Paradise Found - cycling pics
NorthCascades
Posts: 10,968 Member
A good friend of mine ran a trail marathon yesterday. (And at least 5k today.) It was 200 miles from here, on the other side of the mountains, where winter comes early, and where Seattle's rain fades into a warm, sunny, dry climate in the summer. Mary asked me to come for support.
I let her take my car to the race, which necessitated bringing my bike. And since I had it, I would have been remiss not to ride the North Cascades Highway. This is the road that took 100 years to build, a project that was halted for need of a poet.
Before I even got to the Methow Valley, as we started to pass landmarks that can only mean that's where we're going, I was overwhelmed with the sense that I was going home. We parked the car, checked in to our room, and immediately stretched our legs on a trail. The arrowleaf balsamroot and ponderosa pines welcomed us. Eventually the stars came to the reunion too.
Washington Pass, the western rim of the valley. Silver Star is the largest peak in these photos; Early Winters Spires in the first.
Diablo Lake is another magical happy place. As summer wears on the water becomes more and more turquoise, heavy with glacial sediment. Unfortunately you can fill a bottle from the lake, and won't capture the magic.
We stayed at Sun Mountain Lodge the first night. Another friend urged me to eat at their restaurant for the view, I'm glad I took his good advice.
I let her take my car to the race, which necessitated bringing my bike. And since I had it, I would have been remiss not to ride the North Cascades Highway. This is the road that took 100 years to build, a project that was halted for need of a poet.
Before I even got to the Methow Valley, as we started to pass landmarks that can only mean that's where we're going, I was overwhelmed with the sense that I was going home. We parked the car, checked in to our room, and immediately stretched our legs on a trail. The arrowleaf balsamroot and ponderosa pines welcomed us. Eventually the stars came to the reunion too.
Washington Pass, the western rim of the valley. Silver Star is the largest peak in these photos; Early Winters Spires in the first.
Diablo Lake is another magical happy place. As summer wears on the water becomes more and more turquoise, heavy with glacial sediment. Unfortunately you can fill a bottle from the lake, and won't capture the magic.
We stayed at Sun Mountain Lodge the first night. Another friend urged me to eat at their restaurant for the view, I'm glad I took his good advice.
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Replies
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Very nice pics! Aw---awesomeness!1
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I do enjoy the pics you post and finding where you are on google maps.
Today you were a 4hr 35min drive away (ferry ride and border crossing not included).
Have you thought of doing an ongoing post ‘travels through Washington’ or something similar?
You do such interesting expeditions it would be really nice to be able to follow a whole season or year in one place.
Cheers, h.3 -
Lovely, wish I were there.
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Beautiful!1
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STUNNING!!!🤩1
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Beautiful!1
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Spring Break in Louisiana along the bayous of Lake Ponchartrain's North Shore.
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Beautiful1
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I love the NW. My favorite part of the country, when not in Winter! Pretty pics.2
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I don't have the mountain views, but our wildflowers have been nice this spring. This is just yesterday.
This is a few weeks ago.
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When I got home and looked at the data, it says I was 16 watts below a PR. Wish I'd known that at the time, I would have been able to dig deeper. I was just trying to get up the pass quickly.3
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Camping last weekend in your neighboring state.
Lake Cascade State Park.
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That is glorious! There's nothing like seeing the scenery by bike.1
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Morse Creek to Ediz Hook, Port Angeles WA
4
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