Tag Archives: Clayton Beach

Chuckanut Drive: 21 Miles of Cascadian Splendor

Washington State Route 11, also known as Chuckanut Drive, is a beautiful scenic byway that never makes the cut in lists of America’s great scenic drives. Perhaps, at 21 miles long, it isn’t epic enough to rate. But as an experiential journey, it is easily one of the finest ribbons of road in the United States. It is a gorgeous …

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Whatcom Winter Wanders: Nine Nearby Lowland Hikes

Lube the joints. Warm the bones. That refrain usually gets me out on the trail in the dead of winter. It helps if the rain isn’t blowing perpendicular to gravity and the temperature is forty or better, which I realize is leaning toward balmy for the days-are-getting-longer season of the year. But thirties and raining? No way I’m going out …

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Sophia’s First

The partially occluded, but dramatic view of Mt. Shuksan catches me by surprise. The hike thus far had been shrouded by the dense second-growth forest, squelching any hope of finding any inspiring mountain views. I point out the view to my daughter Sophia, who has followed me to the river to get water. “Ooh, pretty,” she says, and quickly refocuses, …

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