdam at 5:30 am after an 8 hour flight. It was a gloomy, cold day in the Netherlands so we decided to stay in the airport for our seven plus hour layover....we rented a shower room which was wonderful (15 euros for 45 minutes) (well worth it especially if you share the time as we did). We also shopped (I bought some great cheese for Bill) and walked around, and around...and around. Our flight to Seattle was a little over 9 hours. As we flew up towards Greenland, I was absent-mindedly expecting to stay in daylight ... read more

Not the great European cities you were hoping for, eh? I thought I'd better put Blanchard up there with them, since I had a bout of pre-emptive homesickness (and a new camera) the week before I left. After that, I had the world's most ridiculous flight (90 minute drive to Seattle to catch a 50 minute flight to Vancouver BC, where I sat for 5 hours before my flight to London). Hellish as it sounds, it really wasn't bad, and I flew right over my house (those pictures are here too). ... read more