North Cascades National Park

We took a 300 mile drive on Thursday.  DER took the day off and we did something we have wanted to do for years.  We didn't do everything we've wanted to do - so we have an excuse to go again.  We going to shoot for another trip in late July next year when the mountain flowers are blooming at Hart's Pass.

Yesterday we took the scenic drive through North Cascades National Park and beyond.  Our hopes were to see Larches in their fall glory.  We may have been a little early, but they were gold near the tree line.  Larches are conifers that drop their needles.   We see them as the occasional landscape plant, but wanted to see them in more natural settings.   We stopped at lots of little overlooks - the reason we didn't make it to Hart's Pass.
This first photo was taken in deep shade by a shaky hand (mine) but I love it anyway.  The rocks on this part of the overlook trail were drenched in moss.  I think DER found the only non-mossy spot.

This is Rainy Lake - the destination of a short paved, handicapped accessible trail.  At the top rim of the cirque you can see some larches.  Along this trail we met two schnauzers named Max and Rainy.  Rainy is 17 years old and got piggy backed to the trail for the first time in her annual trip to Rainy Lake.  On the trail back down from Rainy Lake some gray jays flew right over our heads so close we could feel the air move from the beat of their wings. 

This is the view from Washington Pass.  Well it is really only part of the view.  You walk out on to this promontory of rock and find yourself almost completely surrounded by mountains.  It is stunning.

More views of this area to follow.

At higher elevations the huckleberry had turned it's glorious red.  The granite outcrop was easy to walk on - a very grippy surface.

 

More Washington Pass views with larches.  We were a little late in the day to get the best light for this spot, but it was spectacular - even as the mountains cast their shadows over the valley floor.  DER did some homework on larches.  They are deciduous conifers that don't like competition - hence their propensity for the tree line locations.  Losing their needles helps them survive the cold during the winter.

One of the features of this area are a series of lakes formed by damming the Skagit River.  Diablo Lake is one of these lakes.  Diablo Lake is below Ross Lake which stretches up over the Canadian border.  The tourquoise blue color is typical of glacier fed lakes.

Yes, the  vine maple was changing color, but the sunlight on the maple was hard to comeby and there were not good picture opportunities.  You'll just have to imagine the color licking up the ravines and water ways as if they were aflame. 

I find my pictures a rather sorry representation of the beauty of the day.  I'm kind of glad to know my eye and my heart can still see more than a camera.

Tourism at Home

Mom and Barbara came for a visit. I don't think Mom would have come without Barbara so I am grateful for her willingness to travel to see us and to bring Mom. I had pretty much resigned myself to the idea that my mother would probably never visit us again.

We did lots of fun things. David took the week off. We went whale watching. Gray whales are not as exciting as orca's but it was still a chance to see whales and it was still pretty cool. We saw cormorants, grebes and bald eagles along with the whales. This picture is of cormorants on top of pilings as we pulled into the dock. The whales are too hard to get a picture of, but we did get to smell whale breath. The gray whales feed on the bottom and have kind of a mucky smelling breath.









We went up to Skagit Valley for the daffodils blooming in the fields. That is the picture that is at the top. It would normally be tulips by this time of year, but it has been a cold winter. The peak bloom will be beautiful in a couple of weeks. This is the largest bulb producing region in the world and is pretty impressive when in bloom. These are some early tulips.





















Our outside activities were somewhat limited by the weather, but we did manage a little walk in our nearby woods where the fungus was fascinating and the trillium was in bloom.




We also spent a little time with a stroll in the Arboretum. And I as usual enjoyed the shaggy bark of this tree - whose name I can't recall.










Our Camellia won't be blooming this year because of the cold winter. But there were some beauties in the Arboretum.









We went to Pike's Market where the flower stalls were also beautiful with daffodils. They even air brush some of them an orange color, but the ones in the picture are all natural.

We walked along taking advantage of some of the free tastes along the way. Expensive balsamic vinegar flavored with blackberry could have had us standing around that booth for a long time and then there are the Chukar Cherries (chocolate covered dried cherries), ummmm.



We went to the glass museum in Tacoma. It is pretty cool to watch them blow and shape glass in the hot shop there adn walk across the bridge of glass. I'll have to wait for Barb to send pictures of that one as I didn't bring my camera. Look for Tacoma Museum of Glass on the internet and you can see glass blowing on the internet.

We also took the Boeing tour. Kids - it's much better than it was when you guys were young and we took it on a spring break. It was pretty impressive to see five planes in one building. Again -- no pictures - they will confiscate and not return your camera if you try to take it on the tour.

Lots of fun activities, good food, and a restful round of "Jeeves and Wooster" in the evenings. Almost too much fun for one week.