On a Mission for Barns

Each weekend lately we have had at least one good day for riding the motorcycles. On a previous ride to Snoqualmie Falls, I had noticed the beautiful old barns we passed along the way. I was intending to go back and photograph some of them, since I had a better idea of where they were.

My co-worker told me about a road he knew of to ride where his father-in-law owned land and had a cool barn. We set out on Sunday in search of that road to see if there were barns to be photographed.

It was a lovely, sunny day with temps in the 60’s. It was perfect riding weather for us. Not too hot, and not too cold. Everyone else was out on the roads that day too. We rode up to Monroe, which is a town at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. On the way there, we came across a nice barn that had been left intact and had an overpass and freeway surrounding it. Funny, there was a sign on the barn telling motorcyclists to keep the noise level down (the sign showed a dirt bike). But it was right next to the freeway!

I was leading and usually get lost and turned around, so I failed to find the road I was looking for to turn on. In a round about way I finally found it, after we had stopped to eat and get gas. We headed down a road called Ben Howard road out of Monroe. What a beauty!

The road was a never ending, scenic array of beauty. It followed along a river on your left, and on your right was farmland and homes scattered along the foothills and beautiful mountainous greenery. It was an idyllic setting that took me back in time and made me think I was riding the back roads of East Tennessee. I loved every mile of it. The road wound up and down and got a little curvy at times. Then it would straighten out to green meadows. The smells were fresh and clean.

There were barns, lots of barns. Some of them were old, some new. It was a narrow, 2 lane road with not even a hint of a shoulder. Grassy edges, then a ditch! I was so frustrated to see lovely barns and scenes I would have shot, and no way to get them. There was a little traffic and I didn’t feel safe just stopping in the road.

We came back home through the town of Snohomish, which opens into a valley where there are many, many old Scandinavian, and Dutch style barns. One road we were on passed 4 historic barns in a ½ mile. Once again there was a lot of traffic and no shoulder. These darn country roads are just meant for riding, not stopping.

I finally decided to enjoy the ride, and the scenery. I took it all in, and plan to go back somehow and get some barn shots. They are so unique and beautiful. I wonder if others like them as much as I do.