The North Cascades

After posting last night, Ruthie and I took Odie out for one last walk. We discovered that our hotel backed up to a lovely riverside park and greenway with paths on both sides of the Spokane River. We saw skateboards, motorized scooters, bikes and pedestrians enjoying the mild evening and beautiful views. Part of the greenway included an exhibit of bronze sculptures recounting the people who built Spokane including this coal miner and a statue of one of the nuns who literally helped build

the first hospital. 

In a post from last year's trip to Canada, there is a picture of a statue in Rockwood Park, in St John, NB, to the industrial workers who were killed "building the nation". As someone who lost her husband to a workplace accident in a state that didn't seem to care, I found that statue deeply moving. I found it heartening here to see workers recognized for their role in creating Spokane and a rich addition to this already wonderful space. The lovely park and the cool evening air were a pleasant transition from the stress of the parking garage incident, which, by the way, ended well this morning. With Ruthie's guidance, I cleared the last three pipes--by barely an inch--but we did it and without having to let air out of the tires or remove the overpacked roof rack. Whew.

After four days of hard driving on the Interstate, we spent today driving two lane

back roads, including several scenic highways, across northern Washington State to Bellingham, about 30 minutes from where I am to pick up the trailer mid-day tomorrow.

We left Spokane on US 2. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was not the incredible rolling farmland west of the city. And, while I did expect some wilderness, I was startled at how sparsely populated the countryside became just outside the city and everywhere else we were today. The farms were huge. We saw very few farm houses. We saw endless fields of grain and equally large areas tilled but not planted. We passed through areas where the fields were interrupted by lava flows and where farmers simply plowed around outcroppings of volcanic rock. But where we did see residences, the farms and farm buildings were well maintained and neatly kept.

Grand Coolee

The further west we got, the more arid the land became. Ruthie took this picture trying to capture all the textures of the land around us. We passed Grand Coolee Dam and later, Chief Joseph Dam which was surrounded by miles of fruit orchards made possible by even more miles of irrigation line. To conserve space and water, the trees were planted extremely close together and many were simply grafts supported by rows of fence wire like you might use to support beans here.  But the trees were incredibly prolific and we passed industrial scale packing houses up and down the road.

Irrigated patches of orchard 

The road followed the Columbia river for quite a while. The river itself was clear and clean. Power lines left both dams and traveled to the horizon. The town across the river from Coolee Dam is named Electric City. Orchards and dam maintenance appeared to be the only viable employment although we did see rafters on the river at one point.

Chief Joseph Dam

The further west and away from the river we traveled, the more arid the land became until it was nothing but sage brush--until we approached the steep, fir covered slopes of the North Cascade Mountains. 

We took the North Cascades Scenic Highway to and through the North Cascades National Park. It is impossible to capture the grandeur of these rugged mountains topped with glaciers. We had fun trying, but you just need to make this drive and see 

them for yourself.

Today was the first time we encountered any holiday traffic this trip. The drive through the park was spectacular and the traffic appeared light, but once through the park, apparently we got caught up in the stream of folks heading home after the holiday. That said, we are safe in Bellingham, waiting on instructions for picking up the trailer tomorrow. The trip home will be an amble. We are ready for a break.