Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Come along for a Drive on the Chinook Scenic Byway
I have to admit we live in a beautiful part of the country. So even though our travel has been limited by the pandemic we’re still able to visit many scenic destinations nearby.
Recently that meant a drive on the Chinook Scenic Byway. They call it a ‘scenic byway’ for a reason.
Starting south in Enumclaw the road follows the White River, continues inside the northeast corner of Mt. Rainier National Park, crosses Chinook Pass to the east side of the Cascade Mountains and ends at Naches.
There were many photo ops along the way including our first – a stop next to the White River for a look at Skookum Falls.
The White River owes its milky color to its source – nearby Emmons Glacier – the largest glacier on Mt. Rainier.
Across the river, 250 foot Skookum Falls can be seen in the distance.
A nice view and no hike required.
Next was Silver Springs Campground which we were surprised to find mostly full. It didn’t matter as we only stopped to use the facilities and view the bubbling springs that appeared from nowhere out of the ground.
Continuing upward we stopped for a walk around Tipsoo Lake – or so we thought – it was completely snowed in.
Still, we managed to get some nice views of the Mountain next door;
before crossing over to the east side where all was sunny and dry as expected. By then we were hungry so we headed to Gold Creek for their world famous Fish & Chips. Oh yes, they delivered on their promise!
After lunch, while Bob practiced fly fishing,
I wandered around with my camera, taking pictures of the trees and flowers,
and wishing I’d paid more attention in Geology class.
Then it was home again, home again, jiggety jig.
Till next time.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Wow! Lovely! Thanks for the road trip. It was wonderful to see and hear the bubbling Silver Springs.😎
Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Wonderful scenery, and snow in June! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks Pete. I had forgotten there would still be snow on the lake!
Absolutely gorgeous! I wonder if Tipsoo is going to get out of the snow this summer? Beautiful pictures of that area. I love Mt. Rainier, it holds a special place in my heart.
Thank you! I love Mt Rainier too! What a backdrop to our world! Tipsoo should be free of snow soon. We’ve walked around it many times later in the season.
We made a stop at Tipsoo Lake several years ago and found snow everywhere and it just about this time of year. Still a lovely stop and the view of the mountain is spectacular. Thanks for the video and audio of the springs!
Thanks so much. I’m glad you enjoyed the visit. We’ve walked around Tipsoo Lake many times before but always later in the summer. It’s such a lovely walk. 🙂
What a great trip and terrific photos! You need to include what you got for lunch!
Thanks John! I’m always too eager to dig in to take a picture! The fish and chips were delicious! 🙂