#2- Washington
Cascade Loop
Washington state is one of the world's wallflowers--a hushed beauty held fast in a remote corner. The state's engaging charms, voluptuous mountains and provocative coastline are regularly cloaked in thick, unflattering gray, inviting further ignorance. Washington state is a princess wearing wool.
Extending from Northern California to Canada, the Cascade Range is the continent's sleeping dragon. It has a belly full of fire, but it hasn't taken a breath since Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. The Cascades are a fragment of the infamous Ring of Fire that also torments Japan and the Hawaiian Islands.
We began our loop on U.S. Highway 2 east from Everett, a contemporary and colorful fishing village scattered about the shore of the beautiful Puget Sound. In the western shadow of the looming Cascades we discovered Snohomish and Monroe, towns born to lumber and farming in the 18th century and later adopted by America's premier foster parents--nostalgia and tourism. You can follow the trail of antique shops until you ascend skyward and all that's left to connect are those glorious green dots on a map.
We crested Stevens Pass midmorning and took a deep breath of cold, cedar-scented air. The world we left at the coast seemed denser, more lush and humid. We swirled down the eastern slope on U.S. Highway 2 in locked step with the swift Wenatchee River.
Leavenworth was a bit of a surprise. I mean, you just don't expect a Bavarian village to suddenly materialize out of the North American wilderness. But strudel is strudel, and certainly the indigenous apples are handy. The German fantasy works great as a buoy for towns such as Leavenworth that were sunk by the Great Depression. Ironically, this is the fourth American schnitzel haven I've stumbled into this year, but Leavenworth was by far the best. After all, those 8000-foot snowcapped props do go with the get-up.
A few tarts later we jumped back on U.S. Highway 2 and completed our first descent of the day. The landscape tumbled and then began to roll in gentle arcs, seemingly in deference to the thousands of apple trees feeding from its rich soil. By the time we reached the Wenatchee Confluence and turned north on Alternate U.S. 97, we felt a little parched by this new, more arid atmosphere. And flanking the wide, ponderous Columbia River felt distinctly dull after such an invigorating morning.
Midway up this straight, flat section of the loop is the Rocky Reach Dam. This is a nice, shady place to take a nap, or--if you're not sleeping off a sugar high--you can be wowed by the visitor's center and its underwater viewing windows that offer a fish-eye view of the salmon swimming upstream. Outside, the fish ladders are also a fascinating way to watch the spawning madness. After another 17 miles north on Alternate U.S. 97 you can cut back up over the mountains on State Highway 153. As this narrow road begins to twist and pulse, you realize the bleak valley below was simply a necessary evil on the way to elation.
Once again on high ground, you'll ride through the vintage western town of Winthrop. This authentic, albeit exaggerated, cattle town is a favorite stop of bikers and the climax of many organized rides in the area. Winthrop cowboys still herd their cattle right down the main street on a biannual migration to greener pastures. Before leaving we stopped in Sheri's Sweet Shoppe to watch owner Doug Mohre cultivate a batch of sea foam candy. By the time we headed out the sun was making a hasty retreat toward the Pacific Ocean, and we needed to follow suit. (You'll want to fill up your gas tank here since it's 90 miles to the next fueling station.) Squinting, we jumped on State Highway 20 heading west and were quickly swept up by the granite channels leading to Washington Pass.
The tourism board recommends this counterclockwise execution of the state's Cascade Loop Scenic Highway so the most impressive scenery will face you--but I beg to differ. The counterclockwise route puts the sun in your eyes both morning and evening, which pretty much kills your chance of seeing anything. It's better to ride west in the morning and east at dusk when the sun works in your favor by boosting coloration on the road.
Once again on the western slant of the Cascades we slowed our pace to draw out the end of a great ride. The Skagit River was a ghostlike fury that raced us through the darkness, back onto the coastal plain and across the channel on State Highway 20 and Whidbey Island.
In a single day we'd risen from the mossy shoreline, soared over granite peaks and dragged our heels across the desert. From Bavaria to Boomtown, apple orchard to glacier, Washington sure has many tricks up her woolen sleeve.
Don't Miss:
Caramel clusters at Sheri's Sweet Shoppe in Winthrop.
Season:
The passes are often closed from October to April.
Road Notes:
If you have just one day, ride the loop in a clockwise fashion so the sun isn't in your eyes the whole time.
More Info:
Check out www.cascadeloop.com for details and variations on this ride.
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