Rivers, Valleys, and Peaks

It was one of those days that the State of Washington would prefer that no one knows about. I think they would prefer that the rest of the US think that it’s all rainy and gloomy. Otherwise, everyone would rush to move up here.

Granted, it was cold when I first got up – in the 40’s. However, I knew it was going to be a good day when I could see the Olympic Mountains over Anacortes to the southwest and Mount Rainier to the southeast.

We had a lazy morning with a few more chores around the house, then I headed out to do some photography and exploration. I drove to the north end of the island and walked down to the beach on Samish Bay. Mount Baker was starting to peak through the clouds, and the skies were spectacular over Lummi Peak.

As I was driving back along the island road I was passed by a whole string of classic roadsters out for a ride.

I continued on down to the flats – the reclaimed farmland that connects Samish Island to the mainland. Views both east and west were amazing. Mount Baker was clearly visible, as were other mountains in the Cascades.

I had a couple of things to pick up in town while I was out and about. When I got back to the house, our neighbor Duff was there, and he was itching to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather, too. He told us he had a new road for us to drive, so we all hopped in the car and headed out.

Duff’s route took us up over Bow Hill, then along the Samish River. I had been up the Skagit River Valley many times, but had never really followed the Samish. We crossed it several times. For most of its path it’s only about the size of a small creek.

Eventually we found ourselves headed north on Highway 9 toward the small town of Acme. We came across an area with a wetlands prairie, and even better views of Baker and the Twin Sisters.

All along the way we passed lots of motorcycles, but even more classic cars. We knew there had to be a rally somewhere.

Eventually we reached the town of Acme on the banks of the Nooksack River. We turned east onto Mosquito Lake Road and headed further into the wilderness. This was true Bigfoot country.

Our route took us through dense woodlands and crossed back and forth over the Nooksack a couple of times. Eventually we reached a single-lane steel girder bridge over the river.

As we crossed it, we looked down, and to our surprise saw a Chevy Corvette and Shelby Cobra parked under the bridge. We came back across and decided to investigate.

There had, indeed, been a classic car rally down south, and everyone was out enjoying the sunshine. The owners were proud to let me take a few photos of their cars, a 1966 Cobra and a 1963 Corvette.

The Cobra is my absolute dream car. I just love its lines and everything about it.

The setting wasn’t too shabby, either. I looked longingly at the river and the interesting little rapids upstream. I wished I had my whitewater boats with me. Duff said that you could put in upstream and float all the way to Bellingham Bay, if so motivated.

Mosquito Lake Road eventually ends up at a large farm that belongs to one of Duff’s friends. The farm is at the base of the snow-covered peaks in the earlier photos. We toyed with the idea of driving on up there, but it was getting late. Unless we wanted to head clear up to the Canadian border, the shortest route was to retrace our steps. Maybe later this week we can visit Duff’s friends.

We got back to the house and enjoyed a few sips of the Samish Island Whiskey, then ended the evening with a dinner of cracked crab. All in all, a fantastic day.