We spent the night in Mount Vernon ready to hit scenic Route 20 early in the morning. My guidebook was right again, Route 20 is probably the most scenic route in the entire state, crossing the North Cascades National Park before heading to Idaho.
Glacier-topped crests of mountain ridges, waterfalls and gorges, alpine lakes, moss-covered forests and meadows changing to their fall colors. Everywhere we turn the eys there is something worth capturing in still pictures. We stop frequently, take short hikes, have lunch on the lake shore and spend the day simply looking around. We get to a point where a road sign warns about a 6-mile downhill with a 6% grade, and Petr decides that it would be fun to bike it. So he hops on his bike and with a top speed of 43-mile an hour rides the next 6 miles without hitting the pedals once. He is done for the day. Just outside the park we cross the small town of Winthrop and I feel like I have been thrown into a Western movie. The small town is truly worth a 10-minute stop if nothing else to see the buildings. I bet they have shot a number of Western movies here, just spread some dirt over the pavement and Clint Eastwood could be very well be walking down the street in dusty boots in For a Fistful of Dollars.
We leave Route 20 in Twisp and head down past Lake Chelan to spend the night in Monitor on the Wenatchee river.
Entering the park.
Welcome to Ross Lake in the North Cascades.
Some bushes up high are changing colors.
Laura could not see the falls from top of the rail, so she stuck her head between.
Apparently, Petr thought it was funny.
This is the proof.
A view from Ross Dam.
Silver Star Mountain.
Ross Lake by the dam. I don't like dams, so we cut it out of the pictures.
The Skagit river.
Fall colors.
It's basalt rock.
We could not get closer, the road was already closed.
Last panoramic view.
The downhill, can you see Petr on his bike?
A glimpse of Winthrop, WA.