Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

Even though we never found that perfect Christmas tree, we had a great time with some great people under beautiful blue skies on this year’s Christmas Tree run to the Cle Elum, Washington area.

We all met for breakfast at the Cottage Cafe in Cle Elum. Already seated upon our arrival were Jerry (aka soggymountain) and Evelyn from Yakima, Brian (aka Photog) and Cindy from Gig Harbor, Valerie and her mother Ellen from Bothell and Kent, and friends of Ellen’s (whom I did not get their names). Of course I can’t forget to mention my wife Martha, daughter Korinne and our dog Tareva.

After breakfast, we headed out of town to the Roslyn Cyclery in Roslyn to purchase our tree permits. We were the only family on the hunt for a Christmas tree, everybody was out for the fun of it. After getting the permit, we headed out of town, past Ronald towards Salmon la Sac.
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On Thursday, I made a run into in Salmon la Sac area just north of Roslyn, Washington off the Cle Elum River. My intentions for the trip was for a scouting trip for the upcoming Christmas tree run on 12.08.07. But of course with fresh snow on the ground, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for some snow photographs. There is definitely a learning curve when shooting photos in the snow.

On the way home, I drove a few back roads instead of driving I-90 all the way home. There are a few addition photos of other areas also.

To see all of the photos I shot that day, visit Cle Elum River & Area 11.29.07.

For those of you living in the Pacific Northwest (mainly Washington and Oregon), there are a couple of upcoming 2007 Christmas tree runs that may be of interest to you.

Join us for a day of fun of looking for that special Christmas tree and hopefully some time in the snow. Even if you already have your tree or you’re putting up a plastic tree, it’ll be a good time.

The first Christmas Tree Run is on Saturday, December 8 and we will be meeting in Cle Elum, Washington. For details, see the forum discussion at Christmas Tree Run NORTH - 12/8/07

The second Christmas Tree Run is a week later on Saturday, December 15 at the Estacada Ranger Station, off Hwy 224 just West of Estacada, Oregon. For details, see the forum discussion at Christmas Tree Run SOUTH 12-15-2007.

If you’re in the area, I hope you can make one of the two runs.

Last Saturday (September 29, 2007), we decided a make a predawn trip to Sunrise at Mt Rainier National Park in Washington state to take photos of the rising sun on the mountain.

We were experiencing rain showers when we left our home in the early morning. Luckily for us, the higher in elevation we gained, the clearer the weather became.

Once we entered the national park and passed the White River Ranger station, we started to see patches of snow on the road. Once we arrived in the Sunrise parking lot, it was blanketed with several inches of the seasons’ first snow fall. We could clearly see the outline of Mt Rainier through the darkness.

From the main visitors center, we climbed the ridge and followed it toward Mt. Rainier to the Frozen Lake viewpoint, taking photos along the way.

On our way back to the parking lot, the clouds started rolling in and by the time we got back to the visitors center, the mountain was completely obscured by clouds.

All summer long, I had wanted to get up in the early morning hours and make the trip to Sunrise in order to take photos of the sun rising on Mt. Rainier. The wait for this experience was worth it, with excellent lighting, the first snow of the season and clear weather.

You can view the photos taken on this trip at Mt Rainier National Park 09.29.2007.

Summer in Western Washington usually doesn’t start officially (at least weather wise) until July 5 of each year. Today (06.24.07) was no exception. The forecast for the day was for rain and a snow level of 5000 feet.

Since I worked the night before and my wife’s nephew was coming over for dinner, I had to keep the day’s adventure somewhat local from my home. Flipping through the book Washington Byways, I found Tour 49 - High Rock Lookout Loop and it fit perfectly into the day’s time restraints. I loaded up the dog in the Land Cruiser and headed towards the Cascades in hopes of finding some sun above the low hanging clouds.

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Last Sunday (June 24, 2007), I ventured into the High Rock area near Mt. Rainier. The weather was overcast and rain most of the day meaning in no great views of Mt. Rainier. These are the photos I shot on this adventure. Most are taken from the inside of my Toyota Land Cruiser.

High Rock Loop Photos

The complete story of this adventure will be coming soon.

After nearly a year of lurking on the Backroad Drivers Northwest group mail list, last Saturday (June 9, 2007), I was finally able to attend one of the organized gatherings of the group.

The planned destination was the Clover Springs and Little Bald Mountain areas off SR 410, near Cliffdell, Washington. I had been to this area before, during the 2005 Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association (PNW4WDA) annual trail jamboree, but never from the direction we were coming in from. Also, this time of year, there was bound to be snow, which places a whole new twist on the adventure.

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Winter on the West Slopes of the Cascades usually lasts well into Summer, with many places not being snow free until late June or even early July. With the recent summer-like weather in Western Washington, I had a desire to go see how high the actual snowline was at this time of year. So I set off for another day of exploring. This time, the rest of my family decided to stay home and do other things. Only the dog was anxious to go, as always.

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Not much of an adventure but I finally had a chance to get out with the family for a spontaneous day trip to the snow.

The family was excited to see a small herd of elk, including a nice bull, laying along the side of the road in the driveway to a cabin.

Here are some random pictures off Highway 410 east of Greenwater, Washington near Buck Creek.

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