Bellingham, WA

 Today is Labor Day (aka a bank holiday). All I really know about Labor Day is that you shouldn't wear white after it. Well after two weeks of camping non of my clothes are white! 

Today we woke up in the Cascades among the cedar and fir forest and struck camp for the last time. The mountains were covered in smoke again. We found a couple of non smokey trails to hike. The Happy Creek Trail ending in a waterfall and the Ross Dam Trail ending (perhaps unsurprisingly) at Ross Dam which is very large.  

We also went round the remains of some formal tropical gardens by a hydroelectric plant. In the 1920s the owner of the plant was keen to showcase what this new-fangled electricity thing could do and used it to heat tropical gardens as well as power coloured lights and play music. People used to take a 3 day tour from Seattle to see it! Now the tropical plants have been replaced with native species and I don’t think I took any pictures on my phone to include here but its still very interesting.

Late afternoon we made the 2 hour trip to Bellingham on the Washington Coast where we are staying in a very cozy Airbnb. Luxurious after 12 nights camping 😊



Happy Creek Trail has remnants of mining equipment as garnets were found in the water


On the approach to Ross Dam
Ross Dam
Mountains covered in smoke but Diablo Lake looking lovely and green (from the glacial silt) in the morning light.

Airbnb in Bellingham 

No more of these needed! 

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