Monday, June 29, 2015

June 7, 2015 - North Cascades National Park, WA to Davenport, WA

Oh my my! It was very bright outside even though our Lil Home (LH) was nestled inside the woods.  We cannot complain because we knew it meant a great day for sightseeing and photography.  Since there were no hookups at the campground we had to turn on the hot water heater using propane, so we can take a bath.

A simple and quick, but delicious breakfast was prepared: Ground beef mixed with hash browns, chopped sausage and bacon.

We checked out of the campground at 9:55 am, turned right onto State Route (SR) 20 to go to Spokane, WA.  Along the way there were eye popping views of the mountains.  At every chance we could, we would pull over to the pullouts to catch a good view of the mountains.









There were more viewpoints up ahead and again there was another beautiful view of the mountains.  The roads were twisty, but beautiful and thrilling.

A deer almost tried to run across the road as we were approaching, but apparently it was startled and headed back.

We went through the western themed town called Winthrop, WA, but the place was too crowded for us to find an ample parking spot because today is Sunday.  Nah, we are not going to go 'round and 'round looking for a spot and we can always come here another time.

After leaving Winthrop we continued on SR 20 East to Twisp, WA.  While in Twisp, WA we turned right to SR 153. The view along the route was really beautiful.

"Hey, try to stay away from guard rails and barriers", Edith yelled at Erwin.  There were times Edith thought Erwin was driving too close and that scared Edith several times. Erwin's reply was "plenty of room and I was not even that close to barriers". :-)

In Pateros, WA we made a left turn to get on 97 North to Brewster, WA, then made a right turn to 173 South to meet Bridgeport, WA.  We crossed the bridge over Columbia River.

Coming to Bridgeport there were lots of farmlands and orchards.  Many small houses were lined up in a row for transients.

In Bridgetown, WA there was many carved trees lined up Foster Creek Ave.




Next stop was at Grand Coulee Dam where we went to the visitor center.  Once inside we were then informed that the dam tour started at 3 pm and we were there around 2:45 pm.  The tour is about a mile plus away.  We asked if it was possible to drive the LH over there.  "No problem", the tour guide said. However, we had to make nature call and knew that we may not be able to make it on time for the 3 pm tour. We hurriedly drove to the dam tour site, but missed the tour by few minutes.  They had a tour at 4 pm and they told us we could sit down and wait.  We decided not to and went back to Grand Coulee town to do grocery shopping at Safeway.





It was steamy hot when we left the grocery store. Once inside the LH we checked the external temperature and it was 104˚.

Now approaching the town of Wilbur, WA where we turned left to get on highway 2 for Spokane, WA.

Pretty Koi mural on the side of pizza restaurant in Wilbur town when we went by it.


In Creston, WA we swung by the Tiny Chapel. It is not as tiny as others we have seen.  There is a cowboy on a horse statue next to it. As the sign mentioned it is a chapel for anyone who wants to stop, rest and pray.







From there we continued driving on 2, then decided to cut short the trip and pulled into a vacant lot just outside of Davenport, WA. There are several national park campgrounds north of Davenport, but it is more than 18 miles to go there and we were already too tired to continue.

For supper we had seared rib eye steak and steamed broccoli/cauliflower/carrots. Even though we dry camped we used the generator to run air conditioning for a little while, so our bedroom will feel cool when we turned in for the night.

Miles driven:
LH - 223
Jeep - 0

Today's route:
A: North Cascades, WA
B: Bridgeport, WA
C: Grand Coulee & Coulee Dam
D: Creston, WA
E: Davenport, WA

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