Eastern Washington...

First let me start off by saying that I look forward to this trip every year. I love the colors of the vine maples and the tamarack trees mixed in with the evergreens. We start out by going up Highway 20 (State Route) which leads us up over the North Cascade National Park, Recreation Area, FOrest. etc. It is BEEYOUTIFUL up there, the Mountains are really craggy and the highway has only been open for 30 years so it has not been ruined by businesses. On the way over, we go by three dams and lakes, along the Skagit River, which Seattle City Light put in years and years ago to keep Seattle powered up. I think if it were to be proposed today, the answer would be a resounding NO!! THey wanted to raise the highest and last dam another 400 feet, which would have allowed Ross Lake to inundate British Columbia, and also to flood several of the last wilderness valleys and trails that are left. THANK GOD those wiley Canucks said not only no, but HELL no!! THose saving the last stand of some of the oldest red cedar trees in the world. The drive up past all of these dams and their ensuing lakes is breath taking. Going higher and higher until you are sitting at the crest of the North Cascade Mountains, and then like a slide show, the scenery instantly changes, from verdant evergreens and thick drippy fog, (yep, all the way up) to rocks and sparce dry pines, and brown trees and grasslands. THe air again was thick, but this time with Smoke from all of the fires that have been burning all summer in the upper part of the state and into Canada. One in particular has been burning for 3 months. The color on the trees did not happen this year, too dry, too hot. We drove along the Methow RIver for 30 plus miles and the river bottom could be seen the whole way. SAD!!

We got over to the fruit stand we go to every year, loaded the car with apples and pears, and continued on our way. We followed the Mighty Columbia river down as far as Wenatchee, then turned and took US 2 all the way home. For those of you that have misconceptions about Washsington State, No it does not rain all the time, just on the West side of the mountains, the Eastern Side looks like the rest of the WEST. Desert, Brown, Cactus, rocks, and the Mighty Columbia. While the Columbia starts out in Canada in the Rockies, and wanders down into Washington, the Majority of it is a wide, slow moving meandering river kinda like the Mississippi, until It reaches the first of about 10 dams along its way. These dams are also for generating Hydro-electric power for places no where near Washington. Again, SAD! Along the river are canyons called Coulees that are irrigated and are perfect for growing apples and pears and apricots. The whole way down there are orchards tucked into the banks and the hills along the river. Gorgeous. When the river turns and heads back towards the east and then South, the Wenatchee River takes over the job of irrigating the orchards along Hiway 2. This becomes prettier and prettier as you start the climb back up and over the top into the rainy side. the Town of Leavenworth was an old railroad town that was dying, so the town fathers decided they needed a theme and they rebuilt the town into Bavaria of the West. THe Mountains from there on over look like the Alps in Switzerland, thus the theme.


The first week in October is the Autumn Leaves Festival in Leavenworth, and also Octoberfest. I forgot. People everywhere! wearing weird lederhosen and drinking beer and eating sausages. We got there too late for the fun, but just in time for the traffic. We stopped at a restaurant that was away from all of the festivities and had a really good meal, then continued on our way. As I opened the car door the fruit in the back hit me in the nose. THe whole car smelled just like an apple air freshner. YUMMY.

Bob oped Sadie's carrier and gave her a little bite of prime Rib fat. OH MAN!!!! she allmost chewed his hand off. She has now found there is more than just Puppy Chow in this world. We got back to the ferry landing about 9PM and home about 945, so we were gone about 13 hours. A really long and tiring trip, and usually one that is much longer because of all the stops I make to photograph the colors. Not this time. Too much smoke and fog and no color.

I now have three cases of apples and two cases of pears to put up, so i had better get off and get busy huh?