The Quackshack tribe

No it's not one of the local Native tribes. Just a peculiarity of Mann Rd on Fir Island. At the very end of the dike bordering the South Fork of the Skagit, there is an alignment of a few quack shacks, that is, small wood cabins that I always have pleasure to look at, due to their weather beaten aspect, some kind of askew, the angles not quite right, and all of different colors. Most of them are the cutest things. In spite of their funky appearance, some display pompous names, such as "The River Ritz". All have in common the incredible imagination, love, and humour that has been put in keeping them up and imprinting the owners' personality on them. Most occupants are fishermen or hunters. Some use their cabin seasonally, some are local people, some end up living there permanently.

Now a recent phenomenon started taking place, that I'd call the gentrification of the shacks. One after the other, the occupants started not only putting on the yearly coat of fresh paint, but also started enlarging or remodelling their cabins. They're starting to look really nice, but also more uniform. In their endeavour to preserve their little paradise, the cabins owners are starting to uniformize the paint colors, more of that (nice) bluish grey. The cabins are getting almost too cute. Now I'm not pontifying here on what should or should not be done, I'm just observing the changes. While it is perfectly understandable to be willing to keep those cabins in good shape, or to improve the comfort if you turn it into a permanent home, I just hope they're not gonna end up looking like suburban condos, with the assorted rent increases, which may eventually make a whole local culture disappear.

The French liveaboard who should mind her own business.