June, 2023
Just to the south of the very small community of Bay View is the nice sized small town of Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon has the most extraordinary farmers market/co-op I’ve ever seen. It’s not an outdoor sporadic event kind of thing held only in the summer when it’s not raining, etc. It is housed inside a building that takes up a full half of a block, and it’s two stories high. It’s huge compared to all other co-ops I’ve seen. And it is active, open, and offers full services and local food and local clothing (and so much more!) all year long.
The name of this market/co-op is Skagit Valley Food Co-op. Use that link to learn more. Their website photos are a heck of a lot more fun and more clear than mine. But let me share my few photos here since they are mine and were taken when I was there inside that building. 🙂
The main entrance (above) is in the alley at the back of the building. There’s lots of parking back there, since there isn’t always necessarily much parking out on the main street.
Once you get inside, the food is abundant, the smells are glorious, the people working there are friendly and knowledgeable, and it’s so clean! And there is so much to see!
Please know that my photos above (and below) show only a fraction of the fresh veg/fruit produce and other food options too. There was too much of each to get in one photo or in several photos!
Above … chocolate, who can have too much chocolate? Most of the items above were commercial items from outside the area, but many were locally produced.
Here in the meat section (above), again, some of the items were shipped in commercially, but most of the meat was local. And there was another larger group of meat (and fish) for sale (LOTS of local fish here). So much to choose from.
Below, a local company’s offering of incense sticks and of “smudge” sticks for blessings and cleansings, and other good stuff, along with pots and plates and dishes and holders for all those sorts of things.
The photo below was taken from the top of the stairs that led up to the second floor … so many plants, green and healthy plants for sale here. Upstairs were clothes, made locally, sewn locally, and also using material from local sources (cotton, yes cotton is grown here, or imported and then made into threads to use to make material, and wool from sheep and alpaca and others who are raised and cared for here). Also shoes, with leather from animals who have died a natural death here. And jewelry, all local.
And … then … back downstairs, the walls (walls!) of grains and seeds and other such stuff was again too large to get just one photo of everything.
Local bread. There are a few offerings of commercially produced bread, but most was local. The photo below shows just a fraction.
The deli section … oh the deli section! It went on and on.
After over two hours at the Skagit Valley Food Co-op in Mount Vernon, I finally tore myself away and drove back to the campground. And yes, I bought quite a few things. 🙂
The photo below is a reminder of the view from what was my favorite campsite here. I took this photo earlier this week when there was no one in that campsite.
Today, as I drove back into the campground after my visit to Mount Vernon’s farmers market and co-op, here’s what I saw … a camper in that very campsite. Oh, I was so jealous! 🙂 But they had a reservation and that’s fair. And I had a perfectly good campsite too.
And yet, later that afternoon, when no one was around, I ventured in among the cabins here to find my very favorite of cabins … C5. The photo below looks at the back side of the cabin. The front door is on the opposite, far side, of the cabin, with windows, the porch with its swing seat for two and room for two chairs, its view was right out through those trees and across the saltwater of Padilla Bay towards the islands … with a perfect front row seat view of the islands and of every sunset here. Ah me.
I will be back here to Bay View State Park … either in that campsite above with its view out over the water, or I’ll stay in cabin C5 if I no longer have a trailer. Either way, and even if I never do get back here, what a blessing and memory.
Here’s to the local folks here and everywhere who thoughtfully produce food and shelter and clothing for their human neighbors and other animals. Here’s to all of us who care, who care for each other no matter anyone’s background, ethnicity, height, language, shoe size, age, what we eat, who we love, or anything else. Let’s be farmers … and grow ourselves.