Day 268 – Magnificent Mount Rainier (Part 2)

I’m sitting here writing my post on Sunday, September 11,
2011.  I generally write them the day of
or the day after despite it sometimes takes even longer to get them posted to
the Internet.  My regular readers have
probably noticed that I always write the post as if I am writing it the “day of”.  Today, I have to say that I just noticed I
mistakenly deleted all of yesterday’s photos this morning off my SD card.  The card was full and for some reason as I
started my hike this morning, I thought I downloaded yesterday’s photos.  This event capped off a remarkably crappy September
11, 2011 which I will post next.  Anyway,
this post will have to be without photos…very disappointed to have lost my only
fox photo and my picture of Chris and his dog Bear.  Oh well, it could be much worse.

So today, Saturday the tenth, I spent another day in Mount
Rainier National Park.  Only to get to the popular area of the park, known as
Paradise, I had to drive from the east side of the park around its southern
border and enter from the west side due to the central road being closed.  On my way to Paradise, which was nice but not what I
would have called it relative to some other places I’ve been, I
stopped for a hike to Narada Falls.  The
falls were very close to the parking area, so I continued along the trail to two
more falls that were somewhat hidden by the surrounding trees.  Regardless, I was walking along a dirt trail
by the water where I only ran into a handful of folks on the weekend, so it was
my type of three to four mile trek.

From this hike, we followed the winding road past several
roadside waterfalls until we reached Paradise, complete with a visitor center
and Inn situated beneath Mount Rainier.
Many trailheads started at this location, thus I can see why it is such
a popular destination.  Several are short
and paved while others lead to hiking on the snow and ice.  Guided trips to the summit may also be
booked.  Had I spent another day in the
park, I probably would have explored a bit more in this area.

From Paradise, I continued east to Reflection Lake.  My first stop at Reflection Lake was sheer
disappointment.  The surface of the lake
rippled in the breeze and no reflection of Mount Rainier could be seen.  I did, however, meet Chris, a Harley rider
from Bend, with his dog Bear who sat perched on the back seat of the motor cycle.  It was so awesome!  Bear was happy as a clam just balanced there
as he cruised into the parking area with a crew of friends.  He told me to give him a call when I got to
the Crater Lake area again, so hopefully he will find my blog and we can
connect.  Besides, I need another
picture!!

A little further down the road was Box Canyon.  The narrow moss-covered, rock canyon was carved
by the grey river that flowed some 180 feet below the bridge.  The scenery changed so much in such a small
area: canyons, glaciers, meadows, pine forests.
Quite amazing!

Due to the road being closed, of course, I returned the way
I came, so as I passed by Reflection Lake again, the surface was close to
glassy.  I took advantage of the
breezeless moment and snapped a couple of fantastic shots of Mount Rainier
glimmering on its surface.  I guess I will
have to return to get them again!

Between Paradise and Reflection Lake is where I spotted the
speckled grey fox with a white tipped tail.
Technically, I believe it is known as a red fox, but its colors
vary.  He essentially smiled for the
camera!  I’ll find another one someday.

I spent until the late afternoon in the park before heading
west.  I passed through Ashford which was
holding the Mount Rainier Festival that mostly catered to kids and then
through Elbe, home to an old historic, white church.  The Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad, a
steam-powered train, launches its 14-mile roundtrip through surrounding forests
to Mineral Lake.  It was a cool looking
train, but it was a hot day with no shade for my precious mutt, so I continued
on to Tacoma for the night.  ETB

Day 267 – Magnificent Mount Rainier

I think we drove close to seventy miles through farmland and
along the Naches River which runs through the trail laced Mount Baker
Snoqualmie National Forest before we climbed over Chinook Pass and rounded the
bend for a magnificent view of Mount Rainer.
The ice-capped Mount Rainier, a dormant volcano, stands at 14,411 feet
and towers over everything around it; lakes, evergreens, meadows of
wildflowers, and additional peaks.

After entering the park, we turned north and climbed the
winding road up to Sunrise, the highest point in the park accessible by
car.  The road provided countless views
of Mt. Rainier, the Cascades, and the four mile long Emmons Glacier, the
largest glacier in the lower 48 states.

From Sunrise, we backtracked down the mountain and continued
south toward Silver Falls Loop, a three mile trail I wanted to hike today.  The falls, which gushed through a slot in
ancient volcanic rock into an aqua blue pool below, were only about a third of
a mile from the roadside pullout.  As
such I didn’t complete the three mile loop that appeared to turn into the
forest, but instead followed another trail that paralleled the Ohanapecosh
River, as I prefer hiking by the water.
The out and back trek was only about two miles, but plenty in the
shaded, yet humid forest.

I steered VANilla to one of the park’s campgrounds for the
evening and noticed the main road to many of the popular attractions I planned
on visiting tomorrow was closed for ten miles.
It looks like I will have to take a sixty mile detour…BOO.  ETB

Day 266 – North Cascades Loop

Day 266 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

After tooling around the Town of Winthrop, which looked like it had been preserved since the late 1800s, though the old-fashioned facades were erected in 1972, we turned south to Cashmere to complete a loop drive.

town of winthrop, washington

Cashmere, Washington

Aplets and Cotlets Candy Factory Tour

Cashmere is home to Aplets and Cotlets, a candy factory that provides tours of the facility.  The company was founded in 1920 by two Armenian immigrants who bought an apple orchard and together with their candy recipes from home created Aplets.  Later, they expanded to include a variety of fruit and nut confections.

I’m not the biggest fan of fruit candy, but I did enjoy the short factory tour.  We started in the kitchen where they ran four enormous double boilers to cook the ingredients.  The mixture is poured onto long, metal trays, the flavor is marked, and it is allowed to cool to room temperature for two hours before it is moved to the freezer for almost a day.

The candy slab is then covered with cornstarch and sent through the cutter.  The slab is cut into approximately 7,200 pieces of candy that fall into a tumbler which shakes off the cornstarch and adds powdered sugar.

The factory line workers then place the candies into the plastic trays.  They sort over 10,000 candies per hour.  The trays of candy flow along the conveyor belt to packagers who fill the boxes which are then sealed and inspected for tight packaging. There are other factory lines that produce chocolate products, but they weren’t on display.  It was fun to watch for a few minutes anyway.

aplets and cotlets candy factory
aplets and cotlets candy factory
aplets and cotlets candy factory
aplets and cotlets candy factory

The candy factory turned out to be our only stop for the day.  We spent the rest of the day traveling and ended the evening in Yakima.  We plan on visiting Mount Rainier National Park tomorrow.
ETB

Map of My Road Trip Across the USA

For a summary about my road trip across the USA, click HERE. For the interactive map, see the below link.

map of road trip along scenic byways across the USA
Interactive Link to Map

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Day 265 – North Cascades Loop (Part 4)

Day 265 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Gorge Powerhouse

Our first stop of the morning was at the Gorge Powerhouse which was a pleasant surprise.  The powerhouse was originally completed in 1924 and expanded in 1949. The first surges of electric power sent to Seattle via the Skagit Hydroproject were from this powerhouse. 

With four turbines which require a dam and the river being diverted through a tunnel to generate enough pressure to operate them, the powerhouse provides enough electricity for over one million 100-watt light bulbs. The 1960 dam, 300 feet high and 670 feet long replaced a 1923 rock-filled timber crib dam and a 1950 masonry dam.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
baker lake

Day 264 – North Cascades Loop (Part 3)

Day 264 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I missed my turn back to the campground last night and forgot to mention the yard art I found. This house was complete with a tiger, bald eagle, moose and a zebra just to name a few.  There were so many, I can’t recall them all and they were big! Anyway, that was my evening entertainment before I turned in.

Gun Battery in Fort Ebey State Park

This morning I went on the greatest walk with Petey in tow.  We followed a ridge trail through Fort Ebey’s forested hills and looked out on the water with a mountainous background as ships sailed by.  Along the way to Partridge Point Beach, we stopped to explore the gun battery constructed in 1942. 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
view from langley

Day 263 – North Cascades Loop (Part 2)

Day 263 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Well, I felt like I had an extremely busy day to write about, but now that I have skimmed through the pictures I didn’t go many places.  It must have been the holiday traffic and the wait for the ferry that took up a few hours of my afternoon.

Wallace Falls State Park

This morning I took about a 4.5 mile hike in Wallace Falls State Park.  It was cool out and VANilla had a shady parking spot, so Petey got to wait for me.  I normally take him on dog friendly trails, but I’ve been subject to dragging him midway through the second mile.  Thank goodness I left him to rest, the trail had quite a bit of elevation change. 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
deception falls

Day 262 – North Cascades Loop

Day 262 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Petey and I went on the neatest hike this morning.  It was so unsual, interesting and scenic.  To get to the trailhead near Stevens Pass, VANilla took us through valleys of fruit orchards, followed alongside the Wenatchee River, and climbed a 4,000 foot pass before turning onto a gravel road which took us four miles to a parking area at the old town site of Wellington.

The trail runs along the old Great Northern Railway passage still marked with mile post numbers representing the distance from St. Paul, Minnesota.  We walked about 1.5 miles to mile marker 1712 where we found a cache to complete finding a cache in each of the lower 48 states.  Along the way we walked through a concrete snowshed that stretched nearly 2,000 feet and was somewhat eerie. 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
holland lake in flathead national forest

Day 259 – In Flathead Indian Country -Part 2

Day 259 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Petey and I pulled into a campground at Seely Lake late last night and spent part of the morning chatting with the campground hosts who were from Huntsville, Texas.  They were staying through the Labor Day holiday weekend and then touring around the northwest before heading back to the hot south for the winter.

After catching up with my fellow Texans, Petey and I began our next scenic drive through Flathead National Forest along Route 83. We headed north on the Seeley Swan Scenic Drive to Holland Lake. Holland Lake covers 400 acres and includes several trails, a 41-site campground, and a day use area. The recreational area provides visitors a plethora of activities from hiking to waterskiing.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 258 – Salmon – Bitterroot Country (Part 2)

We spent the day around town to catch up on emails, to blog,
and to pamper VANilla with an afternoon of maintenance.  Before we killed time at Firestone, we took a
long walk around Greenough Park and found a few geocaches.  In addition, we tooled around historic
downtown to admire the old courthouse and a few historic buildings.  A down day before we travel to Big Fork to
see some relatives tomorrow…ETB.

Day 257 – Salmon – Bitterroot Country

Day 257 of Year Long Roadtrip Following Scenic Byways in the USA

Today ended up being a lot of driving and a lot of road construction.  I tried visiting Bonanza and Custer, two ghost towns from the mining days, but the road to the towns was closed for two hours at a time.  When the flagger heard me say, “Ok, I’ll skip it then”, he let out a sigh of relief!  Instead, I snapped a quick photo of a dam that was erected in 1910 and blown up in 1934 as it was prohibiting salmon from swimming upstream to spawn.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!