North Cascade National Park

Day 31 Washington

10:00am

Not only did I get to sleep in a real bed, but it came standard with an ample dose of sleeping in, brought to you by the Canadian noon check out time.
We left the hotel refreshed, and energetic to get out of the city. Five days in Canada is just the right amount. Despite our enthusiasm to leave the country, we did not anticipate the near two hours it would take to cross the border. And with British Columbia being an "idle free zone" we had to keep turning the car on and off then on again. Two Hours of this will wear on you. When our turn finally came around it was a quick round of questioning, some photographs of the car via the elaborate camera system installed, and we were back in the US.
What a relief, the past few days got us comfortable with converting kilometers, currency and liters. Now back in the US our brains can slip back into a numb to numbers level of awareness. It felt good.

3:00pm

The North Cascades National Park is nestled up against the Canadian border, similar to Glacier National Park. Cascades even holds the honest number of glaciers in the US, just over 300. Unfortunately the Cascades are more of a backpackers paradise with only a couple of day hikes. Our arriving in the late afternoon eliminated most of our hiking opportunities, leaving us with small overlooks and short walks. Because of this, we decided to only stay one night in the Cascades and use our time to explore Mount Rainier National Park.
The campground was perfect! Everything I love about a forest in one place. A swift river, no Mosquitos, hundred foot trees, giant logs covered in moss, lush undergrowth and ferns. If you have ever been to or heard of Washington state, you probably know that a sunny day is about as rare as a rainy day in Palm Springs. Today overflowed with sunshine and the temperature was perfect, right around 75°. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful day, the remainder of we spent sitting in the shade reading, and climbing about on the logs crisscrossing the river, it was perfect.


MILEAGE:

Driving-

This trip: 133
Total: 4412

Walking-

This trip: 0
Total:189