Next weekend, I go to my parents and get my kids so its back to swimming lessons and music lessons and sleepovers and all the other stuff a family with growing kids needs someone to drive them too. I've managed to make the most of the time I've had and explored many of the amazing highways here in Washington state. To finish it all up on Sunday, I rode the Cascade Loop. The Cascade Loop (click for map) is a 400 mile loop that snakes from western WA, the wet side, over Steven's Pass into eastern WA, the dry side, follows river valleys back up into the mountains over Washington Pass and back into the rain. So that is how I spent my Sunday.
Someone asked why I didn't stop at The 59er Diner a while back so I did this time (and probably will every time in the future). Fantastic road side diner; 50's theme with ton's of memorabilia and classic 50's rock and roll to back it up! The men's bathroom is a shrine to Marilyn. Sunday mornings in the summer they do breakfast "Family Style" which means you can order whatever you want from the breakfast menu in whatever portion you want. I had pancakes(buttermilk and banana); french toasted cinnamon bun; the house scramble with tomatoes and cheese; shredded crispy hash browns; ham; bacon; sausage (why choose if you don't have too?); biscuits with homemade sausage gravy (and ordered seconds); fruit and coffee. All for about $15 including tip. I didn't even think about eating again the rest of the day.
Its only a little over an hour drive from home so there is probably a family outing in the near future as well.
No, I didn't blur my lovely waitresses face on purpose. She was moving - its a busy place!
Here is a river valley on the "dry side". The bottom land is used for orchards and hops. The valley walls haven't been cleared. They only grow scrub grass and bushes naturally.
I saw this dilapidated foot bridge outside of Methow (pronounced METT-OW and don't screw it up) crossing Squaw Creek.
The top of Washington Pass - another of the many blessings from the motorcycle gods.
The road down from the top of Washington Pass is an absolute wonder of mountain scenery. Its rugged, primitive, raw. This is the south end of Ross Lake on "the wet side" (can you spot the differences?). It reaches all the way up into Canada from here.
It truly was a brilliant way to end my big rides for the summer.
Someone asked why I didn't stop at The 59er Diner a while back so I did this time (and probably will every time in the future). Fantastic road side diner; 50's theme with ton's of memorabilia and classic 50's rock and roll to back it up! The men's bathroom is a shrine to Marilyn. Sunday mornings in the summer they do breakfast "Family Style" which means you can order whatever you want from the breakfast menu in whatever portion you want. I had pancakes(buttermilk and banana); french toasted cinnamon bun; the house scramble with tomatoes and cheese; shredded crispy hash browns; ham; bacon; sausage (why choose if you don't have too?); biscuits with homemade sausage gravy (and ordered seconds); fruit and coffee. All for about $15 including tip. I didn't even think about eating again the rest of the day.
Its only a little over an hour drive from home so there is probably a family outing in the near future as well.No, I didn't blur my lovely waitresses face on purpose. She was moving - its a busy place!
Here is a river valley on the "dry side". The bottom land is used for orchards and hops. The valley walls haven't been cleared. They only grow scrub grass and bushes naturally.
I saw this dilapidated foot bridge outside of Methow (pronounced METT-OW and don't screw it up) crossing Squaw Creek.
The top of Washington Pass - another of the many blessings from the motorcycle gods.
The road down from the top of Washington Pass is an absolute wonder of mountain scenery. Its rugged, primitive, raw. This is the south end of Ross Lake on "the wet side" (can you spot the differences?). It reaches all the way up into Canada from here.
It truly was a brilliant way to end my big rides for the summer.
