Bellingham

The drive from Leavenworth to Bellingham was very picturesque, the towering peaks of the Cascades rearing up alongside the highway as we crossed over to the coastal side of the mountains. We lost count of the number of rivers we passed along the way, each of them a raging torrent of whitewater, an amazing amount of water in this area of the country. We passed Stevens Pass ski area at the summit, still plenty of snow up there but no chairlifts running. The road down from the summit was pretty sketchy, we rolled down in low gear give the weight of the trailer, I’d hate to have to drive it in winter after a day of skiing!

It was 158 miles/254 kilometers from our campground at Eightmile to Bellingham’s Larrabee State Park, the last 10 miles along a nail-biting stretch of Chuckanut Drive that had Lisa (who was driving) visibly sweating by the time it was over: cliffs on the ocean side and rocks vertically flanking the highway on the other, with asphalt was only just wide enough for two regular-sized vehicles to pass each other. It certainly took some maneuvering and lots of checks in the side mirrors every time we encountered oncoming traffic! Note to self: drive to Larrabee from the north next time.

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Bellingham was our final destination in the lower 48, our disembarkation point for Alaska. We shacked up at Larrabee State Park – Washington state’s first state park – for a couple of nights following our stay in Leavenworth It was another exceptional Washington campground along the shoreline of Bellingham Bay. It was the first spot where we had full hookups (electricity and water for the trailer) so took advantage of the luxury of a hot shower and flush toilet in-house.

The ocean was a quick bike ride (or five minute walk) from our campsite, after dinner on our first night we ventured down to the water to take in the views of the islands across Bellingham Bay and Rosario Strait from the rocks. Given our latitude the sunsets have been getting longer and longer, before we realized it was past 9PM even though the sun was still visible above the horizon. A magic spot to watch the world – and the occasional sea lion – go by.

We spent two nights in Bellingham, primarily to allow enough time to take the bikes up to Galbraith Mountain, which is a short drive from central Bellingham. Galbraith is an absolute world class MTB destination, with everything from Vancouver-style ladders and gap jumps, machine-formed flow-trails and classic Pacific Northwest forest singletrack. Thanks again to Trailforks, I weaved together a route that got us to one of the more famous descents – SST – and even though we only climbed about two thirds of what we conquered in Leavenworth the day prior, the technical climbs had us feeling like we’d burned just as much fuel. The jump tracks through the forest were straight out of a mountain biking film, I don’t know if I’d have attempted them even if I was half my age and could ride twice as well as I can. There were some gap jumps visible from the top of SST that were bigger than any snow park kickers I’ve ever seen (even at Mammoth and Whistler). Amazing they can build that type of thing on public lands (never in California!).

Everyone enjoyed the ride, the kids voting for SST over Leavenworth’s Freund Canyon. I’d find it hard to pick a favorite, although I’d definitely like to take a full suspension rig back to Galbraith one day to give it the attention it deserves!

The afternoon of our full day in Bellingham was spent exploring Taylor Shellfish Farm just south of our campground at Larrabee – excellent oysters and magnificent setting there on the coast – followed by stops at a couple of breweries in central Belingham. First stop was pre-dinner at Twin Sisters, which had excellent brews and a great outdoor beer garden. For dinner we ventured to Aslan Brewing, beers weren’t as good as Twin Sisters but the food was delectable. Oh, and a visit to Bellingham wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Evil Bikes headquarters, which is located just next to the Alaska ferry terminal in Fairhaven. The showroom was closed when we stopped in (thanks again, COVID…) but one of the staff saw us looking in the window and let us in for a looksee and a chat. As is the case with their bikes, he was a legend and sent us on our way with four comp’d factory t-shirts. Team Evil. Boom.