Paradise Found - cycling pics

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.