Sedro-Woolley, WA: A Wild and (Sedro)Woolley 4th of July!

The “Chainsaw Carving Capitol of the Pacific Northwest” sounded just weird enough to catch our attention. Grown men flexing their muscles while creating delicate works of art? The perfect dichotomy! We motored on over to that was Sedro-Woolley and their Logger Rodeo, the oldest continuously running 4th of July celebration in Washington State. We missed a few events like the beard contest and the axe throwing exhibition, but thoroughly enjoyed the week-long wood chainsaw carving contest.

Even the finest, most delicate details are accomplished with a chainsaw!

Don’t know how to use a chainsaw and afraid to learn on the job? Attend Chainsaw Carving College!

Remember, if carving salmon jumping through water, or great Indian Chiefs, or figures from mythology, are a little too classy for you …. hamburger and hotdog tables sell well too.

The LoggeRodeo featured the best in local rodeo action, meaning they weren’t actually all that good, but that made it great, for in rodeo as in life, when things go wrong, it makes for the most fun.

The 4th of July Parade, with a decidedly rural flair, highlighted primarily their farming and logging roots (pun intended).

With the notable exceptions of one really big Bella …

One really big Shriners Bandstand …

And one super-hideous-and-completely-unacceptable entry. Seriously, do these parade organizers not have any standards whatsoever?

Our campground at Bay View State Park was set on a Bay (go figure) with a View (go figure)

and also the most perfect little house we’d ever seen and immediately coveted. We briefly discussed selling the Lucky Charm and just sending for our stuff in Phoenix!

The Bay View location was chosen for its proximity to Edison, a charming little 2-block town with a seriously disproportionate quantity of gourmet eateries …

… surprisingly expensive junk stores, I mean curio galleries …

… and the Old Edison Inn, in operation since 1900, where we thought we’d grab a beer and listen to some music, knowing in our heart of hearts that this Adult Daycare and Play Center was perfect for us.

Little did we know that this was THE hotspot for the 65 and over crowd! Who crowded their way onto the dance floor and proceeded to shake a leg all night long! Philip and I were the youngsters of the gang, and trust me … that doesn’t happen very often these days!

We also hosted our very first “business meeting” at the Lucky Charm, with Philip’s client John Hamilton, who lives only about 40 miles away and came down to join us for the afternoon.

Can you say “travel write-off”!? Take that, IRS!