Driving By The Skagit Valley Tulips East To Snow Covered Cascades

 

I saw that which you see above, and below, this morning on Facebook, via the Skagit Breaking Facebook page. Seeing this caused me to think those living in an extremely flat area of America, who have not been to a more mountainous area of America, might find this interesting.

Of late I have posted a photo or two of the currently colorful Skagit Valley, in Tulip Festival mode.

State Highway 20 is the road which takes you from the saltwater beaches of the north end of Puget Sound, over the Skagit Flats, through the town I grew up in, Burlington, continuing east, following the Skagit River, eventually becoming the North Cascades Highway, as it passes through North Cascades National Park.

If I remember right, it was in the early 1970s the North Cascades Highway, then known as the North Cross State Highway, opened, providing a new route to Eastern Washington over the Cascade Mountains.

Deep snow annually closes the North Cascades Highway, usually.

Again, if I remember right, there was one winter where that mountain pass did not close, due to a drought caused light snow pack.

The photos you see above, and below, show the North Cascades Highway currently in snow removal mode, clearing the way to being re-opened. 

At the same time the Skagit Flats are blooming in technicolor, you can drive a short distance east and be back in a Winter Wonderland.

When I lived in the Skagit Valley I didn't realize how unique it was, how one can drive a few miles to the west and be at a saltwater beach, or hop a ferry to visit the San Juan Islands, or drive a few miles east and be up in the mountains.

At my current location I would need to drive hundreds of miles to see anything resembling a mountain. Or a saltwater beach.

I think I would like living in Washington, again, with a greater appreciation of its multiple attributes...