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Mount Baker

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Playing Tour Guide For A Good Friend

I met Dylan, his mom Diana, and her partner David at Descend on Bend in 2021. That’s one of the things I love about vanlife gatherings — you meet some amazing people that become lifelong friends! Dylan and I hit it off right away and hung out a lot at Descend. We kept in touch after the festival and a few weeks later he came to Bellingham for a four day visit. I love showing off all the amazing places around my hometown to new people, so I took Dylan to as many places as I could during his stay!

After picking Dylan up from SeaTac airport on September 18th, we headed north with stops at the Skagit River Walk in Mount Vernon and Taylor Dock in Bellingham. The next morning we headed to Deception Pass State Park and hiked part of the Goose Rock Trail and immersed ourselves in some “forest bathing,” appreciating the water views of Deception Pass along the path. Then we headed down to North Beach to soak in the iconic view of the famous bridge and comb the beach despite the cloudy weather. Dylan was all bundled up because he was cold, while I was fine in just my leggings and long sleeve shirt. Our next stop was West Beach with its scattered driftwood along the shore and 180* views of Rosario Strait, as well as nearby Deception Island. The cloud cover started to open up a little, allowing some blue skies to peak through.

From there we headed back over the bridge to Rosario Beach and checked out the Maiden of Deception Pass, aka Ko-kwal-alwoot, who’s Coast Salish legend prompted the creation of her statue and story posts here. As you walk around the grassy knoll of Rosario Head, you can see Bowman Bay, the Salish Sea, and the San Juan Islands, making this one of my favorite places to enjoy! Deception Pass State Park is a great camping location, which I highly recommend to anyone visiting the area, though they do book up quickly in the tourist season.

After our time roaming around Deception Pass, Dylan and I headed into Anacortes for a Thai lunch and then drove to Cap Sante Park to see the view of the marina and Mount Baker, though the mountain was hiding in clouds that day (as it often does). We took the scenic route back towards Bellingham along Padilla Bay, through the tiny town of Edison, and then around Samish Bay to the Chuckanut Drive Scenic Byway. The viewpoint along Chuckanut Drive is another one of my favorite places to show visitors with its exceptional view of the San Juan Islands. I found a huge maple leaf to pose with and admired the tree that grew over a rock there. We were too early for the sunset but I highly recommend watching a sunset from here if you can! I even let Dylan drive my van home that day, which he did marvelously.

The second full day of adventures started with a drive up to the Canadian border to see Peace Arch Park. It wasn’t very busy that day making it perfect for photos standing in the International Peace Arch, a 67-foot dramatic white arch that rises from the green lawns and flowering gardens on the USA-Canada border. I had some fun straddling one of the boundary pillars and we enjoyed walking the grounds to read all the historical markers and plaques. We stopped at a small garden there where the biggest leaf I have ever seen was growing. Turns out it is a Chilean rhubarb and the leaves can grow up to 8.2 feet (2.5 m) across!

We enjoyed lunch in the border town of Blaine, then headed south to Whatcom Falls Park to walk around and see the famous waterfall and stone bridge. This park is another go-to spot for me to show people as you can stroll along Whatcom Creek and see two smaller falls, as well as a derby pond and a fish hatchery. There was still some time left before dinner, so we drove to Lake Padden Park and walked part of the 2.6 miles long trail around the lake to take in the views. This fabulous day ended with a fancy dinner at Anthony’s Hearthfire Grill at Squalicum Harbor while enjoying the sunset hues over the marina.

September 21st was an incredibly beautiful day with the sun out in full effect! En route to Ferndale, we drove over the Nooksack River where you can see some cool Metallica graffiti on the BNSF railroad trestle. Dylan and I ended up at Tennant Lake to enjoy the fragrance garden and boardwalk trail through the wetlands. I always love seeing Mount Baker on clear days like this and Dylan did a great job posing for me. Since we were in Ferndale near my buddy’s house, we made a quick stop of pose with his super cool 4-ft Sasquatch statue. Once we got back to my house, we went down to Lake Whatcom and enjoyed some time at AM/PM beach. I am super lucky to live only a few minutes from this spot that features both a sandy beach (AM) and grass beach (PM), named for the time of day they get the best sun exposure. Later that evening, Dylan wrapped himself up in my Rumpl blanket on my balcony with my cat Maverick at his side, ending another fun day.

On Dylan’s last day, we headed to Seattle to meet up with his mom Diana and explore all the touristy places we could. We started at the Space Needle, built for the 1962 World's Fair and at 605 ft (184 m) high, it was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River. The tower is 138 ft (42 m) wide, weighs 9,550 short tons (8,660 metric tons), and is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. You can lean into breathtaking views through floor-to-forever glass on their unique glass benches, though I personally had trouble with that due to my fear of heights. Sadly it was very cloudy that day so we couldn’t see Mount Rainier, but the views were still incredible. On the lower level there’s a revolving glass floor called the Loupe you can walk on, which also made me a bit nauseous.

Next up was Chihuly Garden & Glass located right next to the Space Needle. This wonderful exhibition shows off the stunning glass art of Dale Chihuly and includes eight galleries, the centerpiece glasshouse, and a lush garden. These exhibits provide a look at Chihuly’s inspiration and influences and brings together many of the elements of his work, including drawings, signature glass series, large architectural installations and his personal collections.  The 100-foot-long installation of red, orange, and yellow flowers inside of the Glasshouse is one of Chihuly's largest suspended sculptures and absolutely incredible to see in person! I was blown away by all the exhibits and highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Seattle.

Our excursion continued with a long walk to Pike Public Market to check out the shops and see the Seattle waterfront. I knew the famous Gum Wall was nearby, which we discovered was on Post Alley underneath the market. This colorful display started in the 1990s when local patrons and performers at Unexpected Productions stuck their used gum on the wall. Since those days, the wall has grown to 50 feet (15 m) long and included pieces as high as 20 feet (6.1 m)! The wall was cleaned in November 2015, taking 130 hours to complete, with over 2,350 pounds (1,070 kg) of gum removed and disposed of. But gum was re-added fairly quickly after and continues to be an artistic  representation of Seattle’s unique charm and character. Dylan and I had to leave our mark so we chewed some gum real quick and added it to one of the brick archways (highlighted in red circle below). After a long walk back to my van, we headed to Kerry Park to see the iconic view of downtown Seattle and Elliott Bay.

We were starving, so we headed to the Fremont district to grab lunch. It only made sense to check out the Fremont Troll under the Aurora Bridge after we ate since we were close by. This 18-feet (5.5 m) tall troll is made of concrete and clutches an old VW car where it sits as if he just swiped it off the road. The car is an actual Volkswagen Beetle encased in concrete, which used to be red and bear a California license plate. The VW originally held a time capsule, including a plaster bust of Elvis Presley, but sadly that was stolen when the sculpture was vandalized. The troll was sculpted by Steve Badanes, along with two of his University of Washington architecture students, Will Martin and Ross Whitehead, and Steve’s then-girlfriend Donna Walter in 1990 after winning a competition organized by the Fremont Art Council. In addition to taking photos with the troll, I added both my Barb Rocks and Maverick stickers to the Troll Avenue sign. We also saw the 14-foot Joe Rantz statue in the Fremont neighborhood, honoring the University of Washington rowing team that won the gold medal in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany.

Our last stop of the day was Washington Park Arboretum on the shores of Lake Washington. This 230 acres park contains a dynamic assortment of plants, some found nowhere else in the Northwest. The arboretum is known for its Azalea Way, a stretch of the park which offers a unique tapestry of azaleas of many colors and best viewed in the springtime. Since we only had 1.5 hours to stroll around, we focused our time on the Lookout Trail delighted by the various collections of plants and ponds we discovered along the way.

Our explorations came to an end on the evening of September 22nd and it was time to head to SeaTac airport to drop Dylan off for his flight home to Ventura, California. Then I drove Diana to the ferry station so she could get back to her home in Sequim. I would say we accomplished a lot in a short period of time and had the best time together!

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Moving From California To Washington

Bellingham Bay Sunset

I am often asked why I moved to Washington state from California. People wonder why I would leave the “golden state” and go to a place known for cloudy skies and endless rain. After all, Washington is called the ‘evergreen state” for a reason. I was a little nervous myself since I’m not a fan of rain and have been spoiled most of my life living with lots of sunshine and mild winters. The only time I have ever been in the Pacific Northwest prior to 2016 was for Expo 86 in Vancouver BC that my Mom took me to when I was 14 years old. I should note that I barely remember that trip other than the monorail. I never really had the urge to visit Oregon or Washington as an adult, though the Seattle music scene did peak some interest while I was in my 30’s, yet I still never considered visiting or moving there because it has more rainy days (156 days) than most major cities. My perception changed in 2016 when I went on my first official PNW trip as an adult, which I wrote about previously.

Hood Canal Sunset

Because I fell in love with Oregon and Washington in 2016, once I bought my RV, I went to explore those states even more, which reaffirmed my affection for the PNW. As many of you already know, I take my cat Maverick with me on all my road trips, and at the time, I was blogging from his perspective, therefore, you can read all about my 2nd PNW trip in Summer 2017 from his blog, as well as my Thanksgiving trip that same year caravanning with my vanlife buddy Chris and his cat Michi. Maverick even blogged about the time I explored the Portland Japanese Garden, which I highly recommend visiting, especially in the fall when the leaves change into bright autumn colors.

I wanted to move out of California for about a decade. The summers were getting too hot for my liking with more days over 100*F and many winters were often filled with months of endless rain. I no longer felt joy living in the Bay Area as I did when I was younger. Back in the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s, I really loved everything about the Mediterranean climate — an ideal mix of sunny summers and mild winters. For most of my career, it also meant great pay working in the semiconductor realm with stock options at pre-IPO companies. Traffic wasn’t too bad either and most of my commutes were only 15-30 minutes. But all that changed in the 2010’s when traffic increased exponentially and my commute became 1 hour each way in horrific, slow-moving gridlock. The warmer temperatures started in May and lasted into October, which led to many lethargic months of staying indoors or hanging out at my pool because I sweat easily. Even going to the beach or to the woods to cool off seemed exhausting knowing that traffic would be terrible to get anywhere.

I knew that once I sold my house in California (photos above), I would probably never be able to move back. I had an incredible deal on my house with a low mortgage balance, low interest rate, and low property tax, which I would never be able to get again, therefore, the decision to move likely meant never living in California again. Leaving the life I build for 25 years had its challenges too as I would be far away from the friendships I had nurtured for a long time and became dependent on. In addition, I knew that I would have to let go of my established side-business in the local music scene. Having lost my parents in 2013 and 2015 did make moving easier because I didn’t have any close family left locally to influence my decision. The shelter-in-place order that arose from the spread of COVID-19 also played a factor since all the social activities that I thrived on were basically halted, leaving me with little purpose and lots of alone time.

Photo by Brett Baunton

The last piece of the puzzle that brought me to move was the trip that changed my life in Sept/Oct 2020. Falling in love with Bellingham was unexpected but understandable. Whatcom County has around 225K residents which is a refreshing change from the hustle-and-bustle of Silicon Valley life. Did you know there are over 7 million people in the entire Bay Area?!? I knew that my quality of life would be much greater here with more access to nature, less traffic, and a slower-paced lifestyle that would lead to less stress and more outdoor activities. Being a lover of water, Bellingham appealed to me for its bay and access to the Salish Sea, as well as the 5000-acre Lake Whatcom and other nearby lakes. Basically it’s a cross between California and Europe, bringing together sea-level beaches with ocean waters and a spectacular snow-capped mountain range within a 1.5 hour drive, and adding in various lakes of different sizes with recreational activities. Where else in the USA can you ski and sea kayak in the same day?

Lake Whatcom Sunset

I was also surprised by the weather as I expected to be inundated with rain. Turns out, Bellingham's climate is generally mild and typical of the Pacific Northwes, getting around 39” of rain per year, which is less than Chicago, New York, and Houston. Unlike the rainfall I was used to in California, which was mainly a downpour for days, Bellingham’s rain is quite different. Mainly it’s a light sprinkle which doesn’t even require an umbrella. Bellingham is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, which is why it gets less rain than other parts of the state. Even though the dreariness index shows Northwestern Washington at the top, I highly disagree with this report, which also puts hot-as-hell Phoenix as least dreary place to live. What most of these data sites don’t take into account is that what is considered a rainy day means there was rainfall at some point throughout the day. It does not consider that the rain could have fallen before I woke up in the morning and that the cloud cover opened up to a sunny day, which is often what happens here. I personally love the drizzle as it keeps plants happy and the state green.

Lake Louise — Sudden Valley

I have lived in Bellingham for almost 3 years now. It was an eye-opening move at first due to the pandemic since most businesses were still closed and I didn’t know anyone here. Let’s just say that February through April were hard and lonely, spending a lot of time indoors and on the drop-in audio app Clubhouse — I actually met my good friend and fellow PNW Blogger Aimee on that app, as well as some awesome vanlifers/nomads that I’m still in touch with. But in Spring 2021, restaurants started to open again and meetups for hikes and outdoor social events were in full effect. Turns out all the people who moved to this area were looking for friends and activities just like me and I started to make friends. If you’ve ever heard of the “Seattle Freeze,” it’s a real thing and extends to the a lot of Northwestern Washington. Therefore, all the transplants find one another through various groups and activities and bond. The Meetup app was a lifesaver for me as I met many of my friends circle via various groups on there.

My Lovely House

I should also note that I really love my house. Despite being 20 minutes from town, it is in the forest near a small lake named Lake Louise and has a modern look-and-feel to it, which is what caught my interest in the first place when I saw the listing. I’m also in a community right on Lake Whatcom, which gives me easy access to this incredibly large lake. Did I mention that I bought my house sight-unseen? I have tons of gorgeous local, regional, and unique art hanging so I have joy everywhere I look, making it almost feel like an an art gallery. I do get a little snowfall each winter, mainly a dusting of snow, but there is about one week in which we get a few inches that stick. I don’t mind having that “Winter Wonderland” feeling for a week and then all the snow melting. Did I mention I also see lots of rainbows now, which is something I hardly ever saw in California! And as you can see in some of the photos in this blog post, I have witnessed some stunning sunsets here, as well as some incredible sunrises. Both the “opacarophile” (sunset lover) and “thalassophile” (ocean lover) in me are beyond thrilled to live in such a gorgeous state!

My life here is pretty easy-going and filled with lots of activities. I took up archery, go axe throwing, learned to paddleboard and kayak, started playing pickleball (the official sport of WA), got my groove on with salsa dancing lessons, and even attend a local logging show. I started to hike and spend more days outdoors in nature — though I don’t do any big hikes, mainly just 1-6 miles on trails with limited elevation gain. My most challenging hike so far has been the Fragrance Lake Two Dollar Trail Loop in Larrabee State Park. I especially love that I can drive 5-10 minutes and hike a forested area for a few miles and feel like I’m nowhere near a city — Whatcom Falls Park, Stimpson Nature Reserve, and Squires Lake are some of those go-to places. My favorite things about living here are Boulevard Park and the South Bay Trail (lovely waterfront stroll and hangout), Squalicum Harbor and Zuanich Point Park (local harbor park), Lake Padden Park (beautiful 2.6 mile walk), Sehome Hill Arboretum (with a cool observation tower), Semiahmoo Spit (especially during extreme low tides), Chuckanut Drive Scenic Byway (known as the Big Sur of WA), Samish Overlook (for sunsets), and Peach Arch Park (on the Canadian border). I’ve also enjoyed exploring Seattle, including the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden & Glass, Pike Place Market, the Fremont Troll, and the Washington Park Arboretum. If you’re ever in the area around Memorial Weekend, you have to see the Ski To Sea relay race which goes from Mt Baker to Marine Park with eight racers competing in seven different sports: cross country ski, downhill ski/snowboard, running, road bike, canoe (2 paddlers), cyclocross bike, and sea kayak.

Photo from Scenic Washington

By the way, the famous saying “live like the mountain is out” in Seattle about Mt Rainier also applies to Bellingham. Even though Mount Baker is only 10,781 feet to Mount Rainier’s 14,411 feet (the tallest in the Cascade Range), its prominence can still be felt all over Whatcom County. Baker (aka Kulshan) is often covered in clouds just like Rainier (aka Tahoma), so when this stratovolcano shows itself, it is a majestic sight! Driving up to Artist Point every summer is a magnificent experience, hiking around and seeing all the mountains of the North Cascades, plus seeing Mount Shuksan reflecting off Picture Lake is a must-see stop! En route you can also check out Nooksack Falls and Silver Lake Park since they are just off Mt. Baker Highway (SR-542). On a side note, I love this Lummi story about Komo Kulshan & His Two Wives, which is about Mt Baker and Twin Sisters.

I also love exploring my new state, going on road trips, camping at various places, and experiencing all that Washington has to offer. So far I’ve camped at Bay View State Park, Deception Pass State Park, Birch Bay State Park, Moran State Park (on Orcas Island), Dungeness Recreation Area, Bowman Bay, and Grayland Beach State Park. I have explored around the Olympic Peninsula, mainly Sequim, Port Angeles, Crescent Lake, Sol Doc Falls, Neah Bay and Cape Flattery (both on the Makah Reservation), Forks, Hoh Rainforest, Rialto Beach, Ruby Beach, and Kalaloch. I spent some time in Westport and Cape Disappointment in the Southwestern part of the state, went to Winterfest at Lake Chelan, and I did some island hoping in the San Juan Islands. I also love seeing and attending the Tulip Festival every spring, which Skagit Valley is known for. I have yet to go to North Cascades National Park and see Lake Diablo — I’ve had camping reservations twice now which got cancelled due to covid in 2022 and a horrible fire in 2023. I also still need to explore Mount Rainier and Mount St Helens more, head over to Leavenworth, Winthrop, and Mazama, and eventually check out Eastern Washington and the Walla Walla Valley wine region in the southeast with a stop at Palouse Falls.

In addition to Washington travel, I am so close to British Columbia that I’m exploring Canada too! I’ve been to Vancouver a few times now and often go to concert there instead of Seattle since it’s closer and there’s less traffic. In October 2022, I took my van around Vancouver Island exploring Victoria, Tofino, Ucluelet and a lot in between, which turned out to be an unforgettable road trip. I fell in love with this huge island and can’t wait to explore it even more! I plan to explore other parts of BC in 2024, including a road-trip around the Sunshine Coast, as well as visits to Capilano Suspension Bridge, Squamish, and Whistler.

Reflection Point — Lake Sutherland

I also invested in a beautiful lakefront home on the Olympic Peninsula at Lake Sutherland this year with my brother after selling our Mom’s home in Florida. This lake house, which I have named “Reflection Point” is available on Airbnb for rent, plus I get to enjoy spending time there when it’s not booked.

As you can see, I do not regret moving to Washington. Living here has been a dream come true and has exceeded all my expectations. I am the happiest I have been in life and I look forward to every day. If you have the same misconception as I did about the Pacific Northwest and the climate here, I urge you to visit this stunning upper left part of the country. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised and understand why moving here was the best decision of my life!

PS: my plan is to blog more about all these places I have visited, so stay tuned!

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