Edison and the Flats — a stop on Chuckanut Drive.
The road has come down off the mountain now and the character changes completely — flat, open, agricultural, with the Skagit Valley running away south.
This is some of the most productive farmland in the country. The soil is river delta silt, the climate is mild and wet, and the valley grows an unusual range: potatoes, berries, dairy, and — unexpectedly — a very large share of the world's supply of certain flower bulbs and vegetable seeds. In April the tulip fields here draw enormous crowds.
The little town of Edison is the one to stop in. It is a couple of blocks long and has, for its size, an absurd concentration of good things: a bakery, a couple of restaurants, art galleries and a bar, in a farm town of a few hundred people. It has quietly become a food destination.
Nearby Bow is much the same idea at even smaller scale.
Stop and eat something. The whole southern half of this drive is essentially an argument for stopping and eating something, and the produce did not travel far to get to your plate.