Behind the Sign

I vividly recall my first encounter with Turkish coffee. It wasn’t in Turkey, but in Athens, Greece. I ordered a coffee at a street cafe, expecting the usual steaming hot mug of percolated joe that I’d come to know and love in the good ole USofA. Instead, to my astonishment, I was served a demitasse cup that looked straight out of my kid sister’s make believe tea set, filled with an aromatic brown sludge. That first sip forever changed my perception of coffee, and after my initial shock wore off, I discovered that I really liked it. I still do. Which is way I was so delighted to discover the existence of the Corner Caffé in Anacortes. 

Over the six years and counting that Meyer Sign has been bringing you its Tales of the Magic Skagit stories, we've shared a number of historical accounts -- spanning a period from "time immemorial" to the 20th century. Our hands down obsession, however, has been with a late 19th century utopian community that once existed in the Bow/Blanchard area off today's Chuckanut Road. "They Called the Town Equality" is a multi-episode history of the community known as Equality Colony, with stories and podcast interviews featuring Sayer Theiss, Melissa Stowe, and Robert Burns. We've put them all together in one handy dandy place, so settle in and steep yourself in one of the Magic Skagit's most interesting bits of history.

Since he came to Washington from his home state of New Hampshire in 1989, Craig Romano has hiked more than 35,000 miles in Washington and British Columbia, and he's published more than 25 books dedicated to running, walking, hiking, and biking in the PNW. His latest book on urban trail adventures is a comprehensive guide to no less than 55 splendid hikes just a day trip from the Magic Skagit in one of the most amazing cities in the world: Vancouver, BC. Set your compass for due north, eh.