All posts tagged: Road trip

Gypset Digs: Ellerie’s River Cottages, Darrington WA (Review & Photos)

Location: 31420 365th Dr NE, Darrington Telephone: 206-362-9200 TripAdvisor: Click here Until we checked into Ellerie’s River Cottages, I thought cabin couture was flannel and wool socks. I was wrong. A Seattle transplant, interior and landscape designer Ellerie Cain has a knack for sniffing out antiques, which she uses to decorate (curate, really) her haute-rustic cabins. Admittedly, ‘cottage’ is a bit of a misnomer. Ellerie’s lodgings are spacious and elegant; a marriage of European flair and rustic charm. “I love texture, and obviously lamps and chairs. The glass is so old and it’s broken, but you know what? We’re kind of rusty.” In fact, the number of doors and windows Ellerie has salvaged would lead one to believe Seattle’s antiques suffer a major abandonment problem; I suspect it’s her well-trained eye. “That’s why I have a van. You should see how fast I can load up and toss into reverse” she laughs. There are three proper cottages for rent on her tree-lined, riverside property. Each comfortably accommodates five people on two double/queen-sized beds and a single. River …

Weekend Getaway: I Went to Washington for a Cabin Stay and It Was Cozy AF

In late January, five Vancouverites made a city break. But this time they took a road less travelled. Weekend escapes from Vancity often take three forms: east into the Interior (“Oh haaay Wine Country“), over the Georgia Straight to Victoria (home to my favourite restaurant), or down the I-5 to Seattle (“Go Hawks!”). In a departure from the norm, we went south, swung east at Arlington, and made for the Cascade Mountains. Destination: Darrington. If you’re thinking, “Darring-what?” it’s okay. I had never heard of it until we went. How’d we end up there? Us gals were after a woodsy weekend away and the Stillaguamish River Valley came recommended to us by the folks at the tourism office. Up the Stilly, they assured, we’d find mountains, crisp air, wood stoves, tall trees, and plenty of quiet. For a place that doesn’t show up on your mobile map until you’re pretty zoomed in, Darrington is quite a remarkable place. Fun fact, it’s the birthplace of Bob Barker. It sits on the Sauk River, just below the largest hanging …

Roadtrippin’ America: Day I Desert Drive

Into the Desert Monday, October 10 Following the wrap of Desert Trip festival (October 7-9), Jason and I packed up the truck and left Indio. But not before we fetched the items he had buried in the desert. I know what you’re thinking, but it was just the camping equipment festival organizers didn’t permit on the grounds. Our heading? Simply due north. We first wound around the sun-baked park limits of Joshua Tree National Park, whose trees stood stunted and gnarled. We sailed along lonely byways as 35 degree temperatures radiated from the ashphalt. Winding, weaving, the truck crested a pass to reveal an arrow-straight stretch of highway that pierced the horizon as far as we could see. As we skirted Sheephole Valley Wilderness I was consumed by the emptiness of the terrain, trained on a singular thought: how this might be a miserable place to be stranded. A Desert’s a Desert’s a Desert…Isn’t It? From here we pushed on through Mojave National Preserve, and Jason and I couldn’t help remarking on the diversity of desert landscapes. Pop culture had …