Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Day 40 – Mount Vernon Washington – August 8, 2011

 

Mount Vernon's first industry was the logging camps set up to log the town site. The community grew quickly following the loggers and hotels and saloons that opened up along the Skagit River. While poised to grow, river access to the community was stymied by a massive and ancient log jam in the river which prevented large ships from being able to port. Mail carriers instead had to paddle canoes down-stream to nearby Skagit City. The mining activity at nearby Ruby Creek spurred growth for a short time in 1880, gaining the city a new hotel, but little else was accomplished when the mines proved to be shallow. More logging operations were established but were not profitable due to the low price of logs at the time. By 1881, Mount Vernon's permanent population was 75. The population today is around 32,000.

Our camp site is in a very quiet forested area and somewhat electronically dead, no TV and slow internet. Fortunately this was our planned week to kickback and just relax. So most likely I will skip some days on the blog.

There was some sun Sunday when we arrived but it has been overcast with daytime highs in the mid-60s.

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