Skagit River by Sea Kayak: Day 3

The last book we purchased while planning our kayak trip on the Skagit was Sea Kayaking from Mountains to Ocean by Dan Baharav. Dan is from Bellingham and has written about local rivers he has paddled in his single sea kayak. He has a nature and environmental focus to his writing in addition to paddling information. His book included the northern section of the river down to Rasar State Park, but didn't pick up again until Sedro-Woolley. But that was perfect for our third and final day.

We rose early with the sun coming over the trees. Wayne chilled our fruit cups in the river before serving breakfast on our log. We discovered how important a big log is to the camp environment. It was our bench, backrest for improvised chaises using our Therm-a-Rest pads, line for drying wet clothes, and all around storage area. We wanted to start early because this would be our longest day of paddling. From Ross Island we would continue down river past Sedro-Woolley, under I-5, into Mt. Vernon, and finally the tidally zone of the river delta.

During the night we heard lowing cattle and barking dogs from the farm across the water. Then coyotes began to sing to the setting moon. The lapping water lulled us to sleep under a star-filled sky. While we had a quick "breakfast" on our log, we watched three herons fishing in the shallows. Then it was into the kayak and on our way.

On this leg there were many more log jams and snags to avoid. They were the heaviest between our campsite and just below I-5. In two places, the water got shallow and we had to pull up our rudder, but we never went aground. In one place we took the wrong channel, but there was just enough water for us to skim over the rocks on fast running ripples. Don't tell Wayne, but I thought it was kind of fun by then.

We saw only one boat of fishermen on the upper river. Nearing Sedro-Woolley, we saw them again. As we floated by, they serenaded us with a rousing chorus of "O Canada." Our flag got us again. The area became more populated with cabins, homes and resorts along the high river bank. By this time we had been paddling for about two hours, so we decided to take a short stretch on one of the many gravel bars. While we were there, we saw two fishermen trying for Dolly Varden (large trout-like fish). The river also has steelhead and salmon in season.

Going under a roadway bridge was noisy enough, but when we got to the I-5 freeway with its four lanes of fast traffic, it was a cacophony of sound. We couldn't paddle out from underneath fast enough. Here the banks were topped with high earthen dikes to protect the farmlands beyond. The elevation is at or near sea level, so flooding is a common occurrence. Only rooftops and upper windows of the houses beyond were visible. But on a few banks there were little shacks above tiny floating docks. We weren't sure what they were, maybe fish shacks used when the salmon and steelhead are running.

We stopped in downtown Mt. Vernon for a late lunch. The best choice was Edgewater Park with its flat beach. We tied Mr. Kayak to a snag, asked a couple if they would keep an eye on it (small world, they were from Concrete) and climbed the trail to some much needed sustenance. Across the street from the park entrance, Las Coronas was perfect. We stuffed ourselves with chips, salsa, tacos, enchiladas, and a tostada. You'd think we hadn't eaten for days. We barely squeezed back in our cockpits.

Now the real work of our trip began. Wayne checked the tides, but it takes quite a while for the ebb tide to have an effect this far upstream. The river current was down to 1 mph and we picked up a headwind shortly thereafter. In the tall trees we finally saw and heard some Bald Eagles. These must be resident birds. When the salmon arrive in winter, this whole river system becomes a haven for them. At Fir Island, we went to the left down the South Fork. The river was still wide and deep, no sign of the delta mudflats yet. At 4:30 we decided to call it a day and headed for the Conway boat ramp. We gave Jeanne a call and she came to our rescue in the Ford Tempo. What a great trip, and we still have the delta to explore on another day.

Things we learned on day three:

1. Find a campsite with a big log.
   
2. Even populated areas can be exciting to explore.
3. A GPS is helpful to find places to eat.
   
4. People are friendly and willing to help.
5. Know your paddling limits.
   
6. Being flexible is important.

Thanks for paddling along with us. Hope you enjoyed the trip as much as we did. -- Margy

Skagit River by Sea Kayak: Day 2

We woke from a restful night in our tent. Our camp gear is compact to fit into the three hatches of our Current Designs Libra XT. It's their largest model, 21.8' long and 32" wide, making it very stable in the water (I like that). We only needed to make one trip from the campsite, and we only needed the front and back hatches to stow our gear, plus a few items we wanted en route stashed in cockpit dry sacks.

Another resource Wayne purchased online was Paddle Routes of Western Washington: 50 Flatwater Trips for Canoe and Kayak. The author, Verne Huser, also collaborated on the book I mentioned yesterday, so there's a lot of overlap and similarities. We both tried web searches, but for some reason, few people have written about this section of the river. Today's trip would take us from Rasar State Park to a mid-river Ross Island north of Sedro-Woolley.

After our short paddle yesterday, I felt a bit better about this new experience. The river was wide and deep in most places. When it made a turn, the water cut a steep bank into the outside shore. One such bank was drilled with holes by nesting Bank Swallows. You could hear them calling as they flew low over the water grabbing insects. The inside shore was usually a wide gravel or sand bar.

We traveled light with snack foods. Fruit cups, trail mix, breakfast bars, juices, and I'll admit it, candy. That's enough to start and end the day, but one substantial meal is nice. So we went to the Lyman Tavern for a hot lunch then went up to the market for more water (we really underestimated our needs), snacks, and an ice cream (yum). To get to Lyman, you have to enter a shallow back bay and climb the rock retaining wall to a riverside path. Main street, the pub, and the market on Highway 20 are in easy walking distance.

With full tummies, we got back in Mr. Kayak. Two hours of paddling took us past massive log jams on islands and dotting sand bars. We had to be careful to weave our way around huge stumps and trees jammed into the bed of the river. These snags can be dangerous if you get too close. But we got pretty good about reading the water to figure out the location of ones hidden below the surface.

Just north of Sedro-Woolley is Ross Island, historically a native site and homesteaded by Alexander Ross. We found a gravel bar on the north side to take out and pitch our tent. We arrived early so we took out our Therm-a-Rest pads to lounge in the shade and read. Over the crest of the bar we could hear voices coming down the river. Then we heard the cry, "Canadians." We have a small flag on a rod at the back of Mr. Kayak to help make us more visible on the water. Two young locals came ashore to say hi. They were floating from Lyman to Sedro-Woolley the "easy way" in tubes. Looked pretty "hard" to me.

The day ended with a spectacular sunset.

Things we learned on day two:

1. Drink water frequently.
   
2. We need at least a gallon each day.
3. Use sunscreen liberally.
4. Cover your lap with a tea towel to prevent burned inner thighs.
   
5. Wear a hat for better vision on glaring water.
   
6. Stop for breaks along the way.
7. Take time to explore your surroundings.
   

Wayne and I are not highly experienced paddlers. Make sure you get expert advice before starting out on your own. Ask locals, visit sporting goods stores, read books, check the Internet. It's better to be safe than sorry. - Margy

Skagit River by Sea Kayak: Day 1

Wayne and I both read a book called Water and Sky: Reflections of a Northern Year by Alan S. Kesselheim. Alan and his partner Marypat loaded a large canoe with all the provisions they would need for a daunting paddle north on the Athabasca River to Baker Lake. This was true wilderness paddling with few outposts along the way, bears to contend with, and grueling portages. But it inspired Wayne to try some river kayaking in our own double sea kayak we lovingly call "The Big Yellow Banana."

Wayne did some research and found a book called Paddling Washington: Flatwater (that's what I like) and Whitewater Routes in Washington State and the Inland Northwest. There are lots of big rivers crossing the coastal plain in Washington and Oregon to choose from. Because our mode of transportation is a bit different, we were interested in other people's experiences. Sad to say, no one has written about using double sea kayaks. So Wayne picked the Skagit River as the best one to handle our size and shape.

Paddling Washington has excellent maps and river descriptions. We knew basically what to expect, but once you round that first bend, you're on your own.

Our good friend Jeanne helped by driving our trusty '89 Ford Tempo with its "Yellow Banana Hat." Our first stop was the Sedro-Woolley boat ramp at Riverfront Park to look at river conditions. We continued upriver on Highway 20 to Rasar State Park. Wayne made online reservations for a tent spot for $20.50. Kayakers can also use the walk-in hiker/biker section without a reservation. We dropped our camping gear in our site before continuing on.

Our original plan was to start paddling near Concrete. When we crossed the bridge, I saw some whitewater that made me nervous. Wayne was understanding, so we headed back down the road after a nice lunch/dinner at the burger place next to Loggers Landing. Another good choice would have been Birdsview Burgers. We followed the book's directions to the Birdsview boat launch. This was a perfect spot to drive the car right to the water's edge and load up.

At this point, the Skagit is a deep, wide, fairly fast river. Average speed was 4-5 mph without paddling. That's what Wayne was looking for. The afternoon was hot, but we didn't have far to go. This was a short leg to get me used to the feel of, and more comfortable with, the water. I am a bit wimpy, but Wayne takes good care of me (including a bit of good-natured kidding when needed).

When we were at Rasar Park the first time, we walked down to the river (a bit of a hike) to check out the landing spots and to mark it on our Garmin Oregon 300 GPS. We only have the streets feature, but the detail about the river was enough to keep us on track. In about forty-five minutes we were there. By now, most of the beach goers were gone and we found a somewhat secluded spot to stop. We pulled the kayak above the high water line and tied it to some bushes just to be safe. While the Big Yellow Banana had a nice spot with a river view for the night, we hiked up the trail to our campsite with nothing to carry but our backpacks.

Things we learned on day one:

1. Being flexible is important.
2. Taking time to get my "river legs" was a good idea.
   
3. Dropping our camp gear made bag dragging easier.
4. Frozen water bottles melted into the best drink after a hot paddle.

Have you done any paddling trips? Where have you gone? Do you have any other suggestions? We have lots to learn and would love to hear from you. - Margy

I Heard the Owl Call My Name

You'd think I'd have more time for reading during long winter nights, but it's during the summer when I read the most. Here's another Coastal BC suggestion.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven was written in 1967 and has become a classic piece of Canadian literature. The used book I purchased (from a 1975 reprinting) came from the now closed Max Cameron Secondary School in Powell River. It's book #12 from a classroom set and was checked out to only one student, L. Sieg. That's almost as interesting as the book itself.

The story takes place in a remote village up the river at the head of Kingcome Inlet. Located near the Inside Passage of Coastal BC, it was a land of First Nations peoples, loggers and fishermen. The period wasn't specified, but based on facts in the book it was probably set in the early 1950s. Up until then, Mission Boats brought religious and medical services to remote communities. Churches were also built in settlements to convert and assist their inhabitants. In some cases, the people sent were a good match, in others, a detriment. The characters in this story run the gamete from the long enduring Kwakiutl villagers, an uncaring teacher, the arrogant anthropologist, by-the-book RCMP officers, unscrupulous traders, to the patient young vicar.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name is the story of Mark Brian, a new vicar with the Anglican Church who was sent to far-off Kingcome Inlet. Unknown to Mark, he has a terminal illness that leaves him only a few years to live. His Bishop sends him to Kingcome Village to learn about life in a short time, and he does. The book is only 160 pages and can be easily read in a day. But I enjoyed taking longer to savour the content and think about some of the profound messages. And it's worth reading more than once like I did.

Here are some more Coastal BC suggestions:

A Kwakiutl Village and School from 1967 by Harry F. Wolcott is the book version of his dissertation on the study of a Kwakiutl Indian village and its one-room school.

Heart of the Raincoast: a life story from 1998 by Alexandra Morton and Billy Proctor is about the life of legendary Billy Proctor who lived through the heyday years of Coastal BC.

Full Moon, Flood Tide from 2003 by Yvonne Maximchuk and Billy Proctor continues the story of Billy Proctor's life.

Inside Passage: Living with Killer Whales, Bald Eagles, and Kwakiutl Indians from 1997 by Michael Modzelewski who spent 18 months in the wilderness on Swanson Island with local Will Malloff.

Talking in Context: language and identity in Kwakwa_ka_'wakw society from 2005 is a case study of the use of the Kwak'wala language and cultural identity in two Coastal BC First Nation communities, Quatsino and Kingcome Inlet.

A Curve of Time from 1968 by M. Wylie Blanchet and Timothy Egan is the classic memoir of a woman and her children as they explore Coastal BC summer after summer in a 25' boat in the 20s and 30s.

I've only read A Curve of Time, but the others look interesting. -- Margy

Our Canada: Picture Perfect

When I got back to the cabin last week, Wayne had a surprise for me. Our float cabin on Powell Lake, was featured twice in a new book called Our Canada: Picture Perfect. What an exciting surprise! Of course, our off the grid cabin is a prominent feature in Wayne's Coastal BC Stories, but being included in a book published by someone else is very exciting.

Two summers ago, Wayne wrote an article for Our Canada Magazine called "On the Lake". It was the first story in a series called "Our Dream Home." We were proud to start it off for them, and got lots of great feedback from the magazine's readers.

The article included two pictures of our cabin. The first was a summer scene with my floating garden in the foreground and our floating wood shed tied to the log boom. This is one of my favourite shots. You'll now find it in the British Columbia section of Our Canada: Picture Perfect.

The other picture they chose to include in the book was a winter scene. Because our Campion runabout was tied to the cabin deck, it was placed in the boating section.

Our Canada: Picture Perfect was just published in May 2010. It is 160 pages with 250 photos and illustrations. The stories and pictures show our great country in all of its glory. It's available online at Reader's Digest, Amazon.ca, or chapters.indigo.ca. You can also purchase it in bookstores throughout Canada including our own Coles in Powell River. Thanks Wayne for a great present! -- Margy

Puffin Cove by Neil Carey

I learn a lot about Haida Gwaii by reading Carolyn's blog Living on the Edge. One recent post was about the ceremony giving back the name Queen Charlotte Islands. In 1887 Captain Dixon named the island archipelago after one of his ships, the Queen Charlotte, named after the Queen of the United Kingdom. On June 17, 2010, the Haida returned the colonial name to the Queen's representative in BC, Premier Gordon Campbell. The official name is now Haida Gwaii (Xaadaa Gwaayaay), the name given to the lands by their original inhabitants, the Haida. Carolyn tells the story (with pictures) much better than I, so please read her post.

The book I just finished reading was Puffin Cove: Escape to the Wilderness of the Queen Charlotte Islands (Hancock House, 1982). Neil Carey and his wife Betty (an adventurer in her own right) went looking for a remote place to live and build a wilderness cabin. They first found their paradise on Moresby Island in Haida Gwaii in 1955 while on a boat trip. They sold their home in California (sounds familiar to me) and built a cabin in 1964 on property they purchased in Sandspit. They started as "Summer Settlers" (also a familiar ring) until they immigrated to Canada to live there full time in 1965. Next came the building of their remote cabin at Puffin Cove on leased land on the southwestern tip of Moresby Island.

Neil recounts life on Haida Gwaii in a different time. Logging and mining were bigger industries, but already starting to decline. No regular ferry service to the mainland made life more isolated and simple in many ways. Neil takes you gyppo logging, hunting, fishing and boating in fair weather and hurricane force storms. You get to meet the people that made their homes on the islands to live a good, but hard life. It must have been something to see wild storms raging on the open ocean from their snug cabin on the protected cove. Today, it is part of the Gwaii Haanas National Park.

Here's some more about Puffin Cove:

Puffin Cove at InsidePassageNews.com
Nearing the End of the World by Lyn Fox
Visited in 26 Feet to the Charlottes by June Cameron
Log of Baidarka 2001 Part V: Moresby Island's Uncharted West Coast
About Neil and Betty Carey on Northword

It's all interesting reading. -- Margy

Woman in the Bush

One of my favourite used bookstores in Bellingham is Eclipse Bookstore. It's located in Historic Fairhaven and my friend Betty and I go there every time we get together for coffee. They have a good Canadian section and I always find interesting books to read. I just finished rereading Woman in the Bush (Pelican, 1998) that I got there last year.

Woman in the Bush is the story of Jeanne Connolly Harbottle's first year in the Yukon with her newlywed trapper husband. The book was co-written with Fern Grice Credeur in 1966, but took place during the winter of 1947-48. Jeanne married Tom Connolly following World War II and left her city life in San Francisco for the wilds of the Yukon Territory. They were contemporaries of my parents, but their life was so different. I cannot imagine my mother being capable of living throughout the winter with temperatures around fifty below zero in a six by eight foot log cabin chinked with mud to keep out the wind and only a wood stove to heat and cook.

Jeanne learned how to snowshoe to break trail for the sled dogs, shoot, hunt, trap, skin and cure pelts, trade -- everything needed to survive and support her husband's work as a trapper. It was a hard life, but her adventurous spirit carried her through. People still seek a simple life in the bush, but times have changed. Hunting and trapping is more regulated, and trading as a means of commerce isn't as common. Jeanne's story is a look back in history to a different time, and way of living.

The trip out of the bush back to "civilization" was even more difficult, on many levels. The heat and mosquitoes made the journey on foot a huge challenge for both man and dog. Also, having contact with other people was a big lifestyle change. The book only hints about the future for Jeanne and Tom, but she did return and spent seventeen more years living in the bush, became a big-game guide and a trapper in her own right. She was quite a woman for her day, or any time for that matter. -- Margy

The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant

One place I want to visit is Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). This island archipelago is 90 km (56 miles) by ferry from Prince Rupert on the northern British Columbia coast. Speaking of ferries, I get some of my best books about BC in the gift shop on the ferry between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale on the Sunshine Coast. On a recent trip, I found The Golden Spruce (Vintage Canada, 2006) by John Vaillant.

The Golden Spruce was a 300 year-old yellow-coloured Sitka spruce located on Graham Island in Haida Gwaii. It grew from a minute seed that sprouted around 1700 to a massive tree "sixteen storeys tall and more than six metres around." This amazing biological wonder was the result of a rare genetic mutation that thrived along the bank of the Yakoun River in a rich, fertile lowland called a "spruce flat."

Vaillant likens the Golden Spruce to the bumblebee which can miraculously fly despite less that aerodynamic characteristics. With limited chlorophyll in its needles, the carotenoids (the same substance that makes fall leaves turn red, yellow and orange) shine through. Not surprisingly, this unique tree had special significance to the Haida First Nation people. It also made it a prime target for Grant Hadwin, a former logger turned environmentalist. The Golden Spruce is the story of the tree and its demise at Grant Hadwin's hands in 1977, but it's also so much more.

John Vaillant artfully weaves together the history of Haida Gwaii's discovery, Haida inhabitants, logging practices in British Columbia, and the life of Grant Hadwin. The author is a master at blending facts and background information into a story that grabs the reader. I enjoyed it very much even though the event itself was a sad occurrence. If you are looking for a book that gives an unbiased depiction of logging and life in remote areas in British Columbia, I highly recommend The Golden Spruce.

My friend Carolyn lives in Haida Gwaii and blogs about her island paradise. You can read more about an insiders view of Haida Gwaii at her blog Living on the Edge. -- Margy

Otherwise by Farley Mowat

I'm a fan of Farley Mowat books. When Wayne and I first started coming to Canada on vacations in the 80's, we liked to read books that would give us a flavour of the country we would be visiting. Naturally, a few of those were written by Farley Mowat. Over the years, I've continued to collect his books and am proud to say I have about two-thirds of the forty-two he has authored, and have read more than half so far.

Mowat's most recent work is Otherwise. It's a memoir covering his youth, World War II service and subsequent revival in the Barrengrounds of the Arctic north. The "others" are the animals, both domestic and wild, that have been a core part of his being over the years. They inspired and sustained him in good times and bad.

If you've read several of Mowat's books, you know his life experiences have been retold in several ways. One of his earlier works, Born Naked (1993), also tells of his early life and love for animals and the north country. I'm glad that I read that book before Otherwise.

The war years were hard on everyone. Farley learned to make his way through and around the bureaucracy of the military. He was very inventive in an organization that didn't reward thinking outside the box. Upon returning to Canada, Farley wanted to get back to nature and a less complicated (and constrictive) way of living. Scientific expeditions took he back to his beloved Saskatchewan and the flora and fauna he knew so well, but it wasn't enough to make him feel re-connected. The opportunity to go on an expedition to the Barrengrounds to study caribou was the perfect (for him) solution. Based in a remote cabin at Windy River, he discovered his true calling, the preservation rather than destruction of nature and the people who depend on it for their livelihood: caribou, wolves and the native peoples of the north.

Many of Farley Mowat's books about the Canadian north (1981 Video: Ten Million Books), it's people and animals grew out of these early life experiences. The People of the Deer, his first book published in 1952, focused on the starving Ihalmiut people he met and lived with on this very expedition.

Are you a Farley Mowat fan? What's your favourite book? -- Margy

Eyes on the Wilderness

Eyes on the Wilderness is a treasure from a simpler time. It's hardback and available only in used bookstores or online. Amazon.com has it for $19.95 plus shipping, but I found it for $5.00 in one of my favourite used book haunts.

Helmut Hirnschall was born in Austria and immigrated to Canada at 27 in 1960. Austria had few wilderness areas even then, so Helmut was enthralled with all the natural surroundings in Ontario where he settled. First on foot, and then by kayak, he explored the lakes, forests and rivers whenever his work schedule allowed.

In Eyes on the Wilderness, Helmut uses the animals he encountered as the vehicle to introduce the reader to his new life in Canada. They range from the lowly (but powerful) Blackfly to the mighty Black Bear. You can hear the hoot of the night owl, trills of the many songbirds and lonely cry of the loon through his vivid descriptions. Each animal story includes a personal anecdote about its discovery, a biological description and First Nation legends.

This book is recommended for both children and adults. I can imagine reading it as a young teen while on a camping trip exploring the outdoors for myself. As a adult and a new Canadian immigrant myself, it was interesting to see how someone else became acquainted with his new and exciting home. So if you would like to step back in time, and get back to the wilderness, keep an eye out for Helmut Hirnschall's Eyes on the Wilderness (Hancock House, 1975) at a used bookstore near you. -- Margy

Introducing Lloyd at "Lloyd's Blog"

This week for Wednesday Friends Day I would like to introduce Lloyd and his blog aptly titled Lloyd's Blog.


Lloyd found me (rather than the other way around) through a post about my floating garden. Last January he summarized the post and included it on his blog. During one of my regular checks I discovered the link and Lloyd's wonderful blog.

Lloyd lives in California's Bay Area. It's a beautiful location to live and headquarters his small book publishing company. You can read more about it at his website called Shelter Online. He publishes his own books about building/architecture and fitness. He also offers other quality books on the same subjects.

One of Lloyd's books is Builders of the Pacific Coast. Of course that caught my eye because of where I live in Powell River. It's a beautiful full colour collection of distinctive buildings, many of which are in BC. Lloyd has personally traveled throughout the region to meet the builders and see their handcrafted structures. Several pages of text, photographs and drawings are used to highlight the unique abodes. While the majority of the homes and cabins are land-based structures, there was one floating home, a boat modified to anchor temporarily on pilings.

Lloyd has been blogging since February 2005 so there are lots of posts to choose from. Some of his topics follow his personal adventures. Others are a compilation of unique posts he has discovered across the web and world. Here are a few of my favourites:

• Wild woman of the woods mask - BC art
• A few random factoids about the future of publishing
• Greenhouse Book from HomeGrown Evolution - chicken lovers
• Powerful Oakland Graffiti - organic art
• Forest House - New York State cabin
  

You can also find Lloyd on Twitter as lloydkahn or shelterpub and on Facebook as Shelter Publications. He's really linked in. Why not give my friend a shout. -- Margy

Juggling Fire

I just finished a book I purchased in the BC Ferries gift shop. They have lots of books of local interest and by Canadian authors.

Juggling Fire by Joanne Bell tells the story of sixteen year-old Rachel. She grew up in a remote log cabin with her mother, father and older sister Becky. When she was six they left to move closer to town, but her father's worsening depression sent him back to the Yukon wilderness alone, never to return. Rachel has clung to hope that he's still out there, and undertakes a quest to discover the truth. Brooks, her half hound and half malamute/Newfoundland cross pup reluctantly joins the journey. Rachel navigates her way back to the family cabin with relative ease, but an encounter with a grizzly along the way leaves Brooks severely wounded. Fairy tales and juggling keep Rachel focused and in control of her emotions during difficult times. This journey into the past is no different. Can they sustain her for what she'll find at the end of her odyssey?

Juggling Fire was published by Orca Book Publishers in 2009. The author, Joanne Bell knows the wilderness well having lived in New Brunswick, Alberta and British Columbia. She lives in a log cabin near Dawson City in Yukon where she runs dogs, hikes, canoes and enjoys nature. She also serves as a naturalist and substitute teacher, passing along her love of the outdoors to future generations.

It's an easy read, and hard to put down. I finished it in two very enjoyable evenings. In addition, it would be a good book for teens who could identify with Rachel and her quest to bring closure to family issues. You can purchase Juggling Fire online from Orca, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Chapters.-- Margy

Mount Baker Highway Road Trip

Yesterday was my mom's 94th birthday, so we all bundled up and went on a road trip up the Mount Baker Highway.


Mom rode shotgun and our good friend Jeanne drove. We started at the junction of I-5 and Sunset Drive then headed east. In a few miles we left busy Bellingham behind and entered lush green fields dotted with farmhouses. Along the way there were lots of Christmas tree farms and u-pick berry fields. We'll have to come back this summer for sure. At about the 25 mile mark we entered the small village of Maple Falls.

We pulled into the Frosty Inn. It was just what we were looking for. Inside were two locals drinking coffee and talking about "the old days" and a cheery fire was burning in the dining room. Just the place to get a leisurely late breakfast fit for hungry travelers. The friendly waitress took our order and made us feel right at home. If you are headed up to Mt. Baker for skiing or sightseeing, I highly recommend stopping at the Frosty Inn for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It also appears to be a night spot, too.

After a hearty breakfast we continued up the road towards the ski area. In Glacier, there were several ski and snowboard rental shops, more restaurants and a few places for lodging. Just before the road started the final climb to the Mount Baker Ski Area we decided to turn around. The snow along the side of the road was building up and we didn't have chains with us today.

We reversed course and followed the Nooksack River back down to the coastal plain. It was a gorgeous day for a drive in the mountains. Puffy white clouds stood out against the clear blue sky. Before we returned to town we stopped briefly at the Deming Homestead Eagle Park. It's a great place to view Bald Eagles in winter months, but today the robins were heralding spring instead.

To plan our trip, we used an excellent guidebook, the Insiders' Guide to Bellingham and Mount Baker by Mike McQuaid. He is a Bellingham local that really knows the area. It is available at Amazon.com by clicking here. If you are coming to Bellingham it's a must.

It was a fun way for all of us to celebrate Mom's big day with good food, good company and great views. Glad you could come along for the ride with us. -- Margy

Introducing Susannah at "Wanderin' Weeta"

This week for Wednesday Friends Day I would like to introduce Susannah, better known as Wanderin' Weeta.

Susannah hails from Delta in the Lower Fraser Valley. That's part of the Coastal British Columbia mainland. Her blog is called Wanderin' Weeta (With Waterfowl and Weeds). It is aptly named because many of her articles and photographs are of plants and bird life, but you will also find a host of other nature based topics mixed in for good measure.

Susannah's profile gives you a hint about her good sense of humour and positive outlook on life. She says that she's "as weird as necessary for sanity, as sane as kids and grandkids permit, and a lover of birds, green stuff, tiny beasties and oddities generally." Every time I visit Susannah's blog I know I'll learn something new and experience this wonderful land through her outstanding photographs.

Here are some favourite posts I'd like to share:

• Five dozen babies (master of the miniature)
  
• Of Old Growth and New Life (book review & forest info)
• Why do we call it vacant? (takes time to sees what others miss)
  
• Rock Flipping Day (a fun activity for young and old)
• Two-faced Hermit? (Susannah has unusual pets)
• Self portrait in a cat's eye (great closeup)

Susannah is an author and has two books available online. The first is Fire in the Bedroll, an autobiographical account of a marriage gone wrong. The second is Susie, a collection stories of her childhood growing up the the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Both are available at LuLu.com. In addition, Susannah can be found on Flickr (her wonderful photos) and Twitter.

Head on over to Wanderin' Weeta for some great photographs and information. I know you will enjoy it as much as I do. -- Margy