We Drive The Cascade Loop – So You Don’t Have To

I love roadtrips. After the winter we needed a symbolic start to summer, and nothing says summer like a roadtrip. Driving somewhere in the winter is a perilous venture, worrying about weather and if the semi in front of you jack knifes, will you have enough room to stop, and what about the redneck in the pickup with bald summer tires behind you, will he be able to stop? Summer driving is a joy, carving arcs through mountain switchbacks, dropping into a lower gear in anticipation of the passing lane ahead and having a chance to sound like a dad. (Samples from the spring ‘09 collection; “One pees all pee.” “God help me if I find one Smartie in the backseat of this car.” “No we’re not stopping, we’re making good time.” “Where are my Doritos.”) We clearly needed a weekend away.

I vaguely recalled hearing good things about The Cascade Loop, I recall a Jack Christie column in the Georgia Straight years ago, and National Geographic Traveller calls it “one of Americas grandest, most spectacular drives. I’m all about grand spectacle. So off we went on Friday morning. Eventual evenings destination unknown, the only assured was that it would lie along the loop. Straight through to Burlington, then a left up into the mountains. They were…mountain-y? Very much like mountains anywhere. I get that we’re spoiled for scenery living here, but truthfully it did not blow me away, there’s nothing you can’t see on the trip to Whistler, minus the ocean. Maybe if I lived in Iowa I’d be amazed. Crossed the pass and descended into the Sonora desert. That’s the coolest part of the journey, how short the time is between coastal rain forest and rain shadow desert. Driving to the interior and it’s three or four hours between leaving home and noticing an appreciable change in biology, the Cascade Loop compresses that to an hour after pulling off the I-5. Stopped for lunch in the quaintly restored western town of Winthrop. Had lunch on a deck of a brew pub situated among shady trees over a river. Food was average, (at best, stop buying battered fries people, they are terrible. Fries are crispy enough.)  But the setting was extraordinary, as was the beer in the heat. I took to referring to it as Rick Green’s nirvana. Pure civilised refreshment. Wandered the town after lunch, Winthrop warrants a twenty minute walk, I can’t imagine spending the night.

Continued down the road, destination Lake Chelan. It’s an exact carbon copy of Osoyoos, with the privilege of paying an extra ten cents on every dollar spent. Found a hotel on the lake and checked in. Spent the rest of the day in the pool and splashing in the lake, it was still too cold for swimming. Dinner was at a run of the mill Mexican joint. Day one ended with absolutely nothing interesting of a culinary bent to report.

To be continued…

~KT