We returned to the states to Kayak Point County Park north of Everett.  It is a nice wooded campground and our site had a view of Port Susan through the trees.  Unfortunately the trail was quite muddy from persistent rains and we never ventured down to the water.

Carl, Ruth, Ranger Lisa, Serene and Randy – May 2015

We were pleased to spend a couple days with our very first camp-hosting partners Ruth and Carl.   They were experienced camp-hosts when we were newbies.   We had an enjoyable month together at Cove Palisades State Park and have kept in touch since.  We were glad to have a chance to visit with them in Stanwood, Washington.

Elko had his first ever elevator ride in their complex and didn’t like it at all.  A slippery floor that moves – no thanks!  Ruth suggested we take him down the carpeted stairs instead and he was much happier.

This is the lovely courtyard in the middle of their condominium complex.

They took us to Cama Beach State Park where they volunteered last summer.  Although the land has Native American and logging histories, the park vibe is of its past as a 1930s Puget Sound Fishing Resort. 

At Cama Beach waterfront cabins and boats were available for rent.  Guests could fish and crab along the marine rail or swim along the beach.  The resort was gifted to Washington State Parks so you can still do all those things!  

Ruth volunteered as an interpretive host at Cama Beach and knew they had a mammoth tusk and molar.

These artifacts were from Columbian Mammoths and are considered to be 40,000 years old.  They were deposited in the area during a glacial retreat 12,000 years ago.

The tusk and molar were found after the hillside collapsed in this area of the park.

Note the differences in size and region comparing Columbian and Wooly Mammoths.

We attended service with Carl and Ruth at Camano Lutheran Church.  This congregation began in 1890 and the building was dedicated in 1906.  The sanctuary was beautifully decorated with quilts and kits ready to donate through Lutheran World Relief.   Since 2007 this congregation has donated more than 4000 quilts, 2000 Baby Care Kits, 8000 Personal Care Kits and 4000 Backpack School Kits.  They are Blessed to be a Blessing.

We said goodbye to Carl and Ruth and traveled to Lake Easton on the eastern slope of the Cascades.  Our purpose was to visit nearby Roslyn, Washington – known to us as Cicely, Alaska.  We became fans of the 1990 – 1995 television series Northern Exposure two decades past its run.   The town of Roslyn is where outdoor scenes were filmed.

Main street Roslyn (or Cicely) without the snow and wandering moose.

This mural was visible in the opening credits of Northern Exposure and is still here.

We saw Dr. Joel Fleischman’s  office, now Cicely’s Gift shop. This was the only direct reference we saw to the town’s Northern Exposure history.

The Brick Tavern was an important place in fictitious Cicely, Alaska.   In real life The Brick is Washington State’s longest operating saloon, established in 1889.  We would have gone there on that basis alone!

The inside of The Brick looks nothing like it was made to look in the show but we got over it.  The saloon’s bar was shipped from London around Cape Horn to Portland, Oregon.   The tables and benches were from Sear’s and Roebuck.  All are more than 100 years old.  The Brick was busy and served good food.  We enjoyed our evening.

In reading about Roslyn, we were surprised to learn that their streets served as set for another series Randy and I watch,  The Man In the High Castle.  It is an Amazon Original production of what life in the US would have been like if Japan and Germany had won WWII.  Japan controls the west, Germany the east and the Rocky Mountains are the neutral zone between the two.    Our waitress told us how producers blocked off streets and made the buildings look old.   It took just a few days.  When Season Three is released we’ll have to look for Roslyn in the streets of the neutral zone.