Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Taking the Scenic Route – Turquoise and Gold in the North Cascades
“Is the Park open?”
(“You’re in it now,” I thought to myself, “just open your eyes.”)
But I understand. There’s a government shutdown, after all.
And North Cascades National Park is different from the others. No fanfare. Just mountains. And a river. And creeks. And falls. Take a hike if you like or stop at the overlooks and gawk.
The young man in the Visitor’s Center answered the couple in the affirmative, and they went on their way.
We were in the town of Newhalem, owned and operated by the City of Seattle and its municipal utility, Seattle City Light.
A true company town, established to house the workers who built the dams on the Skagit River over a hundred years ago, to harness hydro power for the growing city south.
I hope he told them to keep going and be sure and stop at the Diablo Lake Overlook.
It’s a must-see any time of year, a spectacular lake of indescribable color, formed when the Skagit River was dammed. The color is due to glacial flour reflecting in the water.
We stopped to admire the views then continued eastward on Highway 20 for another panorama, at the Washington Pass Overlook where the Larch are turning gold and the rock is gold, too.
And for a good look at 7,720 ft. Liberty Bell, a favorite of rock climbers.
We spent the night in Winthrop, a small Western-themed town, which was strangely quiet.
This was the view from our room, next to the Methow River.
The next morning we had a light breakfast – this was mine –
then hit the road again. The terrain changed dramatically as we followed the Columbia River.
We stopped for a walk at Beebe Springs Natural Area, on alert for rattlesnakes. We didn’t see any,
but we did see a beautiful sculpture.
We spent the night in Leavenworth, a small Bavarian-themed town, also strangely quiet; it will liven up this weekend, when Octoberfest kicks in.
The deep blue skies from the day before disappeared, due to smoke from the nearby Labor Mountain Fire, which started on September 1st, and is still burning. Some containment has been achieved but it will likely burn until a strong weather event puts it out.
The next day, we headed back home via Highway 2 and stopped by Tumwater Canyon and the Wenatchee River.
The views from the highway were gorgeous
as we headed up Stevens Pass and back over to the West side of the Cascade Mountains.
We stopped for a hike here and there throughout our few days away, but honestly this time, the best views were from the road. No wonder this scenic drive is called the Cascade Loop, Washington’s Ultimate Road Trip.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Beautiful scenery! 🤩
Thank you! It’s amazing!
So many beautiful views, Susanne! It’s amazing how many color pallets Earth has. ❤️
Yes, truly! Thanks, John.
You’re welcome Susanne, have a great weekend. 😎
You take such amazing photos.
Thank you so much! It helps to be surrounded by amazing scenery.
Fabulous colors and a great tour. That loop was a favorite of mine, though more often I did an out and back for cross country skiing in the Methow Valley after Highway 20 closed for the winter. So sad about the fires. I don’t remember them being such an ever present feature of the late summer.
Thanks, Graham. Apparently, it’s one of the largest areas in the country for cross country skiing, something I’ve never tried. It seems like there are significant fires every year now, and harder to fight in these rugged and remote areas. Snow is in the forecast in the mountains this weekend, so hopefully that will take care of it.
Simply wonderful scenery, and the ‘themed towns’ are appealingly quirky too. Thanks for taking us along, Susanne.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete! 😊 So glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you for taking me back to the Cascades, and at such a beautiful time of year! We did the drive through the park in the opposite direction to you, and before starting we stayed in that exact same place in Winthrop, with that lovely river view. We really liked the town but were less impressed by Leavenworth which struck as a bit too fake and also very difficult to park in!
It’s a wonderful loop, especially this time of year! I know what you mean about Leavenworth. The setting is awesome, but it’s mostly a tourist town. We mainly used it for a convenient stopping place.
As always, your photographs are gorgeous! Looks like a very enjoyable trip. We love Leavenworth, it is where we go each summer for a couple days on my birthday. They have the best beer there (Icicle and Blewett breweries).
Thank you! It’s such a gorgeous area, and Leavenworth is always a fun place to stay.
Beautiful scenes and nature.
Thank you!