Leaving Seattle and Big Pine Campground

5/4

 

Seattle to Spokane

Crystal Springs

After sleeping in, we left Seattle around 10 in the morning. Pretty much right outside of the city, the road starts to climb up over the Cascades. We passed by Mt. Rainer on the way over the pass. At Snoqualmie Pass there is a mountain ski resort, but it was closed for summer, though snow was still everywhere. It puddled and streamed in any way it could, joining together to make large raging creeks that hurdled down the mountain. After being hit with a snowball and goaded into retaliation (on film by the way), we said adieu to the snowy mountaintops and started east again.

Thetis Creek

After passing a few beautiful lakes, with the mountains reflected, we stopped again at Crystal Springs at Yakima River. There was a guy camped out right by the edge of the river in a perfectly secluded spot, I was quite jealous… Here they measure the level of the running water using a water gauge, a large I beam that has numbers welded on it to indicate feet. We then crossed the freeway to see Little Kachness Lake and a small stream running into it called Thetis Creek. There was snow still on the road in some places, so we turned around before getting stuck. It was very interesting to see that snowmobiles had their own speed limit signs. No faster than 25!

I was tempted to leave the road again when I saw a sign for the Thorp Mill Historical Society. This mill started as a sawmill in 1879 and they added a grist mill later in 1883. This mill ran till 1946 and has recently been renovated by the town. Unfortunately it was closed when we got there, but the town itself is really nice, a picture perfect view into small town life in western Washington.

When we got to Spokane, we wanted to camp and looked at several sites, including one down by the Spokane river called Bowl and Pitcher Campground but they were all full. Apparently Saturday isn’t a good time to show up and expect a campsite. We were actually lucky to get a hotel room because there was a really big 5k race the next day and people come from all over Washington for this race. We ended up at Stratford Suites on the edge of town, and looked forward to the next day of driving!

5/5

Spokane, WA to Big Pine Campground, MN

Today we crossed three states. We left Washington in our dust and headed into Idaho. There is a huge lake called Couer d’Alene that has these lovely homes all along the shoreline. It was there that we decided that we preferred lake houses instead of ocean houses!

We followed the shoreline on highway 97 for about 20 miles before turning back. I 90 is a beautiful drive. We wind through peaks that are snowcapped, so many that perhaps it’s a mouth, with the mountains the teeth. Up and down over passes and across rivers, around hairpin turns, passing semi trucks, all the while marveling at the beauty around us and playing crosswords. It was about 6pm when we realized that we were in the middle of nowhere and had no idea where we were staying. Shawna pulled a miracle campground off of her wünderphone called Big Pine Campground. This little gem is hidden 5 miles off the main highway on gravel roads up and around some massive hills. There are 5 campsites,

but one is perfectly secluded on the creek bank surrounded by trees. We pulled in about 730 and although I had realized it before, it really became evident at this time that this far north it doesn’t really get dark until 10pm. It’s really weird to not even see Venus next to the setting sun until 930 at night. I imagine it’s even harder to sleep the further north you go.

 

As it started to cool off, we built a fire and watched the stars before retiring to the tent to read a bit. We were the only people in the campground. I love seclusion. It brings peace.