North Cascades National Park, WA

Drove about 200 miles round trip to see the Cascades. National Park brochure (bottom pic) had a stunning picture of glacier-topped jagged peaks which I’d hoped we’d get a glimpse of. ‘Twas a cloudy, rainy day so of course all peaks visible from the road were shrouded in clouds. Took a couple of pictures anyway (above brochure pic). The only road was west to east, running about mid-way through the park. I think glacier viewing was probably best from the back country, accessible only by hiking trails. Very pretty drive through small towns, along a river (Skagit River, pronounced Ska-jit) of glacial melt-water called “glacial flour.” (Top pic) As glaciers melt and move, the earth is scraped and scoured, carrying finely ground rock particles under the glacier. Those particles refract the sunlight in rivers, giving the water unusual blues and blue-greens. One of the small towns we passed through was named “Concrete.” We learned its name used to be “Cement City” as cement used to be mined there. Both names conjured up many corny jokes and comments by us. (I’ll spare you, as you had to be there.)

Leaving Anacortes via ferry

The plan is to take the 8:45 a.m. ferry out of Keystone over to Port Townsend tomorrow morning. That means getting up 5:30-6:00 to get to Keystone ½ hour before the ferry sails. And this is a vacation! But it’ll be worth it – next we explore the Olympic Peninsula on the northwest corner of WA, bordered by the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the north and the Pacific Ocean on the west.

More later.

Anacortes, Washington

Trying trip notes on this blog to see how it works. These pictures go with the "Anacortes" paragraph. The one on the left was taken on board the ferry on a cold, rainy day. The above pics show coming into Friday Harbor. Top pics show coming into the dock and a very large truck coming off the ferry.

Mt Rainier “travel guide” - con't.

Met a very nice fellow camper at Ohanapecosh when her husband was backing in their trailer and blocked the road. She came over to talk to us and ended up giving us detailed route “tips” for driving up to Anacortes. Instead of taking the Interstate, she said, why not drive these scenic roads through small towns and enjoy the trip. Her directions were pretty good except for the small town where we were supposed to find Hwy 18 & get on it. No Hwy 18 signs anywhere, but we could see the hwy overhead, just couldn’t find the onramp. Finally stopped and asked where it was. Traveled quite a ways on a small road with lots of wild growth alongside that sure didn’t look like an onramp. But it was (eventually), so on we went. Also ran into a one lane road due to wet road-striping paint. That took awhile – the “follow me” vehicle drove about 2 mph. (Beware of nice campers and their scenic routes.) I think trip took at least 1/2 hour more, but that's ok.

Anacortes, WA

Anacortes is in northern WA up by the San Juan Islands. It's actually on an island (Fidalgo) and is connected to the mainland by a long bridge (Hwy 20). We took a large ferry out to Friday Harbor on the big island of San Juan yesterday. Weather was cold and rainy but we enjoyed the trip anyway. This ferry system is not just for fun - it transports people who commute; cars, trucks of all sizes, buses, RVs & people on foot (like us). We were amazed at the sizes and numbers of vehicles the ferry could hold.

There are many, many islands in between WA and Canadian waters. We had to make sure we didn't board a ferry bound to or from Canada as a passport would've been required to re-enter the USA and of course I left them in the trailer! I bought a great map of the islands and tried to track our progress as we passed by. It's tricky telling one island from the other. According to the map we passed 7 islands.

On the way, we stayed outside in the drizzle and wind so by the time we docked all I wanted was a bowl of hot clam chowder. We found some in a small restaurant overlooking the bay; lots of sailboats were docked and we watched another ferry come in and out. Walked the quaint, touristy town, then it was time to board another ferry to return to Anacortes. Great trip. Ferry ride only cost both of us under $12.

I have some blog learning to do. This format is not exactly what I wanted, but I'll try again. Tx for reading.