No. 259 Roozengaarde Tulips

Roozengaarde
15867 Beaver Marsh Rd
Mount Vernon, WA

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Website: www.tulips.com

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival runs from April 1st through April 31st, 2014
http://www.tulipfestival.org/

Bryan Hughes

Roozengaarde was established in 1985 by the Roozen family and Washington Bulb Company, Inc. The Roozen family business of growing Tulips, Daffodils and Irises is the largest in the world, covering Skagit Valley with more than 1200 acres of field blooms and 15 acres of greenhouses. The driving force behind Roozengaarde was Bernadette Roozen Miller. 

Each fall, the 3 acre show garden is planted with over two hundred thousand spring-flowering bulbs, providing a gorgeous display of color during the early weeks of spring. Roozengaarde is an official Sponsor of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Hundreds of thousands of visitors, from all over the country and from around the world come to the garden and visit the fields during the festival. 

First light over the fields

Sunbeams

Pink carpet

color full rows of tulips dot the landscape

Yellow Tulip heads

Loner in the crowed 

fresh cut flowers available road side 

Roozengaarde Windmill at the demo garden 

Order photo prints and postcards from Skagit Valley Washington through Fineartamerica.com

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No. 253 2014 Skagit Valley in Bloom

Mount Vernon, Wa
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For last 2 weeks the fields around Mount Vernon and La Connor, Washington have been seeing sign of spring. The daffodil fields are close to being in full bloom with many acres covered in rows upon rows of yellow speckles. It is definitely worth the trip to spend the afternoon driving through the floral route.
Daffodils are one of the early spring bloomers and you will want to go sooner than later. By end of March, early April and weather or wind blow off the tops of the Daffodils.

Distance from Seattle: 62miles 1hr 10min
Rating: 4 out 5
Reason to go: Short drive from Seattle to see hundreds of acres of wildflowers, daffodils and tulips in all sizes and colors. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of the most fantastic events in the state of Washington.  It runs from April 1 to April 30 every single year. Its worth it to start your day really early or go during the week. The word is out and weekends the tulip route will be packed with young kids and families. If your into Landscape or Flower photography this festival will give you great subjects to photograph.

TIPS: Although the Tulip Festival runs from April 1st through April 30th the actual blooming of the tulips varies with weather conditions. Short or long winter weather can cause tulips to bloom earlr or be delayed a few weeks. Check http://www.tulipfestival.orgTulip Festival / for current field conditions.

 If you do plan on going to the Tulip Festival. LEAVE EARLY in the morning to avoid the traffic mess, easier to find parking, setup your camera in a field looking east for a nice sunrise shot. Shoot by yourself and not have many people will be walking through your shot. The best light is in the morning and towards the evening.
It can be cloudy in Seattle but bright and sunny in Mount Vernon. Once the sun gets up over the cascade mountains the sky becomes a huge baby blue light box and it will be harder to find the right exposure for the flowers.
Tulips grow on raised mounds of dirt. Depending on previous days weather you could be walking on soft dirt or trekking through mud puddles, so bring shoes and pants that you don't mind getting dirty.

Every year the layout of fields change, to find out where things are  you can download a field map from Tulip Festival. Some of the growers charge a parking fee of $3-$5 to visit their grounds. Most of the streets that run between Mount Vernon and La Conner are 2 lane rural roads with NO SHOULDER PARKING.  There are ropes and signs all over the place telling people not to park on the side of the road, but as the day goes on and the mass of weekenders start to roll in you will see backups building up because people will stop in the middle of the road to admire the fields.

Postcards, Art Prints and Canvas Prints are available for sale here

Over 450 acres of Yellow Daffodils are no in bloom 

Setting Fire to the Rain

Flooded Field at first light

Behind the scenes at the farm

Things to do in Seattle, photography, landscape photography, landscape photography for beginners, Washington Photography, Washington State Tourism, floral photography, things to see in washington state, skagit valley tulips, floral photography, Seattle Photography, Seattle Photographers, Seattle Photos, Puget Sound, Puget Sound Photography, Washington State Photography Locations, 

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No. 250 Heritage Flight New Hangar

Heritage Flight Museum
15053 Crosswind Dr.
Burlington, WA 98233
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Website: http://www.heritageflight.org/content/

After calling Bellingham International Airport its main base for 13 years Heritage Flight Museum, founded in 1996 by NASA Apollo 8 Astronaut Major General William Anders, is moving south to
Skagit Regional Airport (KBVS).
The new hangar location adjacent to Runway 4/22 allows Heritage Flight to bring its collection and maintenance department all under roof. In 2014 HFM will add a gift shop and event space for private and corporate events.
Heritage Flight collection : P-51 Mustang, A-1 Skyraider, PT-19, PT-13, SNJ-4, T6 Texans, 0-1 Birdog, 0-2 Skymaster, L-13 Grass Hopper, H-13 Sioux, F-89 Scorpion

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No. 181 Mount Vernon Skagit Wildlife Area

Island Unit Headquarters
21961 Wylie Road
Mt. Vernon, WA 98273

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The Skagit Wildlife Area covers about 16,700 acres west of the Cascade Mountain range. Bordered on the east edge by Highway 530 between Darrington and Rockport and to west along Skagit and Padilla Bays. Most of the 16 managed wildlife sanctuaries are located throughout the Skagit River Delta Region. Tidal action and the mixing of fresh and saltwater create a rich estuarine environment including open water, tidal mudflats and marshes providing safe and sustainable wildlife habitat for   birds of prey, hawks, eagles, marine birds, shorebirds, songbirds, upland birds, wading birds, waterfowl, deer and other smaller mammals.
Washington's DFW has contracts with regional farmers to plant barley and corn to enhance food  resources for local and wintering waterfowl.

In order to see and photography any wildlife its important to pay attention to the various habits of birds. If you plan on exploring a wildlife sanctuary mid day in the summer chances are you will have little luck in spotting a rare bird of prey. Ducks and smaller waterfowl can be scene throughout the day. But if you are keen on snapping images of birds of prey you have to understand which time of day they are active and also which food source they are hunting. Dawn and Dusk are the best times to spot birds of prey in action as they leave their nests high atop the trees and start stalking smaller prey. If its bright and sunny and mid 70s degrees out you will have reduced chances of seeing any wildlife. Unlike us humans who have sunglasses, air conditioning and access to refrigerated beverages, animals do not. They retreat the cooler tree top canopy's until the late afternoon.

Island Unit Tidal area home to many ducks and insects

Natures Window Frame

A Mature (White feathers) American Bald Eagle keeping a stealthy eye on its family nest

Backdrop of Mount Baker behind Island Unit Wildlife Area

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No. 173 2013 Spring has Sprung

Mount Vernon, Wa
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Distance from Seattle: 62miles 1hr 10min
Rating: 4 out 5
Reason to go: Short drive from Seattle to see hundreds of acres of wildflowers, daffodils and tulips in all sizes and colors. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of the most fantastic events in the state of Washington.  It runs from April 1 to April 30 every single year. Its worth it to start your day really early or go during the week. The word is out and weekends the tulip route will be packed with young kids and families. If your into Landscape or Flower photography this festival will give you great subjects to photograph.

TIPS: Although the Tulip Festival runs from April 1st through April 30th the actual blooming of the tulips varies with weather conditions. Short or long winter weather can cause tulips to bloom earlr or be delayed a few weeks. Check http://www.tulipfestival.orgTulip Festival / for current field conditions.

 If you do plan on going to the Tulip Festival. LEAVE EARLY in the morning to avoid the traffic mess, easier to find parking, setup your camera in a field looking east for a nice sunrise shot. Shoot by yourself and not have many people will be walking through your shot. The best light is in the morning and towards the evening.
It can be cloudy in Seattle but bright and sunny in Mount Vernon. Once the sun gets up over the cascade mountains the sky becomes a huge baby blue light box and it will be harder to find the right exposure for the flowers.
Tulips grow on raised mounds of dirt. Depending on previous days weather you could be walking on soft dirt or trekking through mud puddles, so bring shoes and pants that you don't mind getting dirty.

Every year the layout of fields change, to find out where things are  you can download a field map from Tulip Festival. Some of the growers charge a parking fee of $3-$5 to visit their grounds. Most of the streets that run between Mount Vernon and La Conner are 2 lane rural roads with NO SHOULDER PARKING.  There are ropes and signs all over the place telling people not to park on the side of the road, but as the day goes on and the mass of weekenders start to roll in you will see backups building up because people will stop in the middle of the road to admire the fields.

Postcards, Art Prints and Canvas Prints are available for sale here

Setting Fire to the Rain

Flooded Field at first light

Behind the scenes at the farm

Postcards, Art Prints and Canvas Prints are available for sale here

 

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No. 158 Rainbow Bridge, La Conner

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The quaint town of La Conner, established in 1867, is located on the western side of Skagit County along the shoreline of the Swinomish Channel. La Conner features many small business including restaurants, art galleries, antique shops and museums along 1st street. In mid spring La Conner host the majority of annual events around the Tulip Festival, where many thousands of road warriors head to the Skagit Valley to view hundreds of acres of blooming tulip fields.
The narrow streets and lack of parking make it more difficult to visit when any festival is going on. Aside from the major events La Conner is a popular destination for its selection of arts & crafts and seafood.
Looking south of town you can see a red deck arched bridge spanning the Swinomish Channel.
La Conner's red-arched  "Rainbow Bridge" built in 1957 connects La Conner to Fidalgo Island. Crossing over the Rainbow Bridge along Pioneer Parkway will take you north to Anacortes, WA

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No. 157 La Conner

La Conner, WA
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http://www.lovelaconner.com/


The quaint town of La Conner, established in 1867, is located on the western side of Skagit County along the shoreline of the Swinomish Channel. La Conner features many small business including restaurants, art galleries, antique shops and museums along 1st street. In mid spring La Conner host the majority of annual events around the Tulip Festival, where many thousands of road warriors head to the Skagit Valley to view hundreds of acres of blooming tulip fields.
The narrow streets and lack of parking make it more difficult to visit when any festival is going on. Aside from the major events La Conner is a popular destination for its selection of arts & crafts and seafood.
Looking south of town you can see a red deck arched bridge spanning the Swinomish Channel.
La Conner's red-arched  "Rainbow Bridge" built in 1957 connects La Conner to Fidalgo Island. Crossing over the Rainbow Bridge along Pioneer Parkway will take you north to Anacortes, WA

Looking south down Swinomish Channel and Rainbow Bridge

1st Street, La Conner

1st Street, La Conner

His & Hers Gifts

Young Bald Eagle just outside of La Conner

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