Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Finally, after nearly six years living in Tacoma I was able to sneak away with Tom to see the tulip fields in Mt. Vernon at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival! We both had Easter Sunday off and decided to spend the day meandering through the tulips (okay, let's be honest, it was my idea but Tom was a good sport and came with me).

The windmill at the RoozenGarte

We started at the RoozenGarde, one of two display garden areas. It was $5 to get in but then our ticket allowed us to get in free to various parking lots near the nearly 15 miles of fields that we wandered through, so I think it was worth it :)


This may have been my favorite variety - they remind me of fire!

It was overcast and occasionally rainy so we donned our rain coats and boots and headed out to see the fields. Of course, we had to get the stereotypical picture by the windmill before heading out!

In the display gardens there were gorgeous flower beds all around us, but the thing that struck me most was the tulips growing in the trees!

Now that's a symbiotic relationship!

Now, I know I've already said it, and I might say it again, I think these are my favorite variety! Don't they look like peonies? But they would be so much easier to manage that peonies (of course they don't smell as good)

Deanna's favorite variety #2

After exploring the gift shop and display gardens at the RoozenGarde we set out to see the HUGE fields.

An endless sea of pink!

I think I could have walked around the fields for days. It was a nearly perfect day for me (although I could have used some sunshine--but when surrounded with beauty like this, who can complain?

Sticking out like a sore thumb or a beautiful accident?

The yellow ones in the picture below looked so much like roses I had to stop to smell them to make sure I wasn't mistaken. I was bummed when I didn't smell anything at all :)

The red tulips you see below may just look like your average red tulip but look at the next picture to gain some perspective on just how BIG these tulips were!

The BIGGEST tulip I had ever seen!

One of the highlights of walking through the field was walking on the cracked mud (I know what your thinking, cracked mud is a highlight?...you had to be there). I tried to take a video of the experience but it didn't turn out well, but it is hard to describe in words (and the picture below).

When you walked the mud would almost cradle your feet, moving with you. It felt like you would break through and fall into a pit of mud below but it never did - it was kind of like walking on bubbles or twinkies or something, I can't describe it. It was funny to see groups of people with their head down, stomping on the ground like children, trying to figure out the physics behind this natural wonder!

The one in the middle couldn't decide between yellow and red :)

I could have walked the fields for days!

Mom, i thought this would be one of your favorites- it wasn't blooming yet but look at the variegated leaves!

One of my favorite fields was the one pictured below that had leafy-greens growing in between the rows- it reminded me of tall grass in an open field rather than the structured rows of a tulip festival. It was more natural and was beautiful when it moved in the wind!