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Day 1, and Susie had never seen the Grand Coulee dam, so such justified a stop after a few hundred miles. The dam used to be the largest concrete structure in the world, they say. But has now been dwarfed by the Three Gorges dam in China. In keeping with our emphasis on "self-propelled" on this site, we got out and took a 20 minute walk, before heading on to Okanogan.
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After leaving Okanogan, WA, in the rain, we headed north into British Columbia, and then west to EC Manning Provincial Park. It looked like we might have a short break in the rain, so we did a 2.5 hour hike around the Lightning Lakes Loop. Here, Roger is pointing to a cross-country ski route sign on a tree. They must get a lot of snow here.
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A nice forest floor still life by Susie.
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The fall colors were starting to show on a lot of the vegetation that could turn.
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Pipsissawa?
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Part of the way around the lake, you have the option of crossing over the lake on a neat bridge. But that would have made too short a hike.
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Hey, the clouds have lifted to reveal mountain peaks. Pretty neat. It is in Manning Park where the Pacific Crest Trail has its northern terminus, just a few miles east of this spot.
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Some nice color on the ground.
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The trail is flat, and it can be a good cardio workout, which makes Susie happy.
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Nice color along the lakeshore.
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At the far end of the lake, we crossed the inlet stream, thinking we were halfway. But a couple of inlets and bays lengthen the return trip.
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We gotta figure out what flower this is.
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OK, on to Chilliwack, BC. We have been wanting a small travel trailer to act as an "Advanced Basecamp" and this one seems to fit the bill. These Escapes are build very solidly. See http://www.escapetrailer.com
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Dave and Roger discuss various trailer features. Susie wanted our small CR-V backed up to their 15 foot model, just to get an idea of relative size.
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So after a few hours in Chilliwack, BC, we head south to Bellingham. First order of business, of course, is to find a greenway on which to take a nice long walk. We found the so-called Railroad Trail pretty easily, and were amazed at the number of trails leading off it.
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Of course, there is a reason why they have such gorgeous ferns in the Pacific NW: it rains a LOT!!
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Crossing a greenway bridge over a major thoroughfare.
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The view out to the water.
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Hey, there is ANOTHER Evening Star Lane, so the street name on which we live in Bozeman is not unique.
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After more rain on Monday evening, it looks like the weather is supposed to improve, so we took off on the dead-end Mt. Baker Hwy. This is a slice of an old Douglas Fir at the Visitor Center in the valley.
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But enough of valleys. We want to see the high country. A fresh dusting of snow. These are the peaks of Nooksack Ridge, to the NE of the end of the highway.
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As Roger takes the previous photos, Mt Shuksan looms to the southeast.
