We got away from the city today with a day trip to the Skagit River Delta. Our first stop was La Conner for a waterfront walk and lunch. La Conner fronts the east side of the Swinomish Channel and the Swinomish Reservation the west.

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Lunch was at one of our favorite stops, The La Conner Brewing Company. They have a great selection of beers, but what draws us is their menu. It is always difficult to settle on a choice, but you can never go wrong.

After lunch it was time to walk off those calories. One of our favorite hikes is along the dikes of the Padilla Bay Shore Trail. This 2.5 mile (one way) trail is on the dike that separates Padilla Bay from the fields of the wildlife reserve. In the summer it is filled with songbirds and a few hawks. During this first week of autumn there were few birds. By the end of autumn it will be filled with snow geese, peregrine falcons, and eagles.

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We arrived at slack tide and watched it come in as we hiked the trail. The mud flats have interesting patterns. The views are of distant islands, but the water is so far out that they appear to be floating on mud.

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There is no doubt that autumn is here. Vivid colors mark many of the plants. The wonderfully diverse wild plants each put out seeds to ensure their species for another year.

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Late in the afternoon we drove to Bow Edison to visit Samish Bay Cheese Factory. They have their own dairy herd and produce cheese only from their own herd. The 5 year old gouda is unbelievable! Of course we splurged on a good round of it. And we couldn’t resist a small round of their Diablo, a fresh gouda spiced with jalapeno and habanero peppers!

Our drive home was easy since we were going the opposite of the commuters – into the city! What a great day!

Paul