Every spring in Skagit Valley, Washington, the fields surrounding the small farming community of La Conner come alive with brightly-colored daffodil, tulip and iris fields. The valley has one of the largest productions of tulips in the United States. April is the month of the annual Tulip Festival, and some one million tourists flock in to see the more than 300 acres of flowers.

When I first learned of Skagit County, while visiting Washington in the previous fall, I had decided that a trip up to see the tulips, my favorite flower, would be a fun thing to do. At the same time the tuilips are blooming, the whales migrate through nearby Puget Sound on their way back into the Alaska waters. To see the tulips AND the whales would put me deep into the heart of heaven itself.

The hard part was determining the actual dates, since there is no guaranteed 'peak' date for the flowers. The whales, too, though many, are unpredictable. So, I just picked a two-week range and hoped I'd see something.

As my luck would have it, I'm convinced the tulips of Skagit County will never peak in my lifetime and that there is no such thing as a whale.

With that said, if you're in the area of northern Washington, an hour or so north of Seattle, go see Skagit County. Even if the tulips are long gone and the whales have made their passage, the area has a simple beauty that will capture your heart. You'll be glad you did.