What I love most about my relationship with Brad, is his
willingness to go with the flow of things, especially when we travel or go on
vacation. We lost our opportunity this summer to go to Costa Rica due to COVID,
so we had to think outside the box on something we could do that was within our
means. We tossed around ideas and finally decided to putz along the Cascade
Loop, a scenic drive that meanders through Central Washington and into the
Cascades and Wenatchee River Valley. We figured we could easily social
distance from people by not taking any populated hikes, avoid tourist traps and
destinations (except for Leavenworth) , and Van Life it for a week. We did just that and our 8 day
adventure was an unplugged, slow moving bliss that settled my anxieties for the
upcoming school year.
Let me just say, Washington State is so beautiful. I am so
fortunate to get to call this place home and have lived here now, 10 years.
Washington is so diverse, too, because the East side of the state is full of
dry desert, flat and rolling farmland, whereas, the closer you get to the
mountain ranges, the landscape changes drastically to diverse alpine forest and
crystal clear or deep green lakes that are situated between towering rocky
cliffs.
Mt. Baker
Since we had no real destination, we set out first for Mt.
Baker National Park. We can see Mt. Baker perfectly from our house, and it is
always a towering beauty in the early morning hours. I knew going into visiting
the infamous peak, the road was closed due to snow. The plows were not moving
the last few feet from the road due to COVID restrictions, so going to places
like Artist Point would be out of the picture for now. We camped at the base on
a national forest service road, off the road, near a major road washout that we
decided to not cross. In fact, we learned that the road went to a trailhead,
and we saw quite a few vehicles pass us in the morning and evening, only one
almost got stuck and didn’t even make the trek. It was a great little spot,
really, with a cascading waterfall within feet, and a nice view of lush forest
around us. We ventured to Mt. Baker the next morning after picking up camp, and
the views did not disappoint. We walked around Picture Lake, enjoyed the views,
and then thought about parking at the base of the road and hiking the last .7
miles up to the main parking area, but upon sight of all the cars, illegally
parking along the road and into the backpackers overnight lot, we opted out and
decided to continue on our journey.
We ended up near the Canadian Border on our route to connect
to Highway 2, and were astounded by how much corn was growing in this valley
near the town of Sumas. Too bad the borders were still closed, otherwise we’d
be checking out Canada in a heartbeat.
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We see this mountain from our house. :)
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Picture Lake, Mt. Baker
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These little can wines are super yummy: Sangria with our Mexican themed dutch oven dinner.
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Tasty!
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| Van Views |
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High fives for Papa
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Nooksack Falls
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Along The Loop: Cascade Range
The loop continued and we ventured over the pass to view
Diablo Lake, a huge deep aqua lake that has its own ferry, and is nestled deep
in the Cascade Mountain Range. Way too many people crowded the lake and
shorelines. We didn't even stop at the overlook because of too many people. We continued on and camped at a first-come, first-serve
campground: Lone Fir at the base of the range.
Lone Fir was perfect, with a 2 mile loop trail that needs
some major TLC, located in the campground itself. Most of the bridges were
completely upturned, with the spikes and nails sticking out of it. The main
suspension bridges across the river was perfect and in mint condition. Of
course, this was one hike we were ill prepared for and it was evening, so I was
a little apprehensive not hiking with adequate gear. But Jax was a super star,
as usual, and high tailed it without issue.
Maddy and I walked around and witnessed a weasel capture a mouse, which
was pretty awesome. The stargazing was phenomenal and so clear, with no light
pollution. Really stellar from our campsite.
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Writing in her travel journal
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From inside the campervan
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Reading together
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One of the few bridges still entact.
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Methow Valley, Wintrhop, Twisp, and Lake Pergyn State Park
We continued on the next day and explored Winthrop. We
bought a couple things at the shops and got Maddy a new hat as an early
birthday gift. We had ice cream, because it was well over 80 degrees, and
enjoyed the time in town. It reminded me of walking along the old fashion
boardwalks of Cody, a throwback to an old Western city.
When afternoon hit, we ventured to Pearrygin State Park and
enjoyed swimming in the lake. Once we finished our venture there, we headed to
find the next camp spot, which was a National Forest Campground in the back
woods called Mystery Campground. We weren’t alone, as one other group of locals
were there, who lectured us about our campfire, although we knew campfires weren’t
included in the burn ban yet. We were lucky to be able to finish our dinner on
the campfire before we got told to turn off the fire. Another phenomenal starry
night here!
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She started her first campfire, with the help of Papa
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Jaxson loved this sign.
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Showing off her cool new hat
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Taking a dip in Lake Pearrygin
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Lake Chelan and Silver Falls Trail
We snagged a spot to camp at Lake Chelan State Park and got
a great spot that was near the docks, that overlooked the lake. It was actually
pretty awesome. We really enjoyed the Lake Chelan area. We hiked the trail there
called Little Bear Trail: Bitterbrush Loop. We read reports of a sow and her
two cubs being seen on the trail, but only witnessed some baby bear print and
nothing more. We loved camping at this state park and hope to enjoy it again in
the future, with less people. It was great and the lake was crystal clear,
blue, and perfect.
En route to Leavenworth, after making reservations at a
local RV Park to stay for the next two nights, we ventured onward along the
Wenatchee River Valley. The terrain shifted and it was really cool to see how
the Columbia River is used for irrigation along the valley and feeds into the
growth of countless vineyards and orchards. I once joked with Brad I could eat
my way across this valley. So much appetizing fruit and wineries, I would never
get bored.
We did stop at a short easy hike labeled Silver Falls, which
was fun and a pretty decent incline. It was dusty, but the shade felt good and
the stream and falls were spectacular. The views along the loop of the valley
as we continued were amazing and very few people on the trail was a plus. The
Ponderosa Pines smelled sweet like cinnamon, we discovered this after the fact.
It was amazing.
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Lake Chelan from Little Bear Trail
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Fearless
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Drying off in the hot sun
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Diving deep in Lake Chelan
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Floating away
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We all had fun taking a dip in Lake Chelan!
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Van Life
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| Evening dock walk |
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Early morning dock walk
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Watching the skiers, already up and having fun on the water.
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| Watching sis swim |
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Hiking on our way up Silver Falls
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Silver Falls
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Orchard Drive By along the Wenatchee River Valley
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Leavenworth
The next few days we spent in Leavenworth, which was upon
Brad’s request. He loves this little German town and what a better way to visit
a typical, thriving tourist trap then during a pandemic. Thursday we walked
around town, enjoyed the Blackbird Island Trail, saw a ton of bear scat on the
trail, and sat watching floaters float the river. We window shopped and ate
good food at the German restaurant in their outdoor seating. Friday we had a
full day packed with activities of visiting the Reindeer Farm and getting up
close and personal with the reindeer, and then floated the Wenatchee River. It
was so fun. We missed seeing a bear that appeared over an embankment, all
because Madelynne decided to jump in and couldn’t get back on her tube at that
very moment.
The only negative about our trip was the RV park. It was
right next to the highway and the first night we were there, the young campers
next to us were up to all hours of the night, which was a bit ridiculous. They
were a bunch of vagabonds, traveling the PNW. The girl next to us really had no
clue what she was doing with her brand new tent, water bottle, and camp chair.
Brad was so thankful I was a camper and knew a thing or two about camping.
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Waiting for the bus to take us floating
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This was his lunch.
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Picture with Elsa
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Big boy shedding his velvet
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Reindeer Farm in Leavenworth
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Camp Games
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New books and a new succulent to add to our collection at home
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Vineyard and mountains
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Log seasaw
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Flowers and hanging baskets along Leavenworth's Main Drag
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Mural
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Brad loves this little town.
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Staying safe on our adventure
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Grasshopper Meadows
For the last leg of our trip, we spent two nights at
Grasshopper Meadows. It was located about 15 miles from Leavenworth. The
original campground I had selected was already full, so we settled for
Grasshopper Meadows. It was relatively peaceful until Saturday morning, when a
large loud family arrived at 8am and were not quiet the rest of the time. They
also hogged the water front, but we managed to get some time by the river in
the early afternoon.
This was a great place to celebrate Maddy’s birthday. We
cooked an awesome cake and pizza’s in the Dutch Oven, as she requested. The
stars here were also incredible and we spent two nights stargazing over the
mountains to the east of us. We couldn’t ask for a better family adventure.
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Enjoying the views from the hammock
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Add caption
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Captain America!
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Enjoying the Dutch Oven Pizza
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Making the pizza
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Dutch Oven Chocolate Cake perfection
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Scoping out the mountain side
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Reading
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Filthy camp feet
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Family river day
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White River Views
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Morning reading time
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White River Views
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