Up to the Pacific Northwest to North Cascades National Park. The snowcapped peaks, Douglas firs towering above, lots of green and moss. Glacier fed turquoise blue lakes and the stunning Washington Pass.
We leave Glacier National Park and make our way to the Pacific Northwest, spending a night in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Leavenworth, Washington on the way. Our RV park in Coeur D’Alene is large parking lot but it has full hook ups and in the broiling heat we are glad we can run our air conditioning. We go over the river into downtown Coeur d’Alene for dinner which we finish off with a delicious huckleberry cobbler and wander down the main shopping street and pretty waterfront of Coeur d’Alene for the evening.
The next morning, we are on our way to Leavenworth, Washington. After we cross into Washington, the climate becomes very dry and then we drive into farmland – huge swathes of irrigated fields. And then we arrive in Leavenworth, a Bavarian village dropped into central Washington state. After we dock the Airstream we go into the little town and admire the German style architecture and window shop in the various little boutiques and shops.
The next day, our drive from Leavenworth to Cascades National Park leads on over the mountains. Steep ups and downs and we are glad we have the diesel Ford F250 – we need all the power we can get to tow the Airstream over the mountains. As we drive down the mountain, a service light pops on the Ford dashboard. Uggh – after consulting the car manual we determine we need a Ford dealer!
We love the park upon arrival. We drive through the quiet green forest among the towering conifers as well as maples, poplars, and alders. The park is lovely and free from crowds.
We are staying in the park, in the NPS Newhalem Campground. The campground is green and shaded and our loop has the sound of the rushing river. Our end of campground is almost empty because it was in the 2015 burn zone. But it still has lots of towering Douglas fir trees (with burned trunks) and we can hear the rushing water of the river. And amazing 4-bar internet! In a National Park, an unheard of luxury!
Soon after our arrival, there is a blaring alarm that fills the valley soon after we arrive in the mostly empty campground. Forest fire? Should we be evacuating? Maybe that’s why the campground is so empty? We expect the park rangers would do more than blast an alarm for 60 seconds in the case of an actual emergency, but who knows. Our neighbors at the next campsite drive down to the park station to check with the rangers, and as it turns out, what we heard is the general alarm for the local fire department when there is car accident or anything in else the area that requires their attention. Nothing to be “alarmed” about. Ironically, it does turn out that there is an actual forest fire at the other end of the park… about thirty miles from us.
The next morning DT takes the truck to the Ford Dealer in Sedro-Wooley, 45 minutes from the campground. Fortunately, the warning light is a false alarm and the test to determine this costs only $20. Meanwhile Elle and I remain at the Airstream and catch up on homeschooling. En route back to the campground, DT stops at the Cascadian Farm fruit stand and picks up a pint of blueberries. Best blueberries we had ever tasted!
After DT returns, we pile in the Ford and drive the North Cascades Highway through the park to Washington Pass and back that afternoon, stopping at various overlooks. The views are tree-covered mountains and higher snow-covered peaks punctuated by some unbelievably milky turquoise blue lakes.
The next day is a relaxing day for us. Our main activity is taking the Diablo lake hike thru the old growth forest. We hike up through the green and moss-covered trees and we scramble over some large boulders. A pretty but not spectacular hike with no animal sightings, which is good as we have no desire to meet a bear on the trail! After we are done, Elle goes wading into the blueness of Diablo Lake.
That evening our neighbor campers invite us to roast marshmallows and join them in a sing-along while they play their guitars. Elle loves roasting the marshmallows on the sticks; we are embarrassed to admit this is the first time on the trip we have done it! Our neighbors are really lovely people, and it is a surprisingly uplifting experience as we gaze around us at our setting amongst the towering trees and under the stars while we sing “This land is your land . . .”.
Our last night in North Cascades National Park is a chilly night and we decide to turn on our heat. We don’t need electric hook ups to run the propane heater. At 3:30 am, something wakes me up and I notice the small battery light in the kitchen blinking. NOT GOOD. The batteries are not supposed to go below 40%! I wake DT. What do we do? Turn on the generator? There are bear warning signs all over the park. Are there bears outside at this hour? I google it and do not find an answer. It would be bad to be eaten by a hungry bear in the middle of the night. We debate the issue until 5am when we finally venture out, with the first fingers of dawn light making their way through the trees. We check water levels in the battery, they are fine. We turn on the generator and re-juice the batteries. There are no bears in sight. What has drained the batteries? Although the heater uses propane, the blower on the heater requires electricity (evidently more battery power than we thought) and we deduce that must be the mystery battery drain!
At 9am we wave good bye to North Cascades National Park. We make another stop at the Cascades Farms farm stands for more blueberries! We are concerned the batteries are damaged so we find an Interstate battery dealer in Sedro-Wooley on our drive out. They test the batteries for us and… they are fine, no damage, able to hold a full charge! Now our only worry is handling Seattle traffic on I-5 . . .
