Highway 11 in Washington
Your tour guide: John Meloy of Bellingham, Washington
Nearest and dearest to my heart and in northwestern Washington near the Canadian border is a road known as Chuckanut Drive (Hwy. 11). It spans from just south of Bellingham down into Skagit Valley.
An 8-mile route that's good any time of the year, Chuckanut Drive runs along the coastline about 300 feet above the beach and provides many a beautiful view of the San Juan Islands. There are many pulloffs and a few parks, all of which allow for viewing of some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.
If you're not in the mood for some scenic driving, Chuckanut also provides some great chicanes, hair pins, short straightaways, long sweepers, decreasing apex turns, etc. The preferred driving time is weekday mornings or afternoons. On the weekends, bicyclists, RVs and generally lethargic drivers come out in hordes to plunder the beauty of the area.
There are many wonderful restaurants along Chuckanut Drive including the Oyster Creek Inn (oysters are their specialty, as the restaurant is up the hill from an oyster farm), the Chuckanut Manor and a few others. They all serve wonderful food in the $10 to $30 range and are slightly upscale.
If you're in Bellingham (north of Chuckanut), Chuckanut Drive is approached via 12th Street heading south. 12th turns to the left at a three-way intersection and becomes Hwy. 11, at which point you are on Chuckanut Drive.
If you're heading north on I-5, get off at the exit on the north edge of Burlington, which I believe is labeled as either Chuckanut Drive or Hwy. 11. Then proceed to head northwest on Hwy. 11 across Skagit Valley. The low-lying mountains in the distance are the Chuckanut Mountains, around which Chuckanut Drive snakes.
I hope some of you make it up this way. The San Juan Islands and the Pacific Northwest is a great place to vacation, and the scenery is wonderful!
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