And so it begins... After a later than expected start, we decided to drive to Kennewick, WA last night. Not sure there is much of interest in Kennewick except some boat races in July, but it is half way between where we were yesterday and where we are going today.
Despite the fact that it was dusk when we left Tacoma, we decided to take one last (for now) drive through the Mt. Rainier National Forest and Mt. Rainier National Park. This is one of my favorite drives in Washington because the road is a long corridor of tall, lush evergreens. I had driven through the area several times in the last year on the way hiking or skiing but had never gone at dusk. It was too cloudy to see Mt. Rainier, but the darkness and the weather made for an eerie mist hanging above the valleys. As we climbed up Chinook Pass to cross over the Cascades, we saw more and more snow. In fact, Lake Tipsoo, which in a few weeks will be a glistening lake surrounded by dense wildflowers was totally covered in at least five feet of snow. As we started to descend out of the mountains, we entered Wenatchee National Forest. We saw many deer and elk grazing on the side of the road. At one point we passed a whole pack of elk starring us down for interrupting their meal with our car noise and light. I had never seen an elk up close but was fascinated by their collar of scruffy looking dark brown fur.
The landscape was as I expected - typically Washington dense evergreen forests - until we got to the other side of the Cascades. Almost instantaneoulsy we were in what looked to be scrubby desert with only a smattering of short deciduous tress. The ecosystem is called shrub-steppe and is so different from the west side of the mountains because the mountains catch all of the precipitation as it moves west. In addition, the temperatures in this area are much more extreme unlike the western part of the state where the ocean makes the temperature fluctuations more narrow. Despite the natural ecosystem, this is a huge agricultural area. We saw many apple orchards and tons of fruit stands. Too bad it was nearing midnight or we could have got some delicious Rainier cherries.
Unfortunately because of the darkness of our first day of travel, we have no pictures to show for our efforts. However, after so many days of waiting for movers and dealing with the mess of moving, it is great to be in control of our own schedule.
Despite the fact that it was dusk when we left Tacoma, we decided to take one last (for now) drive through the Mt. Rainier National Forest and Mt. Rainier National Park. This is one of my favorite drives in Washington because the road is a long corridor of tall, lush evergreens. I had driven through the area several times in the last year on the way hiking or skiing but had never gone at dusk. It was too cloudy to see Mt. Rainier, but the darkness and the weather made for an eerie mist hanging above the valleys. As we climbed up Chinook Pass to cross over the Cascades, we saw more and more snow. In fact, Lake Tipsoo, which in a few weeks will be a glistening lake surrounded by dense wildflowers was totally covered in at least five feet of snow. As we started to descend out of the mountains, we entered Wenatchee National Forest. We saw many deer and elk grazing on the side of the road. At one point we passed a whole pack of elk starring us down for interrupting their meal with our car noise and light. I had never seen an elk up close but was fascinated by their collar of scruffy looking dark brown fur.
The landscape was as I expected - typically Washington dense evergreen forests - until we got to the other side of the Cascades. Almost instantaneoulsy we were in what looked to be scrubby desert with only a smattering of short deciduous tress. The ecosystem is called shrub-steppe and is so different from the west side of the mountains because the mountains catch all of the precipitation as it moves west. In addition, the temperatures in this area are much more extreme unlike the western part of the state where the ocean makes the temperature fluctuations more narrow. Despite the natural ecosystem, this is a huge agricultural area. We saw many apple orchards and tons of fruit stands. Too bad it was nearing midnight or we could have got some delicious Rainier cherries.
Unfortunately because of the darkness of our first day of travel, we have no pictures to show for our efforts. However, after so many days of waiting for movers and dealing with the mess of moving, it is great to be in control of our own schedule.
Happy road-tripping! Randomly, I was in Kennewick for annual wine conference last spring! Perhaps not the most exciting town but it's not too far from nice wine tasting regions (for Andy anyway...) :) Enjoy! (Kim)
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