Barb and I drove north for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival today. I had been there once before which was probably 30 or 35 years ago. Barb had never been there.

We saw huge lines for the early exits and took the advice of the website:

Consider taking Exit 230 off I-5, near Burlington and north of Mount Vernon (there’s little traffic north of Exit 226).  Head west, toward Anacortes and at Pulver Road, turn left and stop in Skagit’s Own Fish Market for maps and directions.  Or, stay on Hwy 20 to BEST Rd, turn left, and continue to the roundabout…go east and you’re in the heart of tulip country, with Tulip Town a left hand turn in about a mile and RoozenGaarde a right hand turn a little farther down McLean.

I’ll bet we saved at least an hour of sitting in stop and go traffic. Those lines extended for miles.

We parked on the side a road next to a field of daffodils and walked a couple hundred yards to a field of tulips. There we walked the dirt roads next to the acres and acres of flowers.

The rest of our visit can be best described with pictures.

The daffodils were tall! They came up midway on my thigh.

The roads were a bit muddy. Bring appropriate shoes and clothes.

We saw a guy with a drone.

There were multiple helicopters giving tours.

Photo by Barb.

Photo by random person.
Barb isn’t actually that short. She is standing in a small ditch.

Barb attempting to take a selfie.

Notice the fly in the bottom of the blossom?

The former model in Barb comes out sometimes.

The snow covered mountain in the background didn’t show up like I expected.

There was a rogue tulip in the daffodils.

And a rogue yellow tulip in the red tulips.