Something pretty is rockin' around here

They’re here...

See them peeking out from a windowsill, wedged into tree trunks, perched on poles. It’s the new rock painting craze that’s arrived in La Conner and other Skagit County hiding places.

The game of “paint, hide and seek” leaves palm-sized creations all over the county, from artistic landscapes, to food and cartoons. Also, there is a whole lot of Seahawks pride, as the many posts on the new “Skagit County Rocks!” Facebook pages show.

A handful of administers manage the active page, which receives posts from happy rock finders daily, even hourly. The painters show off their collections that they’ll leave for others to discover, and the finders share stories and say whether they decided to “re-hide or keep.”

The group currently has more than 1,380 members, an explosive growth since it was formed a month ago to the day, July 31.

Christine Bigelow is one of the four admins on the page and credits the large Whidbey Island Rocks group with inspiring and helping to launch the Skagit County version.

She and some friends stumbled on a tie-dye rock on a beach, which lead her to the Whidbey Island page and was her first introduction to the world of rocking.

“We were hooked,” Bigelow said. She wanted to bring the activity to Skagit County and enlisted the help of others to get the page going. None of them anticipated how big it would get, and she says artist Rick Townsend in particular helped garner excitement in the early stages — he went to art school but hadn’t been using his talents publicly until now.

Within three weeks, the group had a thousand members. Now, the group is gearing up to create and hide a “2,000-member milestone” rock, which will bring a prize to its lucky finder.

Local businesses have pitched in, Bigelow said, donating their services and goods to the jackpot. Business from fireworks, car repair and La Conner’s own Channel Massage have contributed. Their 1,000-milestone rock was found within two hours of them hiding it, so it’s safe to say, may the odds be ever in your favor.

“It’s been amazing to watch all these communities come together over something as simple as rocks,” Bigelow said.

She’s heard stories about a grateful woman who was able to spend quality time with her father again, of autistic children, who were able to join in, of those who now had a way of sharing the artistic passion with others and from rock hunters, who were given a reason to meet others and stay outdoors.

Bigelow said Skagit rocks have traveled as far as France and Spain, and that there are Pacific Northwest and even national rock groups.

In a time when the Pokémon Go trend is ablaze, the screenless activity lets people experience the thrill of a hunt in actual reality, saving the virtual reality for another day.

“I think it’s a great family project. Any age can do it, because any age can paint a picture,” said Gail Taylor, who lives in Shelter Bay.

Her daughter and young grandson were visiting her in town from Brookings, Oregon last week, and Taylor says her observant daughter noticed a colorful rock hidden under the railing at the boardwalk.

They pulled it out and found “ich liebe dich” painted on top of the German flag and little red hearts.

“It means, ‘I love you’ in German,” Taylor said. The back of the rock instructed them to post a photo to the Skagit County Rocks Facebook page, hashtag the artist, Melissa Crossley Reed with “#Melsrocks,” and to rehide the rock.

The family was excited to oblige, eventually deciding to turn it into a “traveling rock” and posting photos as it visits Washington, Oregon and California as they travel the coast.

Taylor’s daughter, Lori Dark, said that in Oregon, the locals use sand dollars instead of rocks in a similar project. The idea of playing a community game with others has proved very popular and has spread quickly in this area. Skagit County has two active rock painting pages, and nearby cities from Mount Vernon to Stanwood, are joining in the trend.

Another artist, Lori Roberts, from Sedro-Woolley, said she loves painting and gluing together rock creations.

“I couldn’t be happier,” she said. “Everywhere I go now, I’m envisioning what I’m going to make out of them. I’m having a blast and now I’m obsessed.”

Just picture rocks painted to be potatoes and ice cream cones; people swapping artistic masterpieces; children playing with rock monsters in lieu of dolls or a crying youngster being cheered up by a SpongeBob rock — all evidence the activity can be fun for all ages and artistic talents.

Rock on, La Conner.