On the first morning of a long weekend road trip last week, we veered off Highway 20 to follow a local road that connects forgotten small towns dotted along the loopy Skagit River. It was serendipity because almost instantly, we stumbled on a classic car show in the small town of Lyman, population 438 in 2010. Mostly local people – men and a few women – were lining up their rides in neat diagonal rows along tiny South Main street, bordered by weather-beaten wooden buildings and framed by picturesque views of the North Cascade mountains.
As we headed east, cottony fragments of cloud hung onto the mountain foothills:
As we drove into Lyman my eyes kept flitting back and forth between classic cars and equally classic buildings.
Oh, that stylish ’57 gray T’bird convertible with the cream interior! There was plenty to drool over and covet in Lyman, but we had more places to go, and things to see…
An hour down the road in Newhalem, old growth cedars reminded me how small I am…
An overlook at majestic Gorge Lake had its own classical beauty:
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I used various vintage-style processing tools on most of these photos. In the coming days I’ll post more from the North Cascades and beyond.
bluebrightly 
Your shots are great!
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Thank you so much!
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The vintage-style processing whatever that is I think enhanced the content. It feels like it looks.
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🙂 You’d have so much fun with it!
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Wonderful pictures and cars Lynn. I’m very much looking forward to what comes next on this particular road trip! 🙂
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Now the pressure’s on….
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Wow, this was like a jump back in time ~ when life was a bit simpler and nature just right outside the front door 🙂 A wonderful feeling stepping into these photos.
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You know, you can still find towns like this without too much difficulty around here. I don’t think I can say the same for metropolitan New York. It’s another reason I’m glad I moved west. Great to hear from you!
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That is true, Eastern Oregon has quite a few…:-) Next time, I just gotta get my camera out ~ Cheers to a great week.
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Awesome!!! Serendipity and your wonderful eye at work 🙂 🙂
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What a place to kayak – the lakes up in the Cascades, I mean. Do let me know if you guys are coming out here!
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You did a wonderful job of capturing the beauty of classic cars and the charm of small-town architecture.
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I love those old buildings, and I really wouldn’t mind that T’bird! Thank you – I appreciate it!
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Always good to hear (and see!) about your road trips – and I shall never get used to the size of American cars! A 🙂
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Especially the old ones, eh? Good luck squeezing one of those into your village square parking space! But they fit right in out here…
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I’m not really a fan of vintage cars, and wouldn’t choose to go to a car show, but I very much enjoyed your photos. The way you interspersed the cars with the buildings gave the cars a richer context than a parking lot or street. A very nice post — and what’s not to like about that scenery? It’s been so hot and humid here — even looking at a photo of a mountain lake helps.
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I don’t make bee lines for car shows but any time a small town gets together and does something, chances are, it can be fun to take part. Thanks for your comment – it really was a mix of the two for me, but I can tell you – I was probably the only one who looked at the buildings!
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Back roads and small towns are the best.
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Yes, they’re great to explore. Are you busy with the new place?
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Actually… the pup and I haven’t had permission to be down at the new place for a couple of weeks because Eric is busy tearing up the bathroom and replacing pipes (in a 2ft crawlspace) and installing all new ‘equipment’ (fixtures?). Brand new shower, sinks and toilet. What has tied me up was an evil gremlin that locked up the computer. Then there’s the catch-up once I’m back online again. Pretty soon I’ll be allowed to head south to do some painting (my specialty). The bathroom and plumbing stuff has been the most involved, but it’s nearing the end now…. yay!!! Next up will be all new windows and then work on the steep gravel driveway. There’s no end to the plans, but it’s all fun (well, as long as it’s going well and it is). Eric keeps saying “not this year” when asked when we’ll actually move down there! 🙂
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I love it – not allowed to be there – and all that major work being done! But the computer gremlins should have waited until another time (or just kept away!). A steep gravel drive? That sounds tricky to me…and catching up, as you can see from my week-later reply, is just what we have to live with, isn’t it?
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Loved this post Lynn! Coincidentally my husband and I ran into a vintage Rolls Royce show this weekend which was fantastic. So much fun seeing those old cars isn’t it?! I didn’t have my camera but took a bunch of shots with my iphone. Needless to say yours put mine to shame!!
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Oh I can’t imagine my photos put YOURS to shame! It’s great to hear from you, and I trust you’re enjoying the island and planning some wonderful trips.
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I love coming along on your road trips! What a great feeling, driving round corners and seeing what’s there..
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Totally. We were so excited to find this, and only because at that moment we’d decided to leave the main road. Thanks – it’s good to hear from you!
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I’ve been away from wordpress for a while and just getting back to reviewing posts… I always enjoy your photography. You are an excellent visual storyteller and in addition to each narrative, your photos are a such a pleasure to view.
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I’ve missed you! How nice to see this! For you to compliment me on visual story telling means a lot. I really appreciate it – makes me think! Thanks! And welcome back.
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I’m liking the broken window picture with the weeds growing from inside, out. ☺
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That was so irresistible! The whole building is a beautiful, falling down wreck of thing, and it’s the most mysteriously soft pale pink – why? Thanks for commenting – good to hear from you!
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Quite a contrast from your natural environment shots but interesting and informative.
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Haunted and elegant in a creepy novella way, these photographs. A rotting town is ripe with stories. To get to that point it has to be.
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Great road trip. We like these old cars, so different from modern cars.
It was a kind of search for the time lost, very Proustian.
Thanks for sharing
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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I’m not sure what brought you to this post from several years ago but I’m glad you found it, and enjoyed the cars. 🙂 We were so pleased that we just happened to come across a car show in a picturesque setting.
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Dear Bluebrightly,
in the Reader of WordPress this post came up as the first one. Well, WP has its own logic nobody else understands.
Have a wonderful week
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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That’s so strange – thank you for telling me! You have a good week too. 🙂
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