He said the biggest thing in Bellingham in early 2013 was that there was once a Georgia Pacific paper mill right next to the water, and that the 137 acre site is now being re-imagined by city planners and a host of other stakeholders. Bellingham is a city that is also famous for trains.

Very long coal trains traverse the tracks that run next to the ocean about eight times every day. Amtrak shares the tracks, for service from Seattle all the way up to Vancouver. It’s a wonderful train trip, (more about this later).

My Bellingham friend told me that the trains come west from Wyoming and are headed for Vancouver, where coal is loaded on ships and sent to Asia. The talk of the town is about a proposal to increase the number of trains and to build a terminal in nearby Ferndale Washington, which would stop the trains short of the border but anger the legions of environmentalists by building an ugly marine terminal on the water.Find Bellingham Hotel reviews on TripAdvisor.

So these are the issues that lay before this old city, which was once a major logging center of the Northwest, and was created by merging Fairhaven, Bellingham, and two other towns into one metropolis. Today there are about 80,000 residents, and the county, Whatcom, is famous for the raspberries that are grown here.

A character named Dirty Dan Harris founded the historic and beautiful town of Fairhaven in the 1850s, where we were also told there are lots of ghosts. There is also a world-class book store ere called Village Books, which could be a model on how to prosper selling books while engaging a local community of readers in myriad creative ways.

Today Bellingham’s biggest employer is Western Washington University and there are two large oil refineries just outside of town. My friend on the Airporter said that people are willing to sacrifice high incomes to live here, just like he did. It’s a friendly city and the ocean is right here.

It’s easy to enjoy the ocean ambience from the raised metal walkway that hugs the shore and the many biking and walking trails that snake down and around near the sea. Lots of condos and apartments are built looking out at the water nearby.

Chrysalis Inn, on the water in Bellingham, WA. Chrysalis Inn, on the water in Bellingham, WA. I settled into the Chrysalis Inn, which sits right above the big walkway that stretches out into the harbor and then runs parallel to the shore. A walking and bike path leads to one of the city’s institutions–Woods Coffee.

John and Dorie Belisle make vodka, gin, pies and hundreds of other products from the apples they grow in Lynden, WA at their Bellewood Acres. John and Dorie Delisle make vodka, gin, pies and hundreds of other products from the apples they grow in Lynden, WA at their Bellewood Acres.

Amidst the berry farms I met couple who have figured out how to thrive by growing apples. The trick, said Dory Belisle, of Bellewood Acres Farms is to offer the fruit in as many ways as you can by distilling them into vodka, gin or eau de vie, vinegar, and making them into pies, drying them into chips, and doing everything except trying to sell them to every common grocery store where the price won’t keep up with all of your efforts.

The Belisle’s Bellewood is a temple to farmer’s ingenuity. There are gigantic wind blades that can be turned on to create big breezes to slow down sudden freezes, and there is their prize crop–the super sweet Honey Crisp Apple, which is beloved and turned into many different products.

The couple also holds weddings in their upstairs function room and is nurturing a young couple to take over for them after they retire, so all of this agricultural ingenuity doesn’t turn into housing lots. We watched the master distiller explain how they make all of these different types of booze in their copper still, and tasted the very well-crafted products in their tasting room. Boy what you can do with some good apples!

That evening after a tasty dinner at Keenans on the Pier, we walked over to historic Fairhaven, a compact, historic village where we met a local writer who has studied the mysterious orbs that appear when you shoot photos late at night.

Taimi Dunn Gorman wrote a book called Haunted Fairhaven, and she took us to some of the places around town where she’s seen ghosts and orbs herself. She owns an electromagnetic field meter that is useful to determine otherworldly forces around us.

Fairhaven is full of handsomebuildings all built around the time of famous Dirty Dan Harris, the turn of 20th century, and from many of them there are pretty views looking down a hill at the ocean.

Inside one building called Sycamore Square, which is open in the middle and has four levels of open stairways circling up, the spirit of a former marshal and his wife, who may or may not have jumped to her death, are still restless and alive. It was fun to hear about the stories and when one of us shot a photo with an unexplained orb in the corner, well, we believed too!

Fairhaven is the home of many locally owned stores, and every time i visit a place like this I appreciate speaking to the owner, and being helped out in my purchases. I found a toy store called the Toy Garden with lots of clever brainy little toys,
Old Town Cafe, a great family dining restaurant in Bellingham. Old Town Cafe, a great family dining restaurant in Bellingham, WA. and my writer friend found a steal of a leather jacket in a chic little boutique called Serendipity.

The jewel of Fairhaven, though, is Village Books, where there are three stories of inspiration and owners who have committed themselves to diversifying their offerings well enough to push Amazon far out of people’s minds. They succeed by making book signings a regular occurrence..more than 300 events like this a year–and by having a world-class cafe, called the Book Fair Cafe, that offers treats that keep people coming in hungry and leaving satisfied.

I’ve been to plenty of bookstore cafes, but none offered salads with smoked salmon nuts and pears, turkey tarragon soup, and cookies this good! After an impressive feast, we joined Christina Claassen, Village Books’ events manager and learned more about Chuck and Dee Robinson, who founded the store 32 years ago. The store has some employees who have been there 25 years, most for at least ten years.

They recommend books to their loyal customers and there is lots of community outreach–benefits for local charities of all stripes, a full time community manager, and many donations to local charities. The all time leader for drawing a crowd at a book signing was Garrison Keilor, but travel writer Rick Steves, who lives in nearby Edmunds, also packs them in. One innovation I liked was that they stock new, used and remainder books, of the same title, side by side, so you can choose whichever type you prefer.

Bellingham’s downtown is right near the water, and we had breakfast at a local institution called the Old Town Cafe, which for 17 years has been the home of hearty breakfasts for local families. Owner Diane Brainard said that every year they do a free Thanksgiving meal for up to 450 people. They also have something that is rare–gluten free pancakes, and eggs served with spinach in tortillas.

It was great way to fuel up for our snowshoe excursion to Mount Baker. This mountain at 10781 feet, is sometimes visible from the city, and is where one of the city’s most famous events takes place every Memorial Day weekend.

It’s the Ski to Sea Race, where up to 500 eight-person teams depart from Mount Baker on skis, then switch to mountain bikes, then canoes down the Nooksak River all the way to the city.

Mount Baker has the most snow you can find just about anywhere in the US. Huge dumps in recent years (and just before we arrived) gave us the perfect surface for a day out on the trails.

We drove about an hour east to the Mount Baker highway, in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to a visitor’s center with a diorama of the mountain and trails. Our guide told us about the avalanches that are common here, it seems like common sense to avoid overhanging precipices�when we looked up at the higher elevations we could see skiers getting their rich reward after hiking all the way up on their trekking skis.

There is a new 2-mile snowshoe route created in 2012, adding to several other trails near Mt Baker. There is plenty of snow here well into spring. It was a pristine day out on the trails, I watched with amusement a couple who tried to get their little dachshund to follow them as they skiied up the mountain. He wasn’t interested, and ended up in the pack on Mama’s back.

We worked up a big thirst and since we were in the Pacific Northwest, that could only mean one thing–beer.

You can get married, have a beer, or just some pizza at North Fork Brewing in Deming, WA. You can get married, have a beer, or just some pizza at North Fork Brewing in Deming, WA.

On the Mt Baker Highway in Deming, WA is a wedding chapel. Well they call it that, but it’s more like a friendly, funky place with a gerry-rigged 7 barrel brewery that was built with spare parts and very little automation. The North Fork Beer Shrine’s brewmaster Sandy Savage told us that over the years, hundreds of locals and some tourists have been hitched right here in the dining room. With a menu of pizzas, salads, and their own beers, what else do you need?

The brews here are British style, but thankfully, none were served at room temperture. We sampled a gaggle of little shots and each picked our own winners. Many Bellinghamites have fond memories of stopping here at the North Fork after a day of skiing of snowshoeing, and the warm atmosphere makes it a popular stop with tourists too.

One of the things I came away with after spending time in Bellingham was how much the outdoors matters to people who live here. Whether it was the ability to take a quick lunchtime walk on a bike trail, or how far away the great ski trails and snowshoeing on Mt Baker is, these are the factors that make people here happy.

The city is full of bike lanes and pedestrian friendly areas like their farmer’s market, which comes to life every spring with a
This mossy tree is quite a contrast from the frozen snows just 12 miles up the road on Mt Baker. This mossy tree is quite a contrast from the frozen snows just 12 miles up the road on Mt Baker.
bustling market and local produce from far and wide.

Whatcom County has another jewel in Bellingham, the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve. We drove out of the city to this pretty four miles of hiking trails to discover a largely undisturbed old growth forest. Some of the Douglas fir trees are over 400 years old! We passed by two ponds and heard the story of the man who sold this land to the city, in order to keep it wild forever. He was a cantankerous old coot who lived long and took a while to convince that he should sell. It’s a pretty tract of land that today, anyone can enjoy hiking on, and see the work of beavers and feel the stillness of the oldest kind of forest.

Soon I would depart Bellingham on the Amtrak train that snakes along the coast 50 miles up to Vancouver. But I needed more spirit to carry me through my journey. The ghosts that Taimi Gorman tracks were still playing tricks on people in Fairhaven, but today, spirits of a different kind were being produced in Bellingham.

Troy Smith and his family run Mount Baker Distillery. Troy and his family run Mount Baker Distillery.
Troy Smith and his wife and family had a relative named Grandpa Abe Smith, born in 1842. He suffered hardships and afflictions fighting in the Civil War. His post war occupation was a moonshiner. Today, Troy and family use six-generations old recipes from Abe to distill their own corn-based moonshine at a small distillery set up in an industrial park outside of Bellingham. www.mountbakerdistillery.com

The best thing about moonshine isn’t the taste of the strong stuff, I realized. No, with 50% alcohol, it’s like gas doing down the hatch. But many of today’s modern moonshiners make vodka along with corn whisky, and they sell the moonshine with lots of recipes so you can make mixed drinks, not down it straight.

On our final night in Bellingham, we met a couple who have been beer experts for decades, and finally stopped globetrotting consulting gigs to settle down and become leading citizens of Bellingham. Will and Mari Kemper own Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen, where we sampled a locavore dinner menu with lots of Washington state specialties. Clams from Barlean’s Fishery, a chicken salad made with the brewery’s own pilsner, and pizzas made in their wood-fired oven made a delicious feast.

For beer geeks, a treat was to tour Will’s own brewery, which is perhaps the most automated brewing system you can build. Every hose, nozzle and switch is connected to electronic controls so the brewmaster can brew a whole batch and control it all from his laptop, from anywhere in the world. I guess when you’re an engineer and brewery designer geek, this is what your brewery looks like. Good beer too!

Read the Full Feature Article here: Searching For Garden Art

When chef Blaine Wetzel returned home to his native Washington three years ago, after a stint at Noma in Copenhagen, he took over the kitchen of this small inn on Lummi Island, just a few hours outside Seattle. There he began crafting intensely local, poetic, and electrifying cuisine from the surrounding forest, sea, and farms. Dinner is a dreamy progression of courses delivered with a few words and sheepish smiles—often by Wetzel himself—starting with “snacks” like puffed fried halibut skins or a sliver of smoked sockeye salmon. Later, you’ll get a primeval thrill when you’re given an obsidian dagger with which to slice your venison carpaccio. As for the rooms, don’t expect a five-star stay: Your bed may squeak and the shower may be dimly lit, but you’ll wake to the tenderest scone you’ve ever had, studded with pine nuts and shoots from Lummi’s forests.—Sara Dickerman

LUMMI ISLAND, WA

Willows Inn

Willows Inn Locally-Caught Salmon

The sails are new, of course. But the Zodiac has been so lovingly maintained by Captain Tim Mehrer, Port Captain Chris Wallace, and the ship’s legions of volunteer crew members that she looks – and more importantly, sails – like the day she was launched back in 1924.

I first stepped onboard the Zodiac’s storied decks last June for a three-night Wine Cruise through the San Juan Islands that turned out to be one of the most exhilarating cruising experiences I’ve ever had. On Saturday, I made the quick drive across the border to Bellingham, Washington to take part in the Zodiac’s second sailing of the 2013 season: a three hour Evening Cruise through Bellingham Bay.

Perhaps the best part about the Zodiac – besides her friendly crew and the ship itself – is the ability to take part in everything, from hoisting the sails to “tacking” (re-arranging the sails from port to starboard or vice-versa), or even taking a turn at the ship’s wheel. You can learn about charts, navigation, VHF radio, and pretty well anything else you’ve ever wanted to know about marine operations.

In response to greater demand, this year Zodiac is offering six more day and evening sails, including three Winemaker’s Dinner Sails and two special sailings operating roundtrip out of Seattle in July.

But to really get the full Schooner Zodiac experience, their multi-night sailings are unbeatable. From the two-night Father’s Day Getaway cruise in June to the massive 13-day Voyage to Desolation Sound on July 15, each sailing revolves around a different theme and interest.

Sailing isn’t just for men, either: the three-day Nauti-Gals Cruise in August is offered exclusively for women.

Above all else, a sailing aboard the Schooner Zodiac – be it for an evening or 13 days – is just plain fun. So much so that I’m going back this June to join them for their 4-day Summer Northwest Brewery Cruise!

If you’ve ever thought about sailing, or are just looking for a truly unique experience, the Schooner Zodiac is a true one-of-a-kind adventure. Words can’t do it justice; hopefully, these photographs taken on our Saturday evening sail can.

One of the hands-down coolest cruises I took last year was the one I had the most doubts about initially: A three-night wine cruise aboard a 160-footlong schooner originally built in 1924.

The Schooner Zodiac (schooner zodiac.com) is no ordinary cruise experience: It is a fully immersive sailing adventure through Washington State’s San Juan Islands that will win your heart over in no time.

Based out of Bellingham, Wash., the Zodiac returns for another exciting season this year that began with a dinner cruise on April 27 and wraps up with a three-day San Juan Islands Getaway voyage on Oct. 11 .

The ship operates a full schedule of four-day cruises with themes ranging from Lighthouses of the San Juan Islands to Brewery and Seafood cruises, and even a special women-only sailing on Aug. 1.

If you’re up for a real adventure, though, nothing beats the massive 13-day Voyage to Desolation Sound on July 15. The trip sells out every year, so I’d pounce on this one quickly.

In addition to its cruises, the Schooner Zodiac is now offering a series of winemaker’s dinner sails that complement the line’s beer-themed sails that highlight a different Bellingham brewery on each trip.

In all, six different dinner sailings are on offer this year, from May 25 to Oct. 24.

Each has its own theme and featured vintner or brewery, and typically sails from the Bellingham Cruise Terminal at 5: 30 p.m. and returns at 9 p.m.

Inside, the Zodiac is charmingly cosy, with public spaces that have been faithfully restored and beautiful, polished wood and brightwork at every turn.

Part of the allure of sailing aboard the Zodiac can be found in her fabulous team of volunteer crew members.

These people not only know how to sail, they’re enthusiastic about it, too.

And you’ll get the chance to have as much hands-on knowledge as you could ever hope for during your time aboard her: Multi-night guests can stand on bow watch, assist with navigation, learn about charts and radio communications, and yes, even swab the decks.

But it’s fun – trust me. I spent some enjoyable time making the brightwork on the ship’s engine telegraph sparkle, washed the decks, climbed up on the sails and even assisted in navigating the ship around a lighthouse.

I doubt they’ll let me do that on the bridge of my next mainstream cruise.

Visit fromthedeckchair.com for all the latest cruise news and live voyage reports.

Other ways to see the islands include small airplane, float plane, and car-ferry. Lodging is available at all the best places, so being a yachtsman with a bunk isn’t necessary.

The San Juan Islands are located in the northwestern corner of the state of Washington, and nearby are the Canadian Southern Gulf Islands. Combining these islands we have an archipelago in the Salish Sea where the locations for finding nirvana just doubled.

Skippers holding down a day job need not shy away from this trip but for safety’s sake hire a person for refresher training. Bellingham Yachts will charter the boat and provide a training skipper to ride along for two days. Once feeling capable, put the trainer ashore at a ferry dock and resume the trip.

This charter was a 33’ Back Cove power boat with most of the comforts of home. The boat does over 20 knots which is a unique experience with a large boat (John Kennedy and PT-109 anyone?). As relaxing is a part of reaching nirvana, try chugging along at six knots and save fuel to boot. The total fuel bill for the trip described below was only $167 and at times the boat was powered up for fun.

A circular route out of Bellingham and into the Southern Gulf Islands, then down to the San Juan Islands and a pleasant cruise back to port is one recommendation. During this run there may be seen orca whales (Orcinus orca) in the waters from April through September.

On this trip, after checking in with Canadian authorities, the first night was at anchor in Lyall Harbor, Saturna Island, between tree covered hills. Ashore on the island is the Saturna Winery and pleasant walks. In fact, nearly all islands have vineyards and winery locations since the region is warmer than the general northwest.

Three hours (at nirvana speed) from Saturna is popular Ganges on Salt Spring Island. Excellent prepared food is available in the market deli and at local restaurants. Many like Ganges because of the vacation-port shopping and unique items in the jewelry store.

On leaving Canada, transit south to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. Use a guest dock and relax over a beer while contemplating how Capt. George Pickett (later of Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg in the US Civil War) once looked on these same hills. Britain and the USA faced off here in the “Pig War” of 1859. Above the docks are a fine restaurant, a café, a market, a hotel, and public art displays.

Friday Harbor is around the bend from Roche Harbor and it is the main city of the area, along with being the islands ferry route terminus point. If coming in by ferry as a walk aboard (no car necessary), this is an excellent place to stay and tour. Boaters will enjoy the docks and easy walk for shopping and meals.

Seeking a final day of peace and quiet, the next destination is Deer Harbor. It is a good harbor for anchoring or use a guest dock with services ashore. This is a beautiful place.

On Orcas Island is the East Sound with an airport and resorts accessible by boat. Other popular destinations are sheltered coves with interesting views of the transiting ferries and small boats.

Underway from Deer Harbor, the route heads east seeking out the smaller islands and passages for a last look. Exiting the San Juan Islands via Thatcher Pass, motor past the Anacortes ferry pier which is the nexus of the island ferry and a feeder to the freeways inland. Anacortes public marina is a short walk to a favorite seafood restaurant, Randy’s Pier 61. Anacortes offers many shops with art and general merchandise.

Returning to Bellingham from Anacortes is a three hour run if still operating at nirvana speed. The boat is due back in the morning so the last day is always an early start. On this trip, however, the risk of morning fog caused a run back on the night before and dinner at, Anthony’s at Bellingham Marina. Better safe at home port with a crab cocktail than late for tomorrow’s plane home.

Those words, scrawled in reference to a Mercer Island home he designed in 2004, appear to be Seattle architect Jim Olson’s guiding mantra as he dreams up buildings that, on the one hand, open themselves to nature and, on the other, serve as self-effacing frameworks for collections of fine art.

“Jim Olson: Art in Architecture,” a show at Bellingham’s Whatcom Museum that surveys the architect’s 50-year career, does a terrific job of immersing you in the mind and creative process of one of the founding partners of Olson Kundig Architects. It also lands you right inside an actual Olson project — for the exhibit is housed in the museum’s Lightcatcher building, designed by Olson himself.

Olson’s firm, when it was Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, won the 2009 Architecture Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), described on the AIA website as “the highest honor that the American Institute of Architects can bestow on an architecture firm for consistently producing distinguished architecture.”

The show in Bellingham, which first was exhibited at the Museum of Art WSU (at Washington State University in Pullman), highlights both the consistency and the distinction of Olson’s achievements. It chronicles his career project by project, starting with his own Seattle apartments and his rural retreat in Longbranch at the southern end of Puget Sound.

Each project is presented as a kind of art installation with a huge vertical photo-collage as its focal point. The bottommost photos usually show an exterior shot of the building. The middle tiers work their way through the interiors, from living and dining spaces to upper-floor bedrooms. The top photos sometimes take you up onto the roof, where spectacular vistas lie in wait.

In Olson’s words, they ascend “from the materiality & rich complexity of art & the city to the spiritual quality of pure abstract light. ”

Most of the photo-collages are complemented by actual artwork from Olson-designed homes. One striking display from his own Seattle apartment — placing Don Brown’s 1998 sculpture, “Blue Man,” against Jeffrey Bishop’s large blue canvas, “Olson’s Cave” (1986) — shows what an eye for interior design Olson has, as he frames an entire residence around its art-object highlights.

The installations also include architectural models of the buildings in question and Olson’s notebook writings and sketches related to each project. In some, he observes the building’s surroundings in stream-of-consciousness fashion. In others, he makes suggestions to himself: “Maybe stairs are not here — just light.” (Artist James Turrell, as Olson acknowledges, is a huge influence on how these buildings incorporate light as a design element.)

Most of the homes are coyly identified: “Gallery House,” “Hong Kong Villa,” “An American Place,” etc. But with some, you can guess which millionaire’s house it is by looking at who lent the art for the exhibit. One side-effect of seeing all these photographs of Olson interiors: You realize what choice items by Hals, Hockney, Hopper and others are in private collections in the Seattle area.

In addition to the museum’s own Lightcatcher building, Olson’s public commissions include Seattle’s Gethsemane Lutheran Church (a true rectilinear light fest) and the spectacular Rose Window installation at Seattle’s St. Mark’s Cathedral. Both are nicely represented with photos and architectural models in the show. Translucent vertical dividers, hanging like gossamer walls between installations, add a final felicitous element, making you feel as though you’re strolling through a luminous maze.

Two blocks away, at the museum’s Old City Hall branch, a selection of paintings from the museum’s permanent collection, titled “Romantically Modern: Pacific Northwest Landscapes,” is on display. Highlights include Michael Dailey’s semiabstract “Moonlight Landscape by the Sea #8”; the fractured photorealism of Karin Helmich’s “Tahoma”; and Carl Hall’s gouache, “Ritual Moon,” in which gnarled branches seem to catch and trap the lunar orb above them. The show — open noon-5 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays through June 9 — is well worth catching.

Read the Full Feature Article here: Bellingham - Calgary Herald

Whether you’re out for a lazy cruise or a spirited rip, a trek south on Chuckanut Drive will have plenty to offer.

Starting at the edge of Fairhaven and winding its way along the edge of Bellingham Bay, the route offers views of Lummi Island, Samish Bay and the Skagit Valley as State Route 11 stretches south toward Burlington. The ride I prefer goes past the end of Route 11 in the Skagit Valley and lands the rider in downtown Mount Vernon, about 25 miles in all.

Begin your ride in Fairhaven, heading down Chuckanut past quiet residential neighborhoods. On your way out of town, you’ll wind in and out of the trees through 30-, 20-, and 15-mph corners. The first part of the trip will border a lot of driveways, so this is a place to take it easy on the straights and warm up the tires in the curves.

A few miles in, places to pull off begin to appear along the road. Pick any one you want to stop and take in the view, but don’t stop too much and interrupt the fantastic corners coming up.

Once past Larrabee State Park — a sensible place to stop and eat a picnic lunch if you don’t mind paying the $10-per-day or $30-per-year fee — the road is lined by rocky cliffs ascending on one side and a sheer drop on the other. In fact, it does seem a bit harrowing that the only bit of protection from a long fall to the beach is a three-foot-high concrete barrier that was likely constructed closer to the beginning of the 20th century and not replaced since.

Close to milepost 12, there is a large pullout area that I generally consider the best spot to have a little picnic. For one thing, it’s free, and it’s got a beautiful view across Bellingham Bay toward Lummi Island and south across Samish Bay as well. And, in the interest of safety, you can see enough down the road to safely pull out again.

Back on the road, the next few twists border the edge again and the road is so narrow that the outside lane can feel just a bit too close some days. After a couple turns, the road moves away from the edge and you can start to lay it down deep as you rip through some of the best corners of the trip.

Past Taylor Shellfish and up the hill a tad, you’ll run into The Oyster Bar, where you can stop for a meal if you forgot to pack one and stop further back. But be prepared, as it’s close to the highway and it can sneak up on you so quick that you’ll forget to stop before you’ve gone by.

Turn on some speed and dip through several more narrow turns and you’ll come out of the woods to look across Samish Bay to the right and the Skagit Valley straight ahead. Very shortly, the road straightens out before you and about as far off in the distance as you can see. Off to the left, some gorgeous views of the North Cascades will open up and in the distance to the right, the San Juans can be seen.

Continue on Route 11 until you hit Avon Allen Road. Turn right there, follow it into Memorial Highway and that should take you right down into Mount Vernon. Your destination? Well, Skagit River Brewing is right there, so, you could stop in for a beer and a bite.

If you’ve had enough twisties, it’s easy to jump on I-5 to head back north, or go right back up Chuckanut. The views heading north are spectacular and will look all new after just having come south.

I recommend avoiding it on wet days, as many of the corners are very tight and you’ll want to be able to take advantage of your machine and those corners without worrying about traction.