LAKE FOREST PARK – Northwest Heritage Resources announces the publication of two new cultural heritage audio tour guides: 1) one for the northern half of the Cascade Loop Highway, titled, Cascade Loop Heritage Tour – North; and 2) one for Whidbey Island, titled, Whidbey Island: Cascade Loop Heritage Tour – West.
The two new audio tour guides are produced in partnership with the Cascade Loop Association and focus on the northern and western sections of the Cascade Loop Scenic Highway. They cover a widely varied landscape that begins along the saltwater shores of Puget Sound on Whidbey Island and the town of Anacortes, through Skagit Valley farmlands, and then climbs into the spectacular mountain scenery along the North Cascades High-way. From there the northern tour descends into the wide open rangelands of the Methow Valley, travels south through fruit orchards, the Columbia River Valley, vineyards, and concludes at 50-mile fjord-like Lake Chelan.
The guides are a unique approach to the Cascade Loop Scenic Highway, as they present the grass roots culture of the region – what you would discover if you took the time to explore the local cultural landscape. The 2 audio tour guides come with CDs and liner notes that include maps, text, and photos. They feature the cultural heritage, stories, folk poetry and traditional music of the people who live along the Cascade Loop Scenic Highway.
In the audio part of this tour you will hear the voices of the local people who live along the Cascade Loop, telling some of the story of their life as a crop farmer, fruit orchardist, logger, boat builder, fisherman and netmaker, forest service employee, traditional craftsperson, vintner, smokejumper, woodworker, horsepacker, and others. People will share their local history and talk about special places and things of interest. You’ll hear Norwegian and Dutch musical traditions from Whidbey Island, Native American Coast Salish songs, Croatian American music from Anacortes, Hispanic songs from Skagit Valley, bluegrass music from towns along the Skagit River and in the Methow Valley, and songs you might hear on a horsepacking adventure.
More information about the new Cascade Loop tour guide and how to order one can be found on the website: www.washingtonfolkarts.com. The guides are available as audio CDs with extensive liner notes, or you can download a digital audio version of the tour.
Whidbey Island: Cascade Loop Heritage Tour – West is No. 9 and Cascade Loop Heritage Tour – North is No. 10 in the Washington Heritage Tour Series that includes eight earlier cultural heritage audio tour guides to other regions of Washington state, including the Interstate 90 corridor, the Olympic Peninsula, and Cascade Loop Heritage Tour – South, which was released in 2010 . Tours #1-7 were produced in conjunction with the Folk Arts Program of the Washington State Arts Commission. Tours # 8-10 were produced in partnership with the Cascade Loop Association.
The Cascade Loop Heritage Tour – North and Whidbey Island audio tour guides were funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Northwest Heritage Resources and the Cascade Loop Association.
Nikki is a writer and editor for Do It Yourself RV, RV LIFE, and Camper Report. She is based on the Oregon Coast and has traveled all over the Pacific Northwest.
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