Skagit, Island, Whatcom, and Snohomish

[Big Earl]

Big Earl,
Don't know about how familiar you are with the area. There are some great 'back roads' (paved) here in Skagit, Whatcom, and Snohomish
counties. Don't know about what kind of driving you want to do ... "play time" or "cruising and enjoying". Some of the routes you should
check out are Chuckanut Drive, South Skagit Highway, Highway 20 East of Concrete, Highway 9 North of Sedro Woolley, most of the roads
on Whidbey, the Mountain Loop Highway (UNpaved and slow), Arlington to Darrington to Rockport, roads other than Hwy 2 that go up
into the Skykomish valley (Monroe to Duvall and beyond), etc., etc., etc.
When we want to meander - we find a river and follow it up into the Cascades ... and then come back down. The further South you get
(towards Seattle/Hwy 90) the more people there are ... but there are gems like Issaquah-Hobart Road that will often have slow traffic but
are beautiful drives anyway.
Further afield I really like driving on the Olympic Peninsula such as along the Hood Canal or out to the coast at Neah Bay, La Push, and
Kalaloch - if you've never seen Ruby Beach or the Hoh River Rain Forest or the Bogachiel area you are in for a treat! Every time I go to
the Olympic Peninsula I discover a new 'aspect' of it and think "this is the best!" ... until we turn another corner and discover a new Best.
If you like that sort of thing - there are a ton of great pubs in Skagit County.
- Jim in the PNW

Thanks for the tips, Jim! I'm pretty familiar with the area, having vacationed there with family annually as a kid, and my parents built a home on Chuckanut Drive about seven years ago. Back in 2017, I rented a Tesla Model S P85 and did the Cascade Loop before there were any Superchargers along that route (80-amp L2 charging for the win), with the exception of Burlington and Monroe. Rocky Reach Dam was a super interesting place to visit. We also did Grand Coulee and caught the nighttime laser show, which I had seen years ago as a kid.

The Olympic Peninsula is on my list. I've yet to visit the Forks and Sequim Superchargers, so that'll probably happen before the end of the year. I'm really looking forward to visiting Neah Bay and Cape Flattery.

Just a few more weeks until we make the big move. Perhaps we can catch up for dinner or a scenic drive sometime!