I am going to be visiting Bellingham in either March or April.
I know I am going to Western Washington University for a tour but I was wondering what I should do afterwards. what is fun? I am bringing 4 friends. restaurants, night life, hiking? what do you have to do there when your visiting there?

Come along as Explorations Northwest highlights the importance of history and our cultural traditions, during the 2009 Whatcom County Old Settlers Picnic at Pioneer Park in Ferndale, WA. During this episode, Explorations Northwest visits the annual Old Settlers Picnic and Ferndale’s Pioneer Park, which showcases the largest collection of hand-hewn cedar log buildings in the world. While covering Ferndale’s annual celebration, parades, and carnival, we highlight the determined efforts of dedicated volunteers, who are working tirelessly to preserve local history and longstanding cultural traditions in the face of rapid social change. We also profile the activities of the Ferndale Heritage Society and highlight the critically important social functions served by the rituals and customs embodied in the celebrations and parades of small town America. Free music by DanoSongs.com danosongs.com explorationsnorthwest.com © 2009, Explorations Northwest, Produced August 3, 2009 All materials produced by ExplorationsNorthwest.com are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without prior written permission, or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content.

a. the potential for great earthquakes where we live.
b. formation of volcanoes such as Mt. Baker.
c. recycling of crust material under the ocean into the mantle, and uplift of the North American plate edge.
d. all of the above
e. Only a and c above.

Taima and Tillikum swimming. Tillikum has killed his third human, Dawn Brancheau , 2/24/10. She was an experienced trainer, she knew not to swim with him, but he grabbed her and pulled her into the water against her will. Dawn was in superb physical condition and was a skilled swimmer, but no match for the orca. The attack occurred in front of the small audience of the “Dine with Shamu” show. Tilly may have been bothered by renovations being done to a nearby pool. Video of the attack exists but is not available to the public. Reports conflict: A trainer who watched the video claimed Dawn was lying in the water, close to the animal, in violation of the rules. She then made the fatal error of letting her pony tail drift in the water and Tillikum grabbed her by this ponytail. An eye witness in the audience tells a different tale, saying that she was in fact standing and the whale leaped out of the water to grab her by her waist. He then shook her violently, even causing her shoe to fly off. Seaworld president Dan Brown said in an official statement: “We have never, in the history of our parks, experienced an incident like this.” Seaworld purchased Tillium in 1991, after he killed Keltie Byrne, his trainer at Sea Land Marine Park Victoria, British Columbia. In 1999, Daniel Dukes, a 27 year old man who sneaked past security was found dead, draped over Tillikum’s back, with teeth marks on his body. Other Seaworld whales have attacked other humans who escaped being killed …

Assume that you didn’t have to worry about finding a job and that you had enough money to live comfortably in either place for as long as you wanted to. Which of these two cities would you pick and why?

The Mt. Baker recreational area is known for its spectacular scenery and excellent trail system, and maybe there’s no better way to enjoy it than to rent a mountain cabin.

In fact, the entire county of Whatcom is sky-high on anyone’s beautiful scenery list. As a jumping off point for the world-class vacation destination known as the San Juan Islands, Whatcom County’s western side is replete with gorgeous views of water, islands and sunsets that match any you’ve seen on the Travel Channel. And Bellingham itself is a fascinating city of historic buildings and interesting neighborhoods that is worth a daytrip all by itself.

But go east from Bellingham and you venture into snow-topped mountains so dramatic they have been used in movies and on TV shows to depict the Colorado Rockies and other famous mountain areas. During winter, the snow’s so deep up here that the Mt. Baker ski area always seems to get the first snow and the deepest snowpack. This area is for mountain-lovers, not for folks who settle for the hills that pass for mountains in places like Vermont or other eastern states.

Our quick getaway into the Mt. Baker area began with a turn-off from Interstate 5 in Bellingham at Highway 542 – the Mt. Baker Highway. After a few blocks of businesses and homes, this country road began to live up to his billing as one of Washington’s most scenic drives. The two-lane road meanders through meadows and valleys, over hills and around curves through old-growth timber that grows more towering with each passing mile. The Mt. Baker Highway is about 57 miles to its end, although we planned to spend the night near Maple Falls, less than half that distance from Bellingham.

With all of the nearby mountains and forests, it’s surprising to learn that Maple Falls is only at an elevation of 643 feet – not enough to get the huge snow dumps the Mt. Baker Recreation Area is known for. But we were kind of glad – our rental car didn’t have four-wheel drive and we hadn’t planned on snow problems because we were visiting in late spring. As it turned out, there was snow all right – just at a little higher elevation than we were visiting.

We stopped in Maple Falls to pick up our keys to the cabin we had reserved for the night. We wanted the cabin-in-the-woods experience – a hideaway a little off the beaten path with no other buildings nearby. We find that, unfortunately, some of the best “cabins” or vacation homes today are built in subdivisions that have the look and feel of a housing development. We had mentioned to Mt. Baker Lodging that we wanted to be more isolated than that and they came up with the perfect choice.

Our cabin was just another four miles or so from Maple Falls’ tiny downtown, so it was quick to get to, and easy to return to town for groceries or dinner at one of a few local restaurants. The cabin was just off Silver Lake Road with no sign or street name indicating the turn-off, but excellent directions provided by Mt. Baker Lodging, the rental agency. We removed the chain blocking the road entrance, replacing it as we drove further into the deep forest. And then, in just a minute or two, there was our cabin – all by itself, no neighbors, hiking trails nearby and ideal for our quiet weekend in the woods.

The word cozy was invented for this place. It was relatively small, simple construction but with plenty of charm. The chalet-style building had a bathroom, a small kitchen and dining area, and a comfortable couch and easy chair for watching the 20-something inch TV or for curling up by the fireplace. The bedrooms upstairs were fairly small with low A-frame ceilings, but that just reminded us we were in a real cabin. Outside the owners had built a shelter for the picnic table and a grill was close at hand, ideal for hamburgers and hot dogs in the Great Outdoors.

The trees in these woods were thick and mossy green, almost like a rain forest. In between them snaked a trail that, just in case you missed it, had a sign designating the pathway as a “TRAIL.” Who could resist following it to its end to see what was in store even deeper in the woods?

Once we brought in our suitcases and a few groceries we were headed down the trail to find what we would find. In just a few minutes we came to Silver Lake, a tranquil pond that, on a warmer day, might have been perfect for a swim. Thick woods and marshes lined most of the lakeshore, although there were tell-tale signs this wasn’t quite as far off the beaten path as it would seem. For starters, there were paved roads. Then we discovered buildings. And soon it became obvious this was a public recreation area that, while not used at all this spring weekday, probably was a popular spot on weekends during warmer times of the year.

Nevertheless, the lake is gorgeous and close to the cabin, and ideal for a hike through dense woods. We could easily have spent hours in such a peaceful place.

Later during our stay, we took a drive farther east on the Mt. Baker Highway – not all the way up, but as far as Nooksack Falls, which was just a few miles beyond the town of Glacier. We took the short walk from the highway to a vantage point practically on top of the falls and close enough that we got a true sense of the power of 88-foot falls and could see why filmmakers thought they were visually interesting enough to include in the movie the Deer Hunter. A visit to the falls was just one choice of many along the highway where you find numerous trailheads and mountain views worth a stop.

Weather was a factor for us on our trip – a low cloud ceiling kept us from seeing some of the most famous views farther up the Mt. Baker Highway including those of Mt. Shuksan and the mountain ranges near Mt. Baker. Instead, we left a little early, driving back toward Bellingham and then south on Highway 9, an inland byway that roughly parallels Interstate 5. It’s a two-lane country road that won’t get you there quite as fast, but has lots of interesting sites along the way.

Along the way we saw dairy farms as well as places to stop along the South Fork of the Nooksack River. There were also century-old country stores along this route including Everybody’s Store in Van Zandt and the Acme General Store in Acme. Further south, in Sedro Woolley, Highway 9 meets the east-west route of Highway 20 that will take you the five miles west over to Interstate 5 to continue your journey south to the Seattle area.

We loved our cabin-in-the-woods experience and especially the Mt. Baker area – at some point we’ll go back to take full advantage of the trail system and get a camera full of pictures in what really is one of the most beautiful areas in the country.

AT A GLANCE

WHERE: The Mt. Baker recreation area is within just a few miles of the Canadian border in the far reaches of Northwest Washington. The Mt. Baker Highway extends 57 miles east from Bellingham.

WHAT: Mt. Baker is one of the major Northwest peaks and is surrounded by mountains and forests that make this an ideal vacation spot. WHEN: Best time for hiking is April through early October. Many people visit the area in the winter to enjoy the snow sports, including downhill skiing. There is less snow in the Maple Falls area because of its low elevation.

WHY: Mt. Baker offers unsurpassed scenery as well as numerous trails to access wilderness areas. There are also many charming small towns in the area, complete with their funky restaurants and country stores.

HOW: For more information on Mt. Baker as well as Bellingham, contact Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism at 800-487-2032, or go to www.bellingham.org. For information on cabin rentals at Mt. Baker, please go to www.mtbakerlodging.com or phone 800-709-7669.

Olen Miller and Wes Nygaard, Muljat Group Realtors, relaying information regarding the current condition of real estate in Whatcom County, Washington.

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Moving can be stressful if you do not put the right amount of thought and effort into it. You will need to plan and prepare for the move in order to remain calm, and then you will be able to achieve a hassle-free move. If a move is planned to Bellingham, Washington, you will need to know everything about the town of Bellingham. This information can be found in Bellingham, Washington Relocation.

The Logistics of the town, Bellingham, Washington

Sometimes, even if you live in Washington State, you may not be aware of the smaller towns like Bellingham. This means that you have to find information about the town. The Bellingham, Relocation information will tell you all you need to know about the town. Bellingham is north of Puget Sound and has plenty of water around it. Those who have never lived near water may find this a change, and will need to attune their minds to it, so the more information they can get through the Bellingham, Washington Relocation information, the better will they be able to deal with it.

Since there is so much water around Bellingham, there are many recreational and sports activities in Puget Sound as well as Bellingham Bay. Since Bellingham is situated on the shores of Bellingham Bay, it gets its name from the town. There are so many water events to prepare for. Bellingham is also a port town. The Bellingham Relocation information will tell you all about the exports and imports that take place at the port.

Tourist traffic between Bellingham and Canada

The Bellingham Relocation information gives you the locations that surround Bellingham. For instance, the Canadian border is extremely close to Bellingham, so tourists move freely between Canada and Bellingham. Both sides of the United States and Canada, which is the Eastern coast of both countries, find it convenient to travel through Bellingham, Washington. This means that the city can boast of tourists all through the year. The tourists will naturally avail of all the water sports and Bay activities that the town and port have to offer, since it is surrounded by so much water. With the import and export activities, the town is always bustling.

Although Bellingham is a small town, it has a great deal of culture, water sports being one of the major activities. There is also plenty of commerce with the trading activities. You may want to relocate to a small town, but still enjoy the cultural activities of a bustling tourist venue.

The Bellingham, Washington Relocation information will give you details of the town, its activities and culture, its situation, and you will be able to decide on whether this small town will make your relocation both enjoyable and exhilarating. You would do well to get all the information that you can, so that your move and relocation will be pleasant and something that you can look forward to.

Bellingham paid for lobbyist out of street fund, audit shows
BELLINGHAM – State auditors say Bellingham paid for a lobbyist out of its “street fund,” w

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