Hello, Northern Washington

We finished the Selkirk Loop and have driven all the way across northern Washington state on state highway 20. We are now in Anacortes, Washington which is about 2 hr. north of Seattle. We took about 5 days to drive here from Idaho and stayed at National Forest campgrounds during that time. One of the campgrounds was in a canyon with no cell or internet. Even the camp hosts only had a two-way radio for emergencies. It felt pretty strange not to have cell or internet service at all, but it was quite a scenic drive and very little traffic.

Here is a picture of Doug at one of the Forest Service campsites in the North Cascades.

One of the mountain passes we went through was Washington Pass (elevation 5500 ft). Believe it or not, the road was really pretty good and we had no problems. At the summit there is an overlook and even the trail out to it was gorgeous. The overlook is where we took the pictures.

All the lakes here are pretty, but it is hard to beat a lake called Diablo Lake. It is on a stretch of Hwy. 20 in North Cascades National Park that is closed in the winter. As you can see, the color of the water is almost emerald green. That is because as glaciers in the high country slowly wear down the mountains, the grinding of rock against rock produces a fine silt that is carried into the lake below. This “rock flour” suspended in the water reacts with light to give the lake its blue-green color. The bottom picture shows it best, although it is even more vibrant when you see it in person. The variety of scenery that God placed on this earth is just amazing! That we would be blessed enough to travel and see it this summer is also amazing. God is so good to us!