I first heard about the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in 1999, during my first extended foray into the Northwest. I had no idea what to expect other than it was supposed to be pretty spectacular. I was truly impressed then and this year's event did not disappoint either. Though known for its tulips, the festival also sports daffodils, however, these bloom first and are usually scarce by the time the tulips open. Mount Vernon is about an hour's drive north of Seattle. Traffic can be bad on the weekends, so be forewarned.

Crops are rotated on a five-year cycle for disease management purposes. Thus, tulips planted in a field will not be planted in that field again for 5 years so diseases that attack tulips or need tulips as a host will die out. These pictures are from the two fields in bloom this year. The seas of reds and yellows come from the Roozengaarde fields. The smaller swatches of color come from Tulip Town.   LATER THAT DAY ...