Canada/Alaska 2019-3: North Cascades Highway

     What can we say except we love Washington? Once across the Columbia on Doug's favorite, the majestic Astoria Bridge, we turned left to Ilwaco, the town next to Cape Disappointment, where Lewis and Clark first saw the Pacific in 1805. When, in 1788, British trader John Meares could not access the Columbia due to its notorious sandbar, he decided it was not the "Great River of the West," and thus named the cape Disappointment.

    We followed 101 along the coast, passing through Raymond, home of the Wildlife Heritage Sculptures Corridor. The numerous sometimes whimsical metal artworks depict the area's history. In nearby South Bend, we stopped as always at Elixir Coffee, as much to sit on Chauncey's Chair as to enjoy the coffee. Our friend Tim was dubbed Chauncey when he and another friend Bill helped Doug pull the bar out of our Bellingham house when we first bought it.

     Further north, we drove along the Hood Canal, which is actually a fjord that was excavated by an ancient glacier. It's rich in shell fish,dead-ends after a sharp turn, and is part of Puget Sound. We checked into Fort Townsend State Park, then headed into Port Townsend, another favorite locale. Above are gorgeous sculls at the Wooden Boat Chandlery, part of the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend.

Pygmy Boats, which makes kayak kits, is also in Port Townsend. Doug tried one out on a previous visit but has yet to buy one. Port Townsend is also home to the annual September Wooden Boat Festival.

We treated ourselves to dinner at Siren's, where we'd dined by the fire on New Year's Eve 2017. The views from the second story deck were wonderful. 

A sign on the dash of this intriguing van parked across from the Chandlery stated if you attempted to use its maps to get anywhere you wouldn't.

Another beautiful wooden scull, so long and sleek.

Folks in what appeared to be a water color class enjoying Port Townsend, as we did.

The ferry took us the next afternoon the short distance from Port Townsend to Coupeville on Whidbey Island and the beginning of Highway 20 which on the mainland turns into the North Cascades Highway and which we would drive for the next two days. 

We camped at Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island.

A short walk from our campsite took us to views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Deception Pass Bridge, which connects Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands. George Vancouver dubbed the waters "deception" in 1792, because he couldn't find a way between the islands and so thought Whidbey was a peninsula. It was a member of his expedition named Whidbey who eventually discovered the strait.

Deception Pass and Bridge in the morning.

Doug on Strait of Juan de Fuca.

     Needing maintenance on our clothes, the van, and ourselves, we stopped the next morning in Mt. Vernon at our friend JR's home, which he shares with his Schnoodle Sadie. They kindly allowed us to use their washer, dryer, and shower. While I did laundry, Doug took the van to have the oil changed and the muffler heat shield adjusted--it no longer squeaks...for now.

     After lunch, we were off on North Cascades Scenic Highway, State Route 20 across northern Washington. 

We'd reserved Colonial Creek Campground on Ross Lake in Cascades National Park, another quiet space in the forest.

The drive through the Cascades provided stunning scenery...

...sad views of forests devastated by fire...

...orchards in the Okanagan Valley, including these cherry trees completed encased in netting...

...and snow at 4,310-foot Wauconda Pass! Two motorcyclists traveling west were a bit nonplussed by the situation, and we so admired--but didn't envy--the cyclists who were pedaling up the mountain.

We knew our destination and were pleased to find it had plenty of sites available: Haag Cove Campground on Lake Roosevelt on the Columbia River in Colville National Forest. 

We decided to stay two nights and the next day took a short excursion south to the free Inchelium-Gifford Ferry across the the lake. It's operated by the Confederated Colville Tribes and provides transportation for many locals to school, work, and appointments.

From Gifford we drove back north to Kettle Falls for groceries and a hardware store then back to camp. It was a perfect day living in a swimsuit (picture is pre-swimsuit, thank goodness), swimming in the lake, and reading.

We even put the awning out, a good trial run as we hadn't set it up in a couple of years.
     Except for the pesky mosquitoes, which I suppose served as training for Alaska's vaunted airplane size pests, it was a relaxing couple of days in beautiful surroundings. The next morning, day 11 of our trip, we'd head north to British Columbia.

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