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| the snow on the top of the sign is fake- for now |
October 4, 2022
Entering North Cascades National Park from the east is a jolt to the sensibilities. All that dry land and then whammo! Enormous rocky mountaintops, deep crevices. And we're not even in the park yet.
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| mountain pictures for Jerry |
We learned that the park is divided in half by the Ross Lake National Recreational Area. We also learned that there must be fires somewhere because it was not mist we were seeing, it was smoke. Heavy, smoky smoke. (We learned later that there are three lightning-created fires happening in the north.)
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| Ross Lake |
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| Diablo Lake |
The park visitor centers and campgrounds were all closed for the winter, so we moved through and stayed the night in a Pilot truck plaza, grateful for a stopping place. So glad to be staying pretty true to our Eastern time zone goal, we left at 6:54 a.m. to work our way around Seattle and Tacoma. We STILL had traffic going through the cities, and it was only 4:00 Pacific time. These people are crazy!
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| flying down the interstate past Seattle |
So many of our photos have been taken in places where we can't stop, or there is too much traffic. You can picture Jerry focused on the road while Marsha is hanging out the window tightly clutching the camera or iPhone, merrily clicking away. I'm surprised my ears aren't flapping. I'm pretty sure my tongue is hanging out and my tail is wagging.
Fun facts we looked up when we had cell service again:
• The vast majority of North Cascades National Park is inaccessible by vehicle. No developed roads go into either the north section or the south section.
• We are paying up to $5.49 a gallon for gas. Washington state has 49.4 cents in taxes for each gallon of gas- in addition to the 18 federal cents per gallon. (We thought we paid for our night in the Pilot station at those prices. :-) In January, state gas taxes are expected to rise to $1.14 a gallon, in addition to the federal tax. Good grief.
• North Cascades National Park is the least visited national park.
• North Cascades National Park is the deadliest of the national parks (per capita, based on visitors).
• The Pacific Crest Trail runs through the park. We saw dozens of cars and people at the trailhead. They looked very sturdy.
• Because everything was closed, I had to draw in a fake stamp in my National Parks Passport Book. :-)
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