Country Roads

We always enjoy summer in the Pacific Northwest - where we can take off on the motorcycle and in any direction, find a country road to travel. 

So many country roads follow the section lines - so 90 degree corners are the norm.  Great for motorcyclists!

The farmland in the Stillaguamish Valley always offers great views of farms and barns.

I love barns, and our rides through the farmland of Snohomish County show a variety of barns.

Farms, Barns, winding roads, mountains in the background - perfect motorcycle times!

Now I need to get back to my postcard campaign to promote the sale of our Georgia property.  Our home there has many of the same features of our Washington property - rural farmland, lakes, rivers, recreation.  We decided this year that it was time to sell that property.  At 70+ we are getting travel weary.  So if you are looking for a lakefront property in the south, check out our Georgia property:  Furnished home on Lake Eufaula for sale.

Motorcycle Ride Through the Snoqualmie Valley

On a beautiful August day, there is really no place finer than the Pacific Northwest.  We take advantage of as many of the dog days of summer as we can on the motorcycle.  There are scenic rides to the West, the East, the North and the South from our home.

Yesterday, we headed South.

Some sort of bike/walk was taking place near Machias on the Centennial Trail so we saw trail guards at every place the trail crossed the road.  Lovely day for a bicycle ride also!

We took River Road from Snohomish to Monroe

and then Highway 203 to Duvall

and then through beautiful bottom land farming country

and into Carnation, where we had lunch.

It was a great ride, but we really appreciated all the shade on Woods Creek Road on the way home.  The gauge on the bike said 90 degrees as we left Monroe heading home.

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A Lovely Day For A Ride

After several cool rainy days, we woke up to pure sunshine this morning in spite of a weather forecast that said the cool rainy days would continue through the weekend.  We decided to take a chance the weather would hold and dug the bike out for a ride.  

One of our favorite rides is Highway 9 out of Arlington to Sedro Wooley.  Most of this highway has been improved in the past couple of years.  A new wide bridge has replaced what was once a one lane bridge over Pilchuck Creek.

 Of course, road work is never done in the summer in Washington, so we saw quite a few of these signs before we got to Burlington.

They really love traffic circles lately - this is about the eighth one we navigated on our journey today.

This downed tree had to be across the highway when it fell.  

We crossed I-5 in Burlington and then went out through the beautiful ag land between Burlington and Bow-Edison on Highway 11.  Miles and miles of potato fields, blueberry fields, corn, and pastures, with the smell of clover filling the air and a temperature right at 70, made for a pleasant ride.

Destination:  Longhorn Saloon in Bow - for the best fish and chips around

There were a few ominous looking clouds along the way, but no rain so we had a nice ride.  Saw this sign by Lake McMurray on our way back: 

Just in case someone is interested, I'm posting it here. :)

Riding the Bike on a Sunny Day

Having "riding days" in April is always special.  So with the garden planted, the mowing done, and other obligations satisfied, we dug out the bike for another ride on a beautiful summer-like day.

We took the back roads through the Machias area where many people were already out on the Centennial Trail, running, biking, and walking dogs.

We continued through Snohomish where antique shoppers were already out wandering through the many shops.

River Road between Snohomish and Monroe offers views of the Cascades Mountains and all the farmland in the rich river bottom of the Snohomish River.

Nurseries abound on Tualco Loop Road between Monroe and Duvall, and Mt Rainier adds a dramatic backdrop.

Interesting clouds as we traveled High Bridge Road toward Carnation

When friends visited from Florida, we asked what they found most surprising on their first visit to the Pacific Northwest.  "All the agriculture!" was their answer.  We also find that to be most surprising in most areas we visit - there is a lot of it in our country, but the cities get most of the national press coverage.

Found a new place to eat in Fall City - Good food, slow service - crowds!

Came home and dove in the lake - and nearly had a heart attack it was so cold.  Too cold yet for a long distance swim!  Maybe after several days of 80+ degree days today will be my first swim day of the year.

Biking in Snohomish and Skagit County

The real sun worshippers live in the Pacific Northwest.  When the sun comes out in the spring, everyone heads outside!  There is no excuse for burning daylight sleeping in or working inside.

So when we woke up to full sun and a promise from the weather forecasters for a day where the temperature got to 80 degrees, Ron got the bike out and we headed out on an explore.

We intended to go out Jordan Rd to Arlington and then on to Darrington via Oso as we had heard the road was open.  However, Jordan Road was closed for a bridge replacement, so we ended up on Engebretsen Rd, following the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River,

through the old growth forest,

 onto Highway 530 toward Oso and Darrington.

I love barns, so this road is great for looking at a variety of barns. 

 

The slide at Oso has made us much more aware of slopes and slides, and frankly, all of the hillsides look fragile.

About a mile east of Oso, we came to a traffic stop, where a flagger had traffic stopped and a security person came up to us.  "Can we get through to Darrington?" Ron asked.

"Yes, but traffic going east goes on the half hours and coming west leaves the other side on the hour." 

He also mentioned that the bypass is a gravel power line road with a 16% grade.  It was 10:42 a.m. when we got there, so we would have to wait 45 minutes for the pilot car.  We decided that trip was better left for another day and turned around and went back to Arlington.

Highway 9 North has its own traffic issues.  We still used the one lane bridge just north of Bryant, but we could see the new bridge, which will take out several 90 degree turns is nearing completion.

We headed west on Hwy 534 to Conway, where we had lunch at the Conway Pub, one of our favorite outdoor eateries.

 We came back through Silvana,

 where the barns butt right up to the road,

and the slopes look just as dangerous as the ones out toward Oso.

 



Two Floridas

With beautiful weather and the bike running great, we've been out riding every day lately.  Yesterday, we decided to go to Fisherman's Village in Punta Gorda.  We used to have lunch there frequently, but hadn't been there for a couple of years even though it's pretty close.

Although neither Ron nor I are very good at shopping, we do appreciate that we could probably find anything we wanted at the shops at the Village.

We should have known it would be crowded when we could barely find a spot to park the motorcycle.

 We walked part of the mall on the outside along the harbor.

Oh boy, no place to eat here without a long wait.  Headed back to Chubbyz in Port Charlotte for fish n' chips.

 

Then today, we went with our friends, Patti and Fran, and headed to the interior, planning lunch in Sebring.

Wide open spaces, with birds, cows, and an occasional alligator.

 

We stopped on the way back for a diet Pepsi at the Limestone Country Club.

A biker bar with rather unique décor.

 

A perfect day for a ride in the countryside.

Enjoying Summer

As our wonderful summer extends into September, we have spent most of our time outside.  It has been too hot to stay in our non-air conditioned home for one thing.  However, the real sun worshippers live in Washington.  When the sun is shining, we're outside!

The PUD has been clearing all the trees around all the power lines in the entire county.  For the past couple of weeks, they've been working on our road.  We lost the tree that held our road sign, but gained

four big dump truck loads of beautiful mulch.  When we haven't been out on the bike, we've been spreading mulch.

One of our motorcycle rides took us across the bridge in Duvall and onto West Snoqualmie River Road.  Then we followed the winding back road into Carnation.

Past many beautiful fields full of flowers, and a roadside flower stand.

Past the Carnation Farms

and Camp Korey at Carnation Farms

Then we continued through the valley enjoying the farms and mountain vistas.

It's hard to say which is most beautiful - the Snoqualmie River valley or the Skagit valley.  Our next trip took us north instead of south, where we followed the roads through the fields of the Skagit. Potatoes, pumpkins, corn, and cucumbers are all currently being harvested.

Many fields of cabbages also look ready for harvest.
It really is a wonderful time of year in the waning days of summer, especially when the clear blue skies, sunshine, and summer temperatures stay with us.