Our explorations today took us along the U.S./Canada border from the Strait of Georgia in the Pacific Ocean to the foothills of the Cascades. According to our Good Sam atlas, the Canadians refer to the extension of the Cascades into Canada as the Lillooet Range. Lillooet must be an Indian word for “the extension of the Cascades into B.C.”
We started by driving east out of Blaine on H Street which seems to extend for miles paralleling the border. The road all the way to Sumas, WA, is within sight of the international boundary with a few side roads going north right up to where spitting on the separation is possible. There is little fencing. There is certainly no wall or sheet pile barrier dividing the territories.
We continued east from Sumas to a turn off that took us to Silver Lake Park, a nice facility that, despite its remote location, was filled with Washingtonians enjoying a day at the lake. There is a campground there that is very pretty but we advise against taking any substantial RVs through the campground. The road is narrow and closely-lined with large trees, many of which have gruesome markings in their stumps where too-savvy drivers have scraped off expensive attachments formerly mounted on the sides of their RVs. Some trees are missing all their bark on the road side of the stumps.
We continued our exploration by exiting the park and noticed that some folks across from the park entrance had set up a Skagit yarder, a massive machine with six guy lines, a 110′ tower and big drums filled with thousands of feet of wire cables. I used to work on one of these very same machines in Oregon back when I was indestructible and young (stupid). It brought back fond memories of the years of unrelenting toil, alfresco toilet facilities and rain-soaked lunch sandwiches bracketed with moonlight rides in a comfort-challenged bus every morning and evening. The folks I worked with were great, though. The yarder is set up in a pasture in front of something called the Black Mountain Forestry Center.
When we arrived, we were immediately greeted by Phil and Joanne, docents that staff the little museum installed within a house built by a Norwegian using dovetail joints to lock the massive wall planks together. It must be a sturdy form of construction because the 2-story house still looks great. Sprinkled around the pasture next to the house are little display sheds with old logging stuff in them. There are chainsaws here that look like they they required a big hombre to run them because they are about the size of a V-6. Old logging equipment is scattered around offering displays of the heavy vehicles, rigging and blocks required to perform timber harvesting. The Black Mountain Forestry Center was a great side trip and it is free. They do have a small donation box in the museum and we crammed some money into it.
We turned back west after the Forestry Center, again skirting the border. The mountain vistas into Canada along the road are spectacular. Mount Baker could be plainly seen east of us. The road passes through very lush pasture and forest country all the way, all surrounded by dramatic mountains.
Upon our arrival back in Blaine, we felt compelled to reward ourselves by making a trip into the Ocean Bay Chinese Restaurant where we gorged on coconut curry chicken and sesame chicken dishes. They were very tasty meals and the cost was around $30. I found it amusing that the cook delivering the food, according to my gweilo ear, referred to it as cully chicken.
We took some pictures you can see if you click here

Our work list for today was empty so we were free to fiddle around and go exploring. Today the destination was Blaine, WA, just a mile or two from our campground at Birch Bay TT. Blaine is a very tidy and attractive town snuggled right up to the U.S./Canada border where former do-gooders have erected an arch directly on top of the line between the two nations’ vehicle checkpoints. The arch is called the Peace Arch but could probably be more appropriately be named the Arch Between the Idling Cars. On the U.S. side, there is also a very nice Peace Arch State Park with meticulously manicured grounds, gorgeous botanical displays, striking outdoor sculptures, ample parking and attractive buildings. We found our way in on Second Avenue and strolled around the park a bit. It was very pleasant.
We also tried to ride something called the Historic Plover Ferry. It is listed on a list somewhere as the world’s shortest ferry route since it travels from the Blaine waterfront to Semiahmoo (pronounced Semiahmoo) Spit, a sand peninsula plainly visible about 300 yards from the dock. When we approached the ferry dock in Blaine, we counted heads and realized we were going to be obliged to wait at least an hour before we could take the boat ride. We bolted.
We drove around town a bit checking out some magnificent residences in Blaine before driving the few miles to Semiahmoo Spit to catch the ferry on the other end. Unfortunately, the pilot was a prick and pulled out after we were already on the dock but not on board. We may forgo the ferry ride since, by driving to a myriad of locations, even myopic folks can see and anyone can drive to both ends of the ferry ride in minutes.
We thought we needed to be rewarded for our failures so we went back to Birch Bay TT and broke out some sandwiches and porter.
There’s a few pictures if you click here

Today was another travel day. We gathered up our stuff and crammed it into the trailer, checked under the wheels for wayward children and pulled out of our space for the short haul to the dump station. We seem to be making a lot of trips to the dump station this trip. Washington RV parks are quite beautiful but they almost all have no sewer hookups and lousy wifi. We’ll survive this.
By about 11:00 AM we were out of the Mount Vernon Thousand Trails and headed northbound on I-5 toward Canada. About a mile short of the border we turned off I-5 and headed west to the Thousand Trails Birch Bay, just a bit down the road from Blaine, WA. Our travel distance and time were short today so we arrived at the park a bit after noon. It is fortunate that we arrived early in the day because we got the last available campsite in the section of the park we prefer. Oddly, it also offered a sewer hookup.
From in front of our RV park, we can look north across Semiahmoo Bay and into White Rock in British Columbia. If we look south we can see Birch Bay and the Strait of Georgia. We had time to burn this afternoon so we started with a short trip to Birch Bay. Birch Bay is a nice little place with a few touristy shops and some stunning beachfront houses. Adjoining the south edge of town is Birch Bay State Park offering a long beach, day-use facilities along the shore and a campground with no utility hookups. The campground is located in a splendid forest that offers deep shade in all the camping spots we saw. I would like to return to Birch Bay because it looks like they have a good beachfront tavern where dogs are welcome. They also have a great view of the Strait of Georgia and the islands between WA and Vancouver Island.
See pix. Click here

We were bad this morning. We both slept in until about 10:00, missing out on a couple hours of possible fun. After the morning shower and shave routine we were ready for some more exploration. Today the destination was Lake Cavanaugh. There was no good reason to go there other than to see it.
We went from Bow up Prairie Road until we turned south on F&S Grade Road. Soon we were in Sedro Woolley, famous for its funny name, and we passed through town on WA-9 southbound. As soon as we crossed the Skagit River south of town, the road went skinny and curvy as it passed through more gorgeous Washington scenery. The only things that were not green were the road, the sky, some distant glaciers and the rocky parts of the mountains.
After a bit we turned east on Lake Cavanaugh Road. It is sort of narrow and very curvy but the forests and lakes along the road are stunning. After maybe 300 curves and 10 miles, we arrived at the road that circles Lake Cavanaugh. We turned left onto a clockwise road around the lake.
In many parts of the world, beautiful areas like Lake Cavanaugh would have a day use area, a campground or other facilities usable by the ordinary public. The state of Washington has followed a different path. They have sold all the prime lakefront and seashore properties to private owners so they can install fences and eliminate public access. There are no turnouts along the perimeter road where you could pause and take in the view. There is no parking anywhere. If you want to remember what Lake Cavanaugh looks like, take a Go-Pro strapped to your head because there is no stopping anywhere. It is probably very nice for the few lucky souls that live along the lake but it might as well be invisible to everyone else. If I was a Washington voter, I’d unelect anybody who thought the state should sell its property assets.
On the way home, Peggy caught a sign on a tavern touting all-you-can-eat prawns on Thursdays from 4:00 to 10:00 PM. Thinking in my usual plodding fashion, it only took me a couple very tight corners and two straight stretches before realizing it was after 4:00 PM and today is Thursday, We wheeled around and returned to the Big Lake Tavern. The prawns were very tasty and the french fries were superb. Even the cole slaw was yummy and I don’t like cole slaw. About 2 score prawns later, we were full and on our way home. It cost around $60, with tip and drinks.
There’s a few pix of the scenery today if you click here

This morning there was a medium-sized stampede of RVers exiting the camping area and lining up at the dump station. Lots of folks were going home after the 4th weekend. We have a couple more days in Bow so today we chose to go west and then south onto the blindingly white enclave of Whidbey Island. We left Bow going south on I-5 for a few miles before getting on WA-20 and heading west toward Anacortes. Just before entering town, WA-20 turns south, crosses two bridges spanning rock-lined Deception Pass and heads south down Whidbey Island.
The drive down the island is gorgeous with the road passing through dense forests, along shorelines, through massive pastures and between a myriad of stunning residences. Glimpses of Mount Rainier west of Seattle and Mount Baker west of Bow pop up between the trees. The drive along WA-20 on Whidbey Island is quite pleasant but hurrying is not possible. WA-20 is single-lane each way with short sight lines, curves and grades. The maximum speed limit between Anacortes and Freeland is 55 and that only applies to a fraction of the road.
In Freeland, we stopped off to visit Peggy’s sis, Tonie, and her husband, George, who have just moved into a new (for them) residence. They have found a peaceful place that is hidden from the road and offers plenty of living space in a sound, handsome structure. There are some nice, rather tasty-looking deer that bed down in their back yard nightly. There is also a soccer pitch’s worth of grass and George had just finished an enduro-mow shortly before our arrival. It smelled nice.
Peggy’s relatives were nice enough to feed us some great fish for dinner augmented with fine porter before sending us back home to Boe. Washington’s islands, straits, mountains and marshy areas make for a slow passage, particularly on Whidbey Island. Accept that the passage will be slow and you’ll be fine.
We took a few pictures along the way and you can see some if you click here

Today is the 4th of July and we celebrated by committing ourselves to some extended lounging. Last year on this same day we were in West Yellowstone. Today, many loud noises were heard during the daylight hours and they became more numerous as darkness fell. We did not feel compelled to demonstrate our patriotic fervor by driving to a local fireworks show so our 4th was auditory-only this year.
The Washingtonians seem to have ample private supplies of fireworks. Around dark, nearly continuous rapid-fire explosions were heard and they seemed to come from all directions. It is my firm belief that some of these explosions may have come from launch sites right here in Thousand Trails Mount Vernon RV Resort despite the resort having written rules to the contrary. Some person or persons may have been naughty. Somebody who cares about this kind of stuff should investigate and admonish the miscreants, if any.

We expected to get a nice 9:00 AM visit from the site honey wagon operator, but found our expectation unrealistic. Mount Vernon RV Resort has a unique but impractical honey wagon schedule. They charge the normal base price to suck out the nastiness as long as it is Tuesday or Thursday. They don’t work on holidays. However, if the RV owner wants to schedule service any other time, it is classified an “emergency” and the park charges twice the base rate.
We arrived on the 29th of June, 2017 which was a Thursday. Our tanks were empty and we did not need service. We have an older 5th wheel and our waste tanks are not large so we need to get at least the grey water discharged about every four days. Since our scheduled departure from Mount Vernon is July 7, we needed the welcome services of the honey wagon sometime during the stay. The next available dump date to get away cheaply was Tuesday, July 4, which coincidentally is a holiday and, as I said above, they don’t work.
We were pro-active. We wandered into the office last Friday and informed them that we were going to have an “emergency” in the near future, specifically the 3rd of July, and needed them to send over the stinky waste sucker next Monday. The girl at the desk was very nice and indicated she would stop by at 0900 on the 3rd. At 2:30 PM she finally arrived and saved us from our emergency. The girl’s name was Macy and she was very nice and apologized for her tardiness.
Waste issues being resolved, we had an opportunity to go exploring. This time we tried the country northeast of Bow, driving east out of the Bow area on Prairie Road, a stretch with virtually no prairie anywhere in sight. Instead there is emerald green pastures with waist-deep grass, large copses of hardwood trees offering shade adequate to fool the truck’s automatic headlights into illuminating, small lakes, big marshes, skinny roads with blasted vertical cuts through the stone alongside meandering waterways with names like Nooksack, Chuckanut and Samish. We think “chuckanut” might be Indian for “a device to hurl, toss or throw the mentally unstable or homeless person through air.”
We followed Prairie Road all the way to the town of Prairie which isn’t really there. From Prairie we turned north on WA-9 up to the Nooksack River where we turned east onto Mosquito Lake Road for a bit of really slow progress. We were mesmerized by the gorgeous countryside along this back road. There didn’t really seem to be a lake, though. There was a massive array of marshes possibly lending credence to the name since they looked like superb mosquito reproduction sites.
We emerged on WA-542 in the town of Welcome which was really a town. We continued west to I-5 for a short spin south to Lake Samish (not to be confused with Samish Island or Lake Sammamish) for a drive along the shoreline. Many clever Washingtonians have acquired irregularly-shaped parcels of land along the shores of the lake and have built numerous houses and cottages of unusual shapes and configurations due to the size constraints of their steep, bizarrely-shaped, postage stamp-sized land holdings. Second floor garages abound. A panorama of architectural styles can be seen along the shores of the deep-blue lake. There is no parking.
After Lake Samish, we wandered east across I-5 to US-99 where we turned south toward home. Our Garmin GPS had a fit of temporary insanity and turned us off 99, which runs very close to our current RV park, and took us down a squiggly road called Friday Creek. We may have just skirted our campground but the only road we saw possibly going to our site was old, unused, untried and gated. It could have gone to the property the RV park is on but we doubt it. I suspect our GPS is started to suffer from the effects of Alzheimer’s.
There’s a few pictures of today’s stuff if you click here

Peggy was very nice and rustled up breakfast for us this morning. After that and some dish washing, we settled in for some family hobnobbing. Figuring we could just as easily talk while sightseeing, we decided to take our daughter, Dana, for a spin out to Samish Island about 10 miles west of our RV park.
Samish is a small bump sticking up out of what appears to be marshy farmland when approaching from the east like we did. I am not sure it is really an island except maybe during real high tides or tsunamis. Nevertheless, it is just freckled with very distinctive houses exhibiting a myriad of architectural styles. It seemed the more elderly the structure, the more distinctive it is. There is a small ashlar masonry cottage that is a classic beauty, several Craftsman-style estates, some modern architecture with lots of glass and numerous residences that look like small converted barns. I imagine they ain’t cheap. After much slow-speed driving and some wildflower pilferage, we returned back towards home through Edison.
Edison is a historical row of businesses about 1.5 blocks long with abrupt right turns in the downtown main street. We found the Old Edison Inn perched on one of the corners and the three of us went in to check it out. We sampled some of their porter and hamburgers and seafood and they were all very tasty. With drinks, tax and tip, it ran about $60 which seemed fair for what we got.
We eventually made it back to our RV park in Bow where Dana piled into her car for the trip back south to her home and work. We already miss her.
There’s pictures. Click here

We were expecting our daughter this morning but that was based on old news. Dana ran into a car registration setback that chewed up a good deal of her day before she could leave her place down by Everett and get on I-5 towards our campground near Bow. However, by late afternoon she was rolling up in her car and pulled in for a sleepover. It’s always great to see one of our kids.
Thanks to Costco, for dinner we had a nice tri-tip that I tortured on the barbecue until it turned very tasty. Peggy had found and steamed up some corn-on-the-cob that was very sweet and yummy. We may have all eaten too much.
The abundance of wildlife right here in the Mount Vernon Thousand Trails is amazing. We have rotund bunnies, big gray ground squirrels, tiny chipmunks, Stellar’s blue jays, hooded grosbeaks, rufous-side towhees, chestnut-backed chickadees and some other birds we were too slow to properly identify. Since this is a holiday weekend, lots of folks have brought along their dogs and we always like them.
Some of our fellow campers can be seen if you click here

We were not under any scheduling constraints today so we ended up mostly fooling around. We had B&E for breakfast, progressed into some Mimosas, spent a good deal of time identifying the abundant local birds and other wildlife and even took a drive into Burlington, Mount Vernon and the surrounding countryside.
We visited the Burlington Camping World, a store deliberately set up to make sure you depart with a vague sense of disappointment. They make folks queue up at the parts desk which seems to be rarely staffed by employees. Checkout is made into a nightmare through malfunctioning computers, staff incapable of fixing them and policies that require checkers to ask you if you want to join Good Sam, buy Good Sam roadside assistance policies, purchase extended warranties, inquire whether you found everything you wanted (never) and to look baffled when they make a mistake which they almost always do.
We also stopped in at a Coleman store where everything Coleman was for sale. We purchased another air bed for our daughter because the mattress she used when visiting us last week was flat in the morning. We had her leave it so we could attempt to determine the leak location and repair it. We were unsuccessful so we fixed her mattress problem another way. We also got got her a 12 volt mattress inflator because blowing up her failed unit almost killed Peggy when using lung power. I prefer compressors and could not be induced to fill it up by breathing alcohol-laced halitosis into its innards.
After the lightweight shopping, we took a spin to the nearby shoreline of Padilla Bay and the Strait of Georgia in Puget Sound. Looking south we could see Anacortes across the bay along with a big pulp mill spewing pink steam. Looking north is a gorgeous view of Strait and the mountainous islands sticking out of the Sound. We also made a side trip through the town of Edison where we found a skinny main drag extending about 2 blocks between cute historic buildings housing small restaurants, bars and antiques. Peggy and I want to return to Edison before our departure from this part of the world. Our daughter is scheduled to visit us in Bow tomorrow and perhaps she will want to go, too.
We took some pictures. See ’em by clicking here