The week of June 18, 2001, my husband, Jack, and I visited my hometown of Bellingham, Washington. At that time, my brother, David Crook and sister-in-law Janet Crook lived in Bellingham. David and I grabbed our cameras and went tor a drive. The following is from my blog dated June 18, 2001.
As we drove through Nooksack, Everson, Sumas, and other hamlets, we found a few other pastoral scenes that included cows, but generally they were in a distant field. We decided to stop at a farm with a huge barn full of girl cows, and shoot some photos.
Not a bad idea, until we got out of the car. We were overwhelmed with the aroma of ammonia. I’d forgotten that cattle in barns do not have private lavatories. Deciding that this adventure would help clear my sinuses, we approached the barn, and David got a few good pictures. Not quite the same as seeing them grazing in a field, (see below but it was easier to see the beautiful markings.
Back on the road, we spent more time looking for bald eagles, and decided to head for Mt. Baker, one of the loveliest mountains in the Pacific Northwest. Our destination: Mt Baker Vista area, a nine-mile road just after the Glacier Ranger Station.
The winding two-lane road roams over numerous cheerful creeks, and sports a stopping point for hikers. Serious hikers. David and I continued up, stopping to shoot photos as clouds threatened to cover our view. We reached the top, and shot until the clouds kept their promise. Camp robbers (fluffy birds with no sense of fear or courtesy) live at the end of the road, and enjoyed entertaining us. They’re officially called Gray Jays. One even hopped inside David’s car. No food. Out it went.
The road to Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan snakes to the north of the two mountains. 
These two stately, yet very different, mountains are spectacular. You can’t see Mt Shuksan until you are quite a bit east. It’s snuggled in its own little niche near Mt Baker. In 1950 or so, our dad, Cal Crook, took the photo you see in this paragraph. Good photos of this area are difficult to come by, because you often can’t determine whether or not clouds will cover the mountains until you are relatively close. It’s a drive I recommend to anyone vacationing in the Bellingham area. Even if you don’t see the mountains, you will luxuriate in rich, towering trees full of unusual birds, and a landscape dotted with the Nooksack River and many other waterways. Clean, fresh country. Especially nice in the summer.