About the only thing we did today, other than a mini-exploratory drive around the area, was to make a foray to the Albert’s Apple grocery store. It is an okay store but, seeing as we are quite a ways from civilization, the prices were terrifying. The locals must make the 30 mile drive into Burlington to shop because if they shop in Concrete, they would need to be millionaires.
Near our campground is a road extending north that took us into the Mount Baker National Forest. We elected to follow it today, all the way to the point where we ran out of paving or about 22 miles. At the northern end of our drive, we were situated with Baker Lake to the south and way north we could see Mount Baker, another one of the stratovolcanos that make up the Ring of Fire or at least the portion in the U.S. It is a land of very lofty mountains, dense conifer forests, gurgling streams and rushing rivers and abundant waterfalls.
About halfway back down the road, we came to Baker Dam. There is a regular and an RV campground near the dam but, strangely, there are no electrical hookups for RVs. There are sewer and water but no electrical connections in a campground associated with a hydroelectric dam. It seems like getting power to a campground a quarter mile from the turbines should not be difficult but, apparently, it was.
We had taken the drive up to Baker Lake during previous visits so our excursion today was pretty short. That allowed time for us to take on a longer excursion up the Skagit River to a non-town called Marblemount where we turned away from the Skagit and headed up a tributary river called the Cascade. We only knew about the Cascade River because we spoke with a docent when we went to Diablo Reservoir a few days back. She told us tourists about this place – a place with few that know of its existence.
Not surprisingly, we wandered into another stunning wilderness. There are glaciers covering the sides of the mountains. There are abundant waterfalls, some right next to the road and all of them feeding the Cascade which ultimately dumps into the Skagit. Far below us we could see the Cascade River running in a steep-sided gorge. It is an amazing shade of turquoise, like all the rivers here that get their snowmelt from the glacial snowfields above. There are huge clumps of colorful wildflowers. We were so delighted with the scenery that we pulled up hard to the railing in a roadside turnout and had lunch. Today there was almost no traffic; we might have seen ten cars during our entire afternoon.
On our way back from this visual wonderland, we stopped at Skagit Trust’s wayside again so we could check out the eagles. They seemed to be fine.
We took a few snapshots. To see ’em, click the link.https://photos.app.goo.gl/s1Jno4UxXFP3kiZS6
Today we kept it close to our temporary home. It was a beautiful day and we just couldn’t seem to get away from laying about in the sun, listening to the wind gently stirring the massive firs and cedars. It makes a mesmerizing sound.
We did slip away long enough to go a few miles up the road to Annie’s, a superb pizza joint and meeting area for locals. Tip for travelers: Annie’s makes a cordon bleu pizza that is to die for.
On the way home, we stopped at a wayside owned by the Skagit Trust, a group that buys and holds scenic properties in trust for the public. We saw some elk lurking way far off and we spotted a pair of bald eagles nesting in an alder tree. They are magnificent critters.
Elk can be spotted in today’s picture. Click the link.https://photos.app.goo.gl/584NJnmv1Dx19Caq7
Today the weather was still kinda shitty so we decided to do some shopping. My elbow is still giving me some trouble so driving and shopping are about the the only things I can do.
We drove down the Skagit River to Burlinton which, along with Sedro Woolley and Mount Vernon, make up the three cities at the intersection of WA-20 and I-5. Once there, we pulled into a Camping World store to get some replacement stuff for our RV. We picked up some storage compartment door catches, four packages of deodorizer/turd dissolver and a brand-new sewer hose which I’m sure will give me hours of entertainment while dumping the waste tanks in the future.
On the way back we stopped at Skagit Valley Burgers, a tiny joint built inside a caboose where they make what we consider to be the finest burgers anywhere. We were not disappointed today; my western burger and Peggy’s blue cheese burger were both great. My gimpy elbow had me attempting to eat the monstrous, slippery delight with my left, untalented hand and without napkins my shirt surely would have been ruined. We also picked up some of their garlic french fries which are superb even though we both stank of garlic for hours afterwards.
It is difficult to avoid wandering about in the truck here. Everywhere we go, we find delightful scenery. Both the south and north sides of the river have uncrowded roads along the shoreline and we thoroughly enjoy merely cruising up- or downstream. We took the Lyman-Hamilton Highway (a siding next to WA-20) on the way back home visiting both towns notorious for flooding before upstream dams made inundation rarer. There are many houses along this route built over garages which have nothing but columns in them. Anything else stored therein is subject to water damage.
Two pix. Click the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/RvbD4XSzhN8YqFUS9
We woke up this morning to another bright blue day. We had breakfast, showers, dumped the waste tanks and set our folding chairs in the sunshine when, quite suddenly, the skies started to look a bit angry. Within about 15 minutes we felt the first raindrops and retreated into our cozy trailer. Right after getting inside, a stunning demonstration of lightning, thunder and downpours occurred, one of the bolts striking something just beyond our park’s trees and taking out the area’s internet WiFi in addition to killing the power for a minute.
The power was quickly restored but WiFi looks like it will be NFG until tomorrow. We were able to keep ourselves happy with DVDs, thumb drive movies and Kindles for the rest of the day. Since my arm is still gimpy, that worked out okay.
The skies were brilliant blue this morning and temperatures quickly rose after dawn from about the mid-40s to the high-60s. We were a bit slow getting out the door but soon we were on our way on an explore. The truck needed fuel so we started the day by driving west on Highway 20 into the town of Lyman and filling the tank. After that, we headed back east along the north bank gorgeous Skagit River.
Not five miles from the gas station, we came across a herd of bison, happily grazing in some rancher’s pasture. We continued past Birdsview, where there is a micro-brewery and tavern, and continued upstream through the towns of Concrete, Rockport and Marblemount. These are tiny towns – there really isn’t much of a main street, other than Highway 20, and few stores. After a long, beautiful cruise up the river through forests and along volcanic bluffs, we reached Newhalem.
This town was barely saved from fire last year and it is plainly evident when one gazes up at the massive lava and basalt mountains, now devoid of trees. Other forms of vegetation were tougher, however, and any place with a bit of soil left has short flowers and bushes making an emerald comeback.
We began to look for a place to pull over and dine along the Skagit and we kept finding very nice spots, all without a river view. We kept going up the river until we ultimately came to the town of Diablo. There, we broke out our luncheon materials just in time for a spectacular demonstration of lightning, thunder and torrential rain. We ate in the truck. Diablo was a small company town located right below the Diablo Dam which holds back Diablo Lake. There are very few folks living there now but all the original houses, theaters, commissaries, community centers and chow halls are still carefully maintained by Seattle Power, who owns the dam. There is a gigantic sloped elevator here that used to simultaneously hoist two aggregate hopper rail cars to the top of the dam, where they were emptied into the stockpiles for concrete materials.
After our lunch, we continued a bit further up Highway 20 which starts climbing rapidly above Diablo Lake. About ten miles up we pulled into a wayside where a tremendous view of the Lake can be enjoyed. This area is within the North Cascades National Park so there was a very knowledgeable docent who answered our questions about this stunning area.
The water in Diablo Lake and the Skagit River is turquoise, a product of flour-like ground up volcanic rock and grinding friction of glaciers at the headwaters. It is magnificent.
To see pictures of today’s scenery, click the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/j3N2ijhkeJUNkk3Z7
As I age, it seems that I become more and more afflicted with geezer-type injuries. Just yesterday, or was it the day before that, I was making my ordinary trip up three interior steps and through the hatch-like opening into our trailer’s bedroom level. I reached out to grab the corner of the tiny bathroom enclosure wall in an attempt to lever my way up the last step. There was a faint pop and a slight twinge in my right elbow but they did not seem to be otherwise noticeable at the time.
This morning I woke up and discovered my elbow now seemed to be sending messages that something more substantial may be involved. It feels that now I cannot extend my arm to the straight position nor bend it far enough to touch my big head without considerable pain. Bummer.
Therefore, Peggy was very nice about it and agreed that we would let my Alzheimer’s elbow take a break today. We limited our excursion to downtown Concrete (all one street of it) where we picked up some fairly tasty cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We took our rolls and drove a bit back toward our campground before pulling out at a nifty wildlife overlook adjacent to OR-20. We have seen elk herds here on many occasions but currently the the majestic critters are up in their summer pastures on the flanks of Mount Baker, a big honker of a volcano north of Concrete. We missed any elk but did get to see one lone deer almost at the end of our vision that was grazing way out of range of rifles on the road. Locals aren’t supposed to kill anything around the overlook because the land is owned by the Skagit Land Trust, an organization that purchases large tracts of land and places them off limits to development or farming forever. I might leave some money to these folks after I die from exsanguination after cutting off my traitor arm.