Bellingham, Mt Baker, and The Burns-6

The eight minute flight to Anacortes for fuel, and the seven minute flight to Bellingham was a breeze compared to the long flights we had up to this point. Our friends the Burns lived in Bellingham and had invited us to stay with them so we were excited to stop in for a visit.

Woodsen and I had both met Trent in Bethel and since then we had been running into Trent and his wife Melissa in the most random places. We first met Melissa and their daughter Isla at a chance run in at 49th State Brewery in Healy, Alaska, then we saw the whole family at a friends Fly in near Hatchers Pass, then it was the ferry to Seldovia, then Woodsen and I ran into Melissa at a hotel in Seattle! Most recently we had hung out with Melissa in Valdez at the Fly-in where she was doing and aerobatic demonstration.

On all our chance meetings we talked about getting together for a longer visit and this seemed liked the perfect opportunity.

Shortly after landing in Bellingham we realized we didn’t have Yukla’s coat. I quickly called Carine, a fellow airplane camper we met at Orcas Island, to see if we had left it there. After a quick search she found Yukla’s jacket along with the handle to our cooking pot. We figured we could pick it up when we left Bellingham, but when Carine and Trevor offered to bring it to us in Bellingham we didn’t object.

They jumped in their airplane and 15 minutes later the kids were loaded up in Trent & Melissa’s mini van watching Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers, and Carine and Trevor were on the ground delivering our left items.

Forgotten jacket delivery by airplane…what is the life we are living?😄

We left the airport and had no problem filling the rest of the day. First we took the SUP’s and kiddos to the lake where they could play, later the kids did arts and crafts, followed by playing in sprinkler outside while the adults visited.

The next day we decided to make the drive to Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest for what looked like a kid friendly hike out Artist Pointe.

The weather was hot, the winds calm, and there was plenty of snow and alpine lakes to cool off with.

Wild and beautiful panoramas surrounded us.

We ended the day with clams, salmon cakes, and fresh fish tacos by the harbor.

It’s easy to see why the Burns choose to call Bellingham home.

The next day we planned to head to Livingston, Montana. We hoped to get an early start to avoid the heat of the day and the turbulence that comes with it.

On to Livingston, Montana!