I do like a good drive. Driving is so much more to me than merely getting from A to B. It is my nirvana; the only thing that quiets my brain other than yoga. I can drive for hours and hours on end and experience deep peace and happiness. It’s pretty darn beautiful. I’ll road trip at any given opportunity, and, as the weather around here has been remarkably congenial for September, opportunities have abounded. I wasn’t going to waste them since I finally managed to lever my body off the couch, and I’ve made it my business to haul my a** over every mountain pass in Washington – or at least the ones within a days drive of my humble abode.
The majority of the passes close when the snow flies, so the race is on to get them all traversed before winter. Heaven forbid that I could let there be a break in the proceedings and do some of them in the Spring. Nope. All before winter. Oh! the joys of being an all-or-nothing kind of gal – I can just picture my therapist shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Update: he did.
A few Sundays back it was the turn of Chinook Pass to surprise and delight me, which required first hopping over Snoqualmie Pass to Ellensburg – I highly recommend taking the 10 instead of the I-90 – veering right over Manastash Ridge to Yakima, and then turning right again to head West over Chinook Pass before ending up at the eastside base of Mount Rainier on Cayuse Pass, followed by Crystal to Greenwater Pass.
The weather was ridiculous. Join me for a pictorial re-run.
A week later I continued my quest to traverse every Pass in driving distance by heading up Cascade Pass – the route to which involved an awful lot of washboard-y, pothole-y, gravel-y awesomeness. It’s one of those side roads that gets skinnier and skinnier the higher you go, leaving you wondering if you are going to run out of something to drive on before you get to the top, or at least a worthwhile view of something. The end of the “road” did not disappoint. Mid-day sunshine is arguably the worst time to photograph anything, but even so, you get the idea of how stunning the Cascade Mountains are.
Whatever makes you feel good – do more of that.
Share the love!
Suzanne - Thank you for sharing your adventure. You’ve inspired me to grab my camera and venture out into the Autumn air back here in the Northeast. Gorgeous day here for it too. Thank you for waking up in me two things I do love. Nature and photography. To say nothing of my feline children – usually the subjects of my photos.
And thank you for reinforcing something we should all think about today and every day: Whatever makes you feel good, do more of that.
helen - Oh, Washington, I miss you so!!
carrie - We love living here, Helen!
wren - You have so many talents Carrie! Photography is definitely one of them. My favorite shot was of the river and the water rushing over the stones. Really one of those photos that makes you want to be there. Actually a lot of them were like that.
Funny… “do more of what makes you happy” is also a favorite saying of mine. For me, I get my happiness from dancing (Zumba), teaching fitness classes, gardening, my horses, my family, vacations, scuba diving, etc. and lately from cooking your recipes! This morning I made Cucumber soup. The weather has chilled down considerably here in Texas and I was in the mood for soup.
Ellen - Lovely photos, as always. Makes me realize that I only scratched the surface of how awesome Washington (and Oregon) can be. Enjoy living amidst the beauty – and thanks for sharing with us!
KELLY - Wow! Beautiful photos. Glad I checked your blog today. Has been a day of crappy Oregon rain. This just perks me right up.
carrie - Thanks makes me super happy, Kelly!
Dawn - Love your pictures, looks like a beautiful drive :)
Since I couldn’t find a place to comment on your recipes I thought I’d just comment here :)
Been enjoying going through your recipes. I just love the tomato soup one and tend to just put whatever veggies I want into it and it always seems to turn out tasting very similar :) It’s a terrific way to get in my veggies.