The mild, but rainy, NW part of Washington state, is a wintering ground for Bald Eagles and Trumpeter Swans. Despite the weather we've made it a point ourselves, to winter by exploring the small towns of Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties. Our first stop was on an unusually dry and warm day where we saw the sun, eagles and swans.
It reminded me of the time in January, when we lived in Nebraska oh so long ago, when the temperature reached nearly 60 degrees F. We decide to go camping at nearby Waubonsie Sate Park in Iowa. The things you do for your boyfriend. Stop me if you've heard this story. I guess you can't, so skip it if you have. It seemed like a good idea at the time and on this very blue sky mild day, listening to Judy Collins on cassette tape singing the Rainbow Connection, an actual sun dog type of rainbow appeared in the sky. Come on, how romantic is that?
Very romantic, until 1:00a.m., when the temperature dropped so drastically, I spent the night with severe shivers. Nothing would warm me up. In fact the next morning we built a roaring campfire that, although huddling close to each other and to the flames, did nothing. After C dropped me off at my house, I took my temperature. It wasn't the weather, but a 104 degree fever that was the source of my misery.
The funny part, there is a humourous ending to this story, is that when I returned to work after this bout of flu, I noticed that my gait was off. Turns out I melted the bottoms of one of my wavy soled Famolare shoes while sitting up close and personal to the campfire. Heavens, they're back, those Famolares. Back then they went well with Huk-a-Poo stretchy man tailored shirts and bell bottom jeans.
That was a digression par excellence. Back to now, when we actually had a similar January 60 degree day, and the opportunity to explore the abandoned grounds of WA's Northern State Hospital. Now a ghost town, it was a thriving residential community for the mentally ill, from the early 1900's until the deinstitutionalization years of mid 70's. On their farms in the 1930's, the residents and staff produced, over two years, almost 1.5 million pounds of vegetables and 80,000 pounds of berries.
The grounds include five miles of mostly flat hiking trails, abandoned buildings that serve as excellent subjects for painting, and several geocaches, all-in-all a perfect combination.