North Cascades - America's Alps

We are officially on our East bound leg of our most excellent adventure!  The journey from Anacortes took us thru the Skagit Valley and  towns like  Mt. Vernon, Sedro-Wooley, Concrete and Rockport.  We "landed" just Northeast of the town of Marblemount, at a little RV Park named Alpine RV Park.  What a gem of a find.  We really enjoyed this place and it was another place our Passport America membership came in handy.  We had full utility hookups, laundry facilities and WIFI for $10/night.  Ya can't be that!  Plus it was quiet!  We were across the road from the mighty Skagit river and I saw a bald eagle on two occasions.  Once flying down the river and the second was flying right over our campsite at an altitude of no higher than 20 feet!  

The day after our arrival in Marblemount, we decided that what better way to get a feel for the Cascades than to take a guided trip down the Skagit River.  None of us had ever done white-water rafting before, so this was a first for everyone in Team Breitmann!  We went with Pacific NW Float Trips and we were not disappointed!  The owner; Capt. David Button, gave me a great military discount on top of the family discount!  Thanks, Capt Dave!  Our guide for our boat, Joe, was awesome.  He had the perfect temperament and knowledge for his task as a guide.  We were all a bit nervous about going down the rapids with the entire family.  Stacey's back was concerning both of us and Hailey was scared.  As it turned out, we all LOVED it and came away injury free!  Thank you, God!

As we set sail, Heidi is all pumped up about experiencing Class II and III rapids!  I had never experienced rapids, so the rating scale for rapids had no meaning to me other than I knew that they could not be too bad because we were not required to wear helmets for Class II & III.  Helmets were required for Class IV and above. 

Hailey smiles for this shot of her and our guide, Joe.  Joe told us that he conducts guided river tours here, in Alaska and in the Florida Everglades.  While he works as a guide for Capt Dave, he also has his own canoe rental business, locally in Bellingham.  Look him up if you want to rent a canoe: Joe's Canoe Rental .  Joe told us that the Skagit River is home to spawning grounds of all five Pacific Salmon: Pink, Silver, King, Sockeye and Chum.  Also, due to the plentiful nature of the salmon, the North Cascade/Skagit river is home to the largest concentration of Bald Eagles in the lower 48 United States.  The only area with higher numbers is found in Alaska! 

Did I mention that the river temperature was FREEZING COLD!  When we got water into the boat, our feet became numb after a few minutes!  Anyway, along our trip we pulled over to have some lunch and we joined a group of "adventure Boy Scouts", who had built a fire.  Here, Hailey enjoys the warmth of the fire.  Great fun to chat with these boys and their scout masters.

Needless to say, I could not capture pictures of us going thru the rapids because I was a bit preoccupied with holding on and taking commands from our guide Joe.  I was one of three of us in our boat with an oar to assist Joe with maneuvering.  However, I think he was quite capable even if we all became "brain dead" with oars! :)  Here, after the rapids and near the end of our journey, Joe let's Heidi have a hand at his seat, as river guide!  You can tell by the look on her face as she eyes some fallen trees in the river head, that she is a bit concerned.  She did great!  

Joe, in front, poses with the two river boat "crews" after a successful run!  The two fellows on the left back row are the other guides from the other boat!  What a great, albeit, chilly time we had!  

Upon recommendation by our river guides, we go off exploring into the North Cascades National Park, along Cascade River Road.  It is "off the beaten path" and few people go this route because it is not well known.  Thanks to our river guides, we got to enjoy this little known piece of what is referred to as the "American Alps"!

I took this picture as we drove the Cascade River primitive road.  While it was primitive, it was passable in our little Saturn tow vehicle.  It was around 26 miles of this.  We had to pay attention, as the road contained no warning signs and contained one-lane, blind turns. 

All along the road, we saw numerous creeks, and rivers that fed into the Cascade River, which in turn flowed into the Skagit River.  The rivers were running hard, fast and high and the sound of cold rushing water was everywhere!

Heidi is our waterfall nut!  She just loves to get up as close to them as possible!  

At the end of the proverbial road!  This place so reminded us of the opening and ending scenes from the movie "The Sound of Music"!  The girls ran across this meadow, where we had lunch, singing.."the hills are alive with the sound of music!" Look out Julie Andrews, the red-heads of Team Breitmann would give you a run for your money!  I was laughing and smiling just watching them, without a care in the world!  Good stuff!  

I could not capture the entire panorama of the location we were at for lunch. This picture and the four following it are a series of panning shots from right to left as I panned 180 degrees. No restaurant could compare to the location we ate lunch!  I'm not sure I posted this in a previous blog or not but, while eating lunch here, Heidi, again, comments on the scenery enveloping us.  "Hey, Dad, you know, once again, I find that nature looks so much more spectacular in person than in photographs. And the cities look so much better in pictures than in person."  Hmm...right you are, Heidi!

Here you can see the glacier formation in the top center of this shot!  The vibrant blue ice was so awesome to see.  I'm glad I brought binoculars to get even closer up views!  

We were treated to something not everyone gets to see...a huge chunk of the glacier broke off while were getting ready to leave!  It sounded like a gun shot going off followed by rumbling and snapping sounds reverberating in the valley!  I could not capture it on film.  However, you might be able to see the after math in this photo.  The chunk of ice and snow slid off the cliff and broke into and explode into an array of snow and ice, flowing down the hill.  You can see the flow and fingers of it in this picture. What an awesome spectacle of God's creation!

Stacey takes a picture of Heidi and I on a trail that leads to Cascade Pass.  I had to prod the gals of Team Breitmann to hike up the trail with me, which they reluctantly did.  We all realized how out of shape we've become and that we need to do more of this!  I enjoy it and the gals "put up with it" , knowing how much I "put up with" going along on their "shopping hikes"!  :)

Beauty among beauty!  And all God's people said..."AMEN"!

After our hiking and glacial adventures, we drove on down to this place outside the town of Concrete.  You may recognize the name of this farm from products in your local organic section of the grocery store near you!  We all had a bit of ice cream here!  Hailey had chocolate, Heidi and I had raspberry-chocolate chip and Stacey had mocha-espresso.  Mmmm-good!

A view of the farm!  In the distance you can see blueberry trees as far as you can see from this point.  We had some fresh blueberries from local places like this on our rafting trip!  

Here, Hailey, our flower lover, collects some flowers that she wants to use to adorn the motor home. The smell of fresh lavender was constant!

Stacey and Hailey discuss the flower arraignment and decide what to pick next.  

I had to throw this picture in at the end of this blog entry!  I took this inside of the float trip "bus" that took us to our launch area.  It was posted here, according to our guide, Joe, because of all the worrying comments and "what ifs" posed by many a patron.  A lot of wisdom in that saying.  If your a Christian you will notice this sentiment summed up in Matthew 6:34; "... do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself..."

Starting our 6th month of "full-timin' it"!. Thank you goes to our good family friend, Brandy, for posting this picture on our Face book wall!  So true!  We are "living large", despite having a fraction of the money I used to make!  The time, experience and education we are all having is PRICELESS!  I can make many things but, I can not make the experiences encountered nor can I make more time.
Well, it's eastbound thru the Cascades on Hwy 20 with us..hopefully...making it to the Grand Coulee Dam! 'Til my next postings!  God bless!