A Whirl Up Whidbey Island

Saturday we woke up early and were ready to ride. With us, it is always a hard decision as to where to go. There are so many choices, and we’ve exhausted all the routes and places that we’ve already been to previously. The choices that seemed to come up were a route over on the peninsula near the Hood Canal. I have been told there are fun, scenic roads over there. The other choice was to take our first WS Ferry ride with the motorcycles, and go ride up the entire length of Whidbey Island. Since the day was already beginning to cloud up, we went for the Ferry ride and decided to explore the Island.

We left home, expecting the day to warm up and the sun to come out in the afternoon. Neither of those things happened. When we started out, it was 52 degrees.

The ride to the Mukilteo Ferry is only about 25 minutes from home and very familiar to us. When you arrive at the holding area for the next Ferry, motorcyclists are allowed to pull into the first lane and wait.

We were the first loaded, right up in the front of the vessel, and the first off. Only the walk-on passengers have more clout. They get first on and off privileges before the motorcyclists.

As soon as we arrived in Clinton, across the Puget Sound, it began to rain. We hadn’t heard that in the forecast. It was OK. I was happy for the windshield that I keep on the bike all the time. It shielded my face from the stinging rain, since I had the half-shell on. Throughout the day it rained several times. I never got wet and didn’t have raingear on specifically. My saddlebags also stayed dry inside.

We rode up the length of Whidbey Island, first stopping in Langley for lunch. It was a wonderful and exhilarating ride. The roads were smooth and looked newly paved in most areas. There are lots of easy curves with long straight stretches thrown in. The roads are either wooded on both sides or open fields and farmland. You really don’t know you are on an island except when you catch a glimpse of the water in the distance once in a while. We caught a quick look at a giant wild turkey on the side of the road, which was totally unexpected. We rode north until we stopped at Deception Pass, which eventually connects the Island back to the mainland near Anacortes.

The bridge is high enough to allow ships and tall sailboats to go underneath. Down below the water is treacherous and very ‘deceiving’. Thus, Deception Pass. There have historically been many vessels capsized and loss of life in this area.

We decided to take a turn towards La Connor and ride through the farmland and fields of the Skagit Valley where they grow all the tulips. Instead we found a lovely field of iris, which are in bloom right now.

I love that road! We kept heading south towards home and found an Old Pioneer Highway that was new to us, but followed parallel to the Interstate. Finally, we had to take I-5 out of Silvana and had a nice freeway ride home in the rain.

It was a very fun day and I love riding those types of roads. Of course, there were hundreds of other bikes we passed throughout the day. All were waving and smiling. We were gone for 5-1/2 hours and rode 154 miles. …… What a great life we have!

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.