14th
July 2016
My last mountain pass
as I finish my 2 ¼ year adventure.
No one else came
to my small campsite in the forest last night, so I had a very quiet last
sleep, and slept like a log. Before opening the door this morning I checked to see if any
interesting wildlife was there (like bears, about which there were lots of
signs) but no luck. Nothing. Made my cup of tea, had my cereal, cleaned my
teeth and myself, and I was on the road before 8 am. It was to be an easy drive today, through the
Cascade National Park and through to my sister’s place in Anacortes, in the San
Juan Islands. I had driven this almost
identical road on the last day of my 2012 trip in the Lotus, but that time it
had been raining and overcast, and while it had been a magical drive, I had missed a
lot of the sights. Today was a clear
blue sky right from the start, so I was looking forward to seeing what I had
missed last time.
It was a pleasant
morning driving through the rolling hills to the east of the National Park, with
snowcapped mountains ahead of me gradually getting closer – and larger ! First spot on the route is the crazy little
town of Winthrop, which seems to have been left 100 years behind so that you
almost expect to see cowboys riding down the street on horseback. Most of the shops and stores are typical wood
fronted buildings, with old signs hanging out the front like “White Buck
Trading Co”. The gas station just has a
couple of pumps under a wooden awning, and then, where the main road takes a
sharp left in the middle of town, you are faced with the Winthrop Emporium –
“General Merchandise, Goods & Sundries”.
The big semi-trailer unloading goods right outside kind of spoilt the
effect, but it is still a good old country town, and attracts lots of interest.
I had noticed an
extremely large number of big RV’s and 5th wheels as well as
Harley’s etc on the road this morning, and just outside Winthrop found out
why. Today was Thursday, and starting on
Friday morning was the weekend annual Winthrop Blues Festival – And the big
fields set aside for the festival were already filling up with campers who had
come for the festival. Sounded like a
fun event, and at least they were going to get good weather for it.
Along the North
Cascades Scenic Highway, and through the Okanogan National Forest, (I find it
odd that when in Canada it is called the Okanagan Valley, then as soon as you
cross into the US, it becomes Okanogan – I might have to google that one to
find out why !), and the road started to climb upwards, with Troopie continuing
to struggle without a turbo to boost her up the hills. We passed the Cutthroat
Lake Trail with gorgeous snow-decked mountains now outlined against the blue
cloudless sky, and some impressive peaks that I was to find out
Shortly
afterwards I saw a sign that this was the Washington Pass at 5477 ft, and then
there was another sign saying “Washington Pass Overlook” – Well, it might be
worth a look, although “Overlook” didn’t sound that impressive. I parked the car, got accosted by a couple
who asked the usual question – “You really from Australia ?” “Yup”. “So what’s New Zealand like ?”. I am getting SO tired of that question – No
one asks what Australia is like – All they want to know is how New Zealand is ! So I gave them my usual story about how
highly we think of Kiwis, explaining that was like me asking an American which
part of Canada he was from and what he likes best about Canada ! Then I
wandered off up the trail towards the “Overlook”.
And WOW ! That is one highly impressive Overlook
!! First of all you stand on a cliff
edge (with a railing !) with the road snaking up the pass below you up to that
hairpin, and the Liberty Bell peaks towering above you in the sunlight. Absolutely breathtaking, partly because it is
anyway, and also partly because it is such a surprise – You just walk round
this corner and then without any warning, there they are. One then wanders along the sheer cliff edge
(with railings !) getting different stunning views of the mountains and the
valley below. Just brilliant –
Especially since it is still only 9.30
I then wandered
on round the short walk back to the car park, and headed back out to the main
road again. I don’t remember seeing any
of this in 2012 – All I remembered was that it was a fun road to drive along –
SO I am really pleased I have come back again.
The great winding road continued on through the forests and past more
mountains, through the Rainy Pass (!) at 4855 ft, and with the mountains first
having a kind of misty haze around their peaks, and then having a more complete
cloud halo around the tops. Just
beautiful countryside to drive through on my last day on the road.
About 20 minutes
later I came round the corner and got my first view of the turquoise coloured
Lake Ross. Compared with the view 4
years ago, this was slightly better ! Hydro electric power provided by 2 dams built
in this area of the Skagit Valley provide a major portion of the electricity
for the Seattle area, but that doesn’t stop them from being scenic at the same
time. I would around Lake Ross, and then
round Lake Diablo, before seeing a turn off that looked like it might take me
down to the dam below, so I headed down the narrow road, and came out right on
the dam itself !
There is a one
lane road over the top of the dam, with spectacular views up over the lake as
well as down the Skagit River below. I
would love to see the dam when they are releasing water as the spillways look
more like ski-jumps, and must shoot the water out into the valley in
spectacular fashion. After wandering up
the road for a while, which ends up in an information centre about the dam, I
then headed back out to the main road, and drove down the Skagit Valley beside
the river which also forms Gorge Lake on the way. From there I would down into the plains and
across to Burlington through increasingly built up areas. I soon got to where I knew where I was and it
was only a short run up over the Swinomish Channel bridge, into Anacortes, and
up to my sister’s house.
So – that’s it
! Kind of a big anti-climax to just STOP
after doing all that I have done and been to all the places I have been, and
seen all the things I have seen, and met all the wonderful people I have bumped
into along the way. It was great that
Janet was able to join me for so much of the trip – Alaska, Central and much of
South America, and then most of Europe and Morocco. We had a lot of laughs and some great times
along the way - It gets awfully lonely out there sometimes when you are on your
own.
Now the focus is
on getting Troopie cleaned up ready to ship to Australia. I shall detail that because there have been
some amazing developments in regard to trying to get her shipped out, so don’t
go away. There is going to be a massive
Twist in the Tale (apologies to Jeffrey Archer !) before this story is finished
! And on Thursday I am flying down to
Houston for 10 days to see daughter Sarah, her husband Benn, and my wife Janet
who is currently there – All to celebrate grand daughter Olivia’s second
birthday. So I am looking forward to
that immensely. And as for the dramas
of cleaning, packing, and shipping back to Australia, stay tuned – It isn’t
over yet !!
Pics are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/6309606782283964097?authkey=Gv1sRgCLSql6C0uveieg
Thanks for the trip, Giles. I have enjoyed every bit of it - thanks for sharing it with all of us who have followed your journeys. I look forward to seeing what is ahead for us through that tunnel (above) :)
ReplyDeleteElaine