Day1: Wallace Falls and Deception Falls

  Gold Bar, Washington, United States
Monday, July 30, 2007

Gold Bar:  Wallace Falls
Our first real US-2 adventure was a walk to Wallace (and Gromit?) falls in Gold Bar, WA.

Rory crossing bridge on way to Wallace Falls

Lower portion of Wallace Falls

Leopard-marked slug on trail

Middle Wallace Falls valley view

Tall bush has ripe huckleberries - yum!

Chere at Middle Wallace Falls

Fungus covered trees sheltering the glacier waters

 It was about five miles out and back for a close up look at the falls.  We could see the main cascade from US-2.  The trail was well maintained with wide foot bridges and plenty of railings on the precipices.  Very pretty. You can visit Wallace Falls State Park for more facts and figures.









































We have a friend who is interested in the Oversized stuff you find along the way.  (/waves to Patrick B!)

Rory with historic Giant Saw Blade in Index WA

Saw Blade Plaque

Here's something we saw in Index, WA - a giant sawblade!  Historic, no less!




 


We passed through the Cascade Mountains via Stevens Pass.  There was very little traffic so the driver could enjoy the spectacular scenery.






Great Northern Railway and Deception Falls
Another stop just shy of the top of the pass took us to the site of the original completion (think golden spike) of the Great Northern Railway.  This route linked Seattle with the rest of America and freed it of its dependence on San Francisco as its only direct trading partner in America. 

The railroads now all run through the Cascades in tunnels and have abandoned the old grades.  The Forest Service is thinking of turning the grades into a trail system.  Considering how vertical the surroundings are, this would be a boon for the walker.

A short walk took us to Deception Falls. 

Chere's reflection in Deception Falls waters

Rory at lower portion of Decption Falls

With only about 4ft in that chasm

Another series of cascades over granite and a geologically intriguing hard turn to the right in the middle of things. 

I'm not sure if we got an adequate picture of this but we did take some nice shots of crystal clear water. 

Of course the informative sign let us know that clarity equals sterility equals lack of life in the water.  Coming from our pea green, hyper eutrophic  (look it up) very productive Florida lake shore, the clear water was very pretty.





 
59'er Diner - Elvis lives!

59er Diner

After some OK roadside diner food on the eastern slopes of the Cascades we spent the night in the quiet, well kept town of Cashmere, WA.  We can recommend the Village Inn  as a nice place to spend the night.







 
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*Our prequel to the US-2 trip will be presented at a later time.  Here's a hint. 
Pacific Coast Highway, CA-1, US-101
from Saratoga, CA, to Seattle, WA, via Victoria, BC. 
2200 miles in about three weeks. 
Tide pools,
giant trees,
light houses,
antique plumbing and
the miseries of Lewis and Clark.
Spectacular.
We would do it again at the drop of a hat.