Flat and damp, the Skagit Valley is the petaled heart of the United States’ tulip and daffodil production. It’s about an hour and half north of Seattle and a welcome respite from the sprawl as you head to Vancouver. While the farmers stay busy year-round and birders come and go, (I’ve been earlier in the year to look for snow geese), it’s April that’s the big draw. Over a half a half a million tourists come to see the tulip fields in bloom.

It is an unappealing crush in the small towns and roads, but every few years, worth it to stand in acres of saturated color. I love going to look at this.