Tulips at Sunset

RoosenGaarde Flowers & Blubs

There are no carnival rides, or actors entertaining the public, and yet the annual Tulip Festival in the Skagit Valley attracts both young and old.  This year our visit had us walking the fields and gardens just as the blooms were beginning.  Contributing to the delay, were the cooler temperatures, as evidenced by the snow in the mountains around the valley.

Tulips about to bloom, while others have well underway

I love the fact that people just come for the flowers.  There are lots of young families with smiling faces, enjoying the sheer spectacle of the event.  From fields neatly organized into rows of tulips and daffodils, to display gardens that highlight the skills of master gardens, the festival inspires one to dream about what is possible.

The home of Tulips.com

A stump plays host to a rainbow

Dragonflies out of glass insulators and steel rebar

While I love the classic tulip shape, RoozenGaarde introduces the visitor to a multitude of shapes and colors.  Here are some close-up of just some of the variety.

Crown of Dynasty tulips

Magic Price tulip

Queen's Day daffodil

Plaisir Greigii tulip

Stunning are some of the color combinations created by RoosznGaarde.  The gardens are famous for the living works of art, mostly executed in flowers.  Even though we were early for the peak bloom, there was still lots to see.

Praestans Fusilier tulips mixed with King of the Blues Hyacinth

Tulips and daffodils

Just starting to bloom

New Design tulips

One of the many designs sprinkled throughout the gardens

Swathes of color

Laura Mack and Debbi DeMaris

Debbi & Jim DeMaris.  The parents of one of our son's (Sean) high school classmates.

Laura & Dale Mack

Tulips growing in a tree

La Conner

After walking around the gardens, we headed over to the nearby town of La Conner for lunch at Nell Thorne with the Demaris'.  The gray morning had given way to sunshine by the time we sat down for lunch.

Dale & Laura Mack on the Channel Passage walkway in La Conner, WA

Channel Passage overlooking Swinomish Channel

Back at Fidalgo Bay RV Resort.  Cap Sante in the driver's windshield.

A typical afternoon in paradise

Kayaking off the gravel beach is popular

One of the things that changed about Fidalgo Bay RV Resort when compared with 2016 is the berm that separates the campsites from the beach.  Lots of gravel had been brought in to raise the height, and broaden the width of the top.  My understanding is that some past winter storms had pushed water into the sites at high tide.

Waterfront sites in 2018

Waterfront sites in 2016

During our three week stay this year, we had a lot of rain.  In anticipation of the conditions, I parked the motorhome on the leftmost edge of the pad in order to maximize the width of the gravel walkway leading to the car.

In site #13

Sunset

We ended our day of tulips, daffodils, and friends with a visit to Washington Park for the sunset.  With a dozen parking spots nearby off the park's loop road, this is one of our favorite sunset viewing spots.  And just like occurred in the movie "Notting Hill" Laura invited me to sit with her on the bench inscribed with the memory of another couple who loved this spot.

Green Point at Washington Park, Anacortes overlooking Rosario Strait

Green Point looking south

It had been a wonderful day.  While every place we visited was familiar, we saw new things and appreciated old things with new eyes.

Sunset

As the sun dropped behind the peaks of the San Juan Islands, we reflected on our good fortune to be able to visit such a magical place.  Unlike our current city which always has a background of white noise, Anacortes goes very quiet at night.  I mean eerily quiet.  Combine that with the low light pollution, and being outdoors in Anacortes can be quite an experience.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much