LaConner, a small town that is half artist's colony and half fisherman's port, lies on a rich delta at the mouth of the Skagit River, in Skagit county, Washington. LaConner, founded in the 1860s, is Skagit county's oldest settlement. Initially known as Swinomish, the community consisted of little more than a trading post, inspired by the potential of fur trade with members of the Swinomish tribe. In 1869 John Conner purchased the trading post, and established a post office. Subsequently, the entire town, and 70 additional acres was deeded over to John Conner for the princely sum of $500. Conner named the town after his wife, Louse A. Conner. Early settlers farmed, fished, and lumbered, and managed to dike hundreds of acres of land, reclaiming incredibly rich farmland which still thrives today. LaConner soon became a popular farming community, and a hub for steamers carrying passengers and freight back and forth between LaConner and Seattle. LaConner is still very much a farming community now, known particularly for the amazing tulips and other flower-bearing bulbs.

By the mid-1940s, artists began to congregate in LaConner, drawn not only by the beauty of the area, but by the comparatively affordable costs of housing and living, and the unique light that the climate and environs affords. Morris Graves seems to be the first artist to discover LaConner as a place for artists. Graves moved into a barely inhabitable house, and then invited fellow artist Guy Anderson, to join him, helping give rise to what became known as The Northwest School of art. The hundreds of writers and artists who have made LaConner their home include Richard Gilkey, and Clayton James, John Ebner, and writer Tom Robbins. In recent years, they've been joined by a wide array of writers, poets, and craftsmen.

In the 1950s, an elegant steel bridge, the Rainbow Bridge, was built, crossing the Swinomish Channel, and connecting LaConner to Fidalgo Island, and the town of Anacortes. The bridge is extremely photogenic, and has become such a landmark for the area that it is featured on the LaConner town logo. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is located on Fidalgo Island, across the Rainbow Bridge from LaConner. Their ancestors, for thousands of years, lived, hunted, fished, and worshipped in the areas of the Skagit, San Juan, and Island Counties.

Today, LaConner is still, very much, an active port town and harbor, complete with fishing boats, a pier, and a boardwalk running along the harbor. South First Street runs right along the boardwalk and the harbor, and, if you can find parking (look at the end nearest the pier), South First Street is a perfect place to start exploring LaConner. The street is lined with historic stores, many of them with the distinctive false fronts of turn-of-the-century West. A fair number of today's shops have carefully maintained the store's original signage; others have discreet bronze plaques identifying them. It's the sort of street, on both sides, that you can leisurely meander along, looking into the shops, entering a few, enjoying the fresh air and sea breeze. There are a number of tea and coffee places, ranging from specialty stores and bakeries, so you can take breaks, and sit outside admiring the view and people watch, or even watch the wild turkeys that seem to think they're the main attraction. The wild turkeys arrived about five years ago, and seem to have made themselves quite at home, to the dismay of some residents. They look quite healthy though, with splendid multi-colored plumage.

There are several art galleries along South First Street, and the prices range from under $50.00 for small prints, photographs and water colors, to works in the thousands. There are also a lot of small shops operated by craftspeople selling their own work and that of other locally artists. Personally, I'm particularly fond of the lovely furniture and hand-made wooden boxes at The Wood Merchant, on 709 S. First Street. The Olive Shoppe is also a fun place; they sell pretty much every kind of olive imaginable, from all over the world, as well as a variety of other condiments, sauces, jams and jellies. It's just a lot of fun to look, and try samples, and there's something for every taste and budget. It's a great place to come up with a custom gift basket for the folks of home; if it's a Northwest food specialty, they have it.

You should try to check at least one of the museums in LaConner. If you can only go to one, I'd go to the Northwest Art museum. It's on 121 South First Street, so you can amble down (or up) to it, then stop for lunch after. My other favorite is the Quilt and Textile Museum, upstairs in the Gaches Mansion on 703 S 2nd St. The Quilt Museum gives you not only an opportunity to look at a variety of incredible textile art but it's a birds-eye view of local history.

Every year, during April, LaConner is the center of the Tulip festival. That rich farmland re-claimed by the use of dykes resulted in some of the most acclaimed tulip and iris bulbs in the world. Starting in April, and petering out in early May, you can drive in and around LaConner and see huge fields of flowers in glorious bloom. It really is absolutely stunning.